The Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland was established in November 2002. It is a ‘not for profit’ company limited by guarantee and has charitable status.

Its purpose is:

To promote, for the public benefit, the advancement and dissemination of knowledge, information, views and ideas in the field of regulatory compliance and business ethics.

To provide training and conduct examinations in regulatory compliance and business ethics.

To promote high ethical standards among all persons engaged in regulatory compliance.

The Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland (“ACOI”) is a company limited by guarantee. Its Registered Number is 379249 and its Registered Office is Lower Ground Floor, 5 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2. The ACOI is a registered charity, Charity Registration Number: 20065072 and Revenue Commissioners (CHY) Number 17471. The ACOI’s Board of Directors are: K. Jacobs (President), L. Blayney, F. Byrne, S. Canning, J. Harvey, C. Hudson,, C. Kelly, M Steward , D. Whyte. Further Information on these individuals can be found under Council of ACOI. The ACOI’s Company Secretary is K. Houghton.

Structure

The affairs of the Association are overseen by the members of Council, which consists of up to 8 elected members, who govern the Association. The work of the Council is supported by its sub-committees: Finance, Risk and Administration (FRAC), Audit, Membership, Education and Professional Development Services (EPDS), Ethics, as well as a network of working. The Working Groups of the Association are Consumer Protection, Data Protection & Information Security, Financial Crime Compliance, Fintech/Regtech, Funds, Pensions and Prudential Regulation & Governance. The day to day affairs of the Association are managed by the Executive. To read the ACOI Constitution please click on the link here: ACOI Constitution Registered office Lower Ground Floor, 5 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2. Registered Number 379249. ACOI is a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital.

Our Mission

Central to ACOI’s mission is equipping Compliance Officers and those who deal with compliance and regulation in financial services with the necessary competence and skills to undertake their roles in a professional manner.

We provide our members with accredited graduate and post graduate education in the various fields of compliance and business ethics. To maintain and update our members’ skill levels, we provide ongoing professional development.

We provide a forum for networking for our members. We keep members abreast of relevant industry developments and seek to provide ongoing useful assistance to them in their careers.

We consult with regulators on behalf of members where we think our association has constructive input to contribute.

We promote high ethical standards among all persons engaged in regulatory compliance.

Our Values

We aspire to put the education and professional development of our members first. Our aim is to equip members with the necessary skills to be:

  • diligent in understanding and keeping up to date with key areas of financial services law and regulation;
  • constructive in their engagement with employers or clients, proactively assisting them in the implementation of processes and procedures to facilitate compliance with relevant laws and regulations;
  • proactive in their assessment of key compliance risks; independent in their testing and monitoring of compliance standards and
  • fair, honest and transparent in all their dealings, particularly in their reporting to stakeholders on standards of compliance with laws, regulations and codes of behaviour within financial services firms.

The ACOI is a founding member of the International Federation of Compliance Associations (IFCA).

IFCA was founded in Dublin in December 2010. The other founding members countries are Australia, United States and South Africa. Since 2010, Spain, Argentina, Switzerland and South Korea have joined IFCA. The International Federation of Compliance Associations is the umbrella organisation for professional bodies that specialise in the practice of compliance. Membership comprises of national compliance bodies from around the world that have been established for the benefit of their members. The purpose of the alliance is to co-ordinate and collaborate in ways that benefit ethics and compliance professionals worldwide. The IFCA will seek ways to leverage the respective strengths of member associations, by cooperating in the design, development and distribution of surveys, research, white papers and benchmarking studies that can enhance the business ethics and compliance profession.. To visit the IFCA website, please go to http://www.ifca.co/