Brion Nazzaro

How does a Risk Officer help company Directors understand the risks to the business? The role of the risk officer is a trusted advisor to keep the board informed of risks so the directors can make reasonably informed decisions. Risk officers provide information to the board on many topics, including information needed to execute their duties as outlined in their job description, challenge management assumptions, advise management on strategy, build value, ensure leadership, and understand regulatory complexities of corporate transactions.

How can I interview a compliance or risk officer and figure out if they are the right candidate?

Ask these 3 questions: How will you protect our business? How will you enable others to do their jobs? How will I know if you will implement a risk strategy that works for my business?

Compliance and risk management are two distinct functions that should be unified by one risk management strategy. A risk-based approach is a common risk management strategy in highly-regulated industries that optimally facilitates compliance while also mitigating other risks. A properly implemented risk-based approach creates a broader level of protection for the business, employees, and investors from reputational, administrative, civil, and criminal penalties.

Cannabis banking requires a benchmark for cannabis operators growing cannabis so that the yield from a grow can be monitored for reasonableness. This allows cannabis bankers to reasonably predict transaction patterns to determine the risk of money laundering and inversion/diversion to the illicit cannabis market.

Building a strong culture of compliance is essential to most businesses, but especially important to cannabis operators managing a rapidly changing regulatory landscape with increasing regulatory expectations.