The Tribune

The founder and president of the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers (BACO) has armed herself for a more rigorous regulatory climate by attaining another degree.

Cheryl Bazard said it was critical for compliance professionals to "stay a step ahead" in an ever-changing world after obtaining a Master of Laws degree in financial compliance and risk management from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) in San Diego.

"Global policies like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) protocols and procedures have changed the paradigm as it relates to the way we evaluate financial services institutions, jurisdictions and their overall approach to compliance," said Mrs Bazard.

"Changing regulatory obligations and shifting expectations make for an increasingly challenging environment. To stay a step ahead, it's crucial compliance professionals embrace educational and learning opportunities. At BACO, we lead by example."

Mrs Bazard believes her investment in learning will yield real benefits now and into the future.

An online graduate programme, TJSL's financial compliance and risk management Master's degree trains compliance attorneys, government officials, senior risk advisors and others on how to keep financial institutions in compliance, and how to identify and implement successful risk management initiatives.

The degree takes a minimum of one year to complete with a commitment of 15 to 20 hours required per week. Designed for working professionals, most courses run around eight weeks in duration.

Mrs Bazard was supervised by Dr Robert Munro, the director of the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, who found Mrs Bazard's thesis "simply outstanding" and suggested she should have it published.

The thesis focused on the US PATRIOT Act and its effects on The Bahamas. It explored not only the basic impact of that law on the financial services industry, but also the rippling effects on the middle class and the subsequent domino effect on the country.

"Given the low risk rating for The Bahamas in the area of terrorist financing, the thesis examined whether The Bahamas was sufficient in its legislative regime and whether any further expansion of the same would be to the detriment of the industry," explained Mrs. Bazard.

A graduate of the College of the Bahamas and the University of Buckingham, Mrs Bazard was called to the Bar of England and Wales in July 1991, and to the Bahamas Bar a month later.

She began her career as a counsel in the Office of the Attorney General before receiving an appointment to the stipendiary and circuit magistrate court in 1996.

Mrs Bazard entered the financial services sector as the compliance officer for CIBC Bahamas in 1998. Upon the merger of CIBC and Barclays she was made regional director of compliance, responsible for creating policies and overseeing 16 countries in the region.

She left the financial services sector in 2006 to establish Bazard & Company, her own law firm. A 2003 recipient of the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) Professional Excellence Award, Mrs Bazard has chaired two boards, the Port Authority and the Consumer Protection Board, in addition to serving as deputy chairman of the Public Defenders Committee.