Studije za inovaciju (specijalizaciju) znanja – „Usklađenost poslovanja“ – Professional Certificate – Univerzitet u Beogradu

Professional Certificate in Compliance awarded by the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade

Introduction

As a business principle, one of the strategic goals of modern corporations, and business function within the internal control system responsible for identifying and monitoring compliance risks, Compliance is recognized as one of necessary prerequisites for sustainable and successful operations of businesses. As such, it contributes to the progress of society as a whole. Encouraging business ethics, culture and business compliance is not only part of the strategy of the regulators (public administration), but also a new dimension in deterring and prosecuting corporate crimes.

In a modern world of business, Compliance involves various aspects of corporate responsibility and includes various thematic areas, such as: business transparency, consumer protection, prevention of corruption, prevention of conflicts of interest, protection of personal data, prevention of money laundering, etc. Also, Compliance is key to adequate risk management in new areas such as ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), digitalization of business, use of blockchain technology, etc. The Compliance function elaborates on these topics with its specific methodology and various activities that should enable the timely recognition of risks arising in the operations of a business entity, its elimination or reduction to an acceptable level. The main task of the Compliance control function is to prevent negative effects on the company, in terms of its reputation, business results and administrative fines, but also to protect the interests of individuals (users of goods and services).

The demand for skilled compliance professionals is rapidly growing. Compliance is a relatively young business function, the development of which has not yet been completed, and the new topics are continuously emerging. From a comparative perspective, that is why universities participate in the education of compliance professionals with differentiated curricula and offer different programs and degrees. The Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade recognized the need for specialized education on Compliance and Compliance management, and thus became the first higher education institution in the region to introduce education for compliance professionals and others interested in understanding and managing Compliance. In designing the Professional Certificate Programme in Compliance, Programme Director professor Tatjana Jovanić has compared compliance programs and degrees from around the world, and is indebted to professor Marie-Anne Frison-Roche for the encouragement.

The need for additional education in this area has been voiced at many gatherings of compliance professionals, as well as by Serbian Corporate Compliance Association. In order to properly respond to the lack of quality formal education for Compliance professionals, the Association and the Faculty of Law have signed a Cooperation Agreement with the aim of designing and implementing educational programs that will offer a new concept of education in these areas. On the basis of this agreement, the Certificate Programme “Compliance” has been launched in the Spring semester of the academic 2022/2023 and was successfully implemented in June 2023. The first Alumni generation comprises more than sixty members.

Lectures and curriculum

Although each individual thematic area could represent a specialized thematic education, the goal of the Faculty of Law is to offer a general Certificate Program in the form of Studies for knowledge innovation, covering all the most important aspects of this function and explaining the reasons for its existence and expansion from a broader perspective.

The Program consists of 60 hours of lectures, thematic workshops, and final exam preparation – the expected total number of hours is 72. Classes are held in the Spring semester, on Saturdays (from. 9.30 AM to 2 PM), and last from February 24 to June 15, 2024.

Lecturers are university professors, experienced compliance professionals and business experts, as well as representatives of the regulatory bodies (Commission for Protection of Competition, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering). Click here to access the list of confirmed lecturers in the 2023/2024 academic year.

The innovative Programme includes the following topics to be covered in interactive lectures and workshops:

The concept of Compliance, Business Compliance and Compliance Control
Introduction to Corporate Governance; Compliance function within the internal controls system
Leadership, organization, roles and responsibilities in the Compliance Management System
Business ethics, integrity and corporate culture
Factors affecting business compliance
Compliance as a regulatory strategy and the role of public administration
Methodology of the Compliance function (workshop)
Acts and procedures of the Compliance function (workshop)
Case studies – consequences of non-compliance
Prevention of conflicts of interest
Suppression of white-collar crime/corporate crime, with a special emphasis on anti-corruption
Prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism
Whistleblower protection and certain labor law issues relevant to the compliance function
Personal data protection and trade secret protection
Challenges of business compliance in certain regulatory regimes: consumer protection, competition protection and prevention of unfair business practices
Compliance Management Strategies
Introduction to risk management (Risk Management) and non-compliance risk management
Introduction to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) risks from the perspective of the Compliance function and introduction to Environmental compliance
Standardization in the field of business compliance: ISO 37301:2021 Compliance Management System and related certification standards (ISO 37001:2016, ISO 31000:2018, etc.)
Information security and digitization as a source of new risks
Business compliance outsourcing and third-party risk management