The Compliance Files

In this week’s episode, Catherine Thornton, Member of Compliance Institute's Prudential, Regulation and Governance Working Group speaks with Sean MacHale, Partner at EY Dublin, Head of Global Sustainable Finance Innovation Hub and Camile Paparelli, Partner EY London, who is the ESG Reporting and Disclosure lead for UK Insurers. 

The importance of climate considerations and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Factors are now critical in shaping strategies and operations of Financial Institutions worldwide. As the focus on sustainable practices and ethical governance grows, understanding and implementing ESG regulations including climate considerations has become more important now then ever.

In its February 2025 Regulatory & Supervisory Outlook (RSO) report, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) again acknowledged the climate crisis, noting the weakening of earlier net zero commitments and timelines by governments and corporations, and the gap between progress being made against what is needed to slow down climate change deteriorating. With irreversible effects of acting too late a real risk to the very existence of the planet. In this episode, Sean and Camille discuss this broad topic and evaluates how progress of ESG and Climate varies across the 3 key sectors - Banking, Insurance and Funds.

In this week’s episode, Kathy Jacobs, former President of Compliance Institute and Chair of the Institute’s Sustainability Working Group speaks with Dr. Norah Storey, Lecturer in Finance at the South East Technological University (SETU).

Dr. Norah Storey has conducted a study on the perceptions in low carbon investing and the extent to which finance is stepping up to play its full role in investing for the transition. In this week's podcast. Norah explains the role of the financial system in the transition to net zero. Norah outlines the methodology you used in her research and describes her findings. Norah discusses the short to medium term implications for the low carbon transition of her findings.

In this week’s episode, Kathy Jacobs, former President of Compliance Institute and Chair of the Institute’s Sustainability Working Group speaks with Philip Brennan, Founder and Managing Director of Raiseaconcern.com and former President of Compliance Institute.

Philip delves into the critical and evolving topic of Whistleblowing, its regulation within the European Union and how it has evolved in practice. Whistleblowing, broadly defined as the act of exposing wrongdoing within an organisation, is a vital tool for promoting transparency and accountability. In this podcast we explore the impact of the EU Whistleblowing Directive of 2019, on both businesses and individuals. Philip provides insights into the real-world implications and challenges faced by organisations. Philip also uncovers the challenges, successes, and future prospects of whistleblowing in the EU, and how it shapes the landscape of corporate governance and culture.

The European Accessibility Act, approved in 2019, will come into effect on 28 June 2025, and will mark a significant shift in the EU. In this week’s episode of the Compliance Files Podcast Series, Patrick Erhard, Compliance Specialist, Mercer and Member of Compliance Institute's Consumer Protection Working Group speaks with Cormac Chisholm CEO, DevAlly about the European Accessibility Act (EAA).

Cormac provides an overview of the EAA including it’s importance and objectives. Cormac details the impact of the EAA and the specific sectors and services that the Act covers. Cormac outlines the common barriers that organisations encounter when trying to meet accessibility standards and describes the steps that organisations must take to comply with the EAA. Finally, Cormac provides the best practices that organisations can adopt to ensure they meet the EAA requirements.

In this week’s episode, Kathy Jacobs, former President of Compliance Institute and Chair of the Institute’s Sustainability Working Group speaks with Alan Holmes, Advisor & Independent Non-Executive Director, Board and Audit Chair on the topic of the Voice of an INED.

Alan takes us through his career to date and he outlines the core purpose of an Independent Non-Executive Director (INED) and how it differs from that of an Executive Director. Alan describes how INEDs help balance the interests of stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, and customers. Alan describes how INEDs ensure strong governance and accountability while still fostering innovation and growth and what qualities or skills make someone an effective INED in today’s corporate environment. Finally, Alan outlines what he thinks the future holds for INEDs, and how their responsibilities continue to shift in a rapidly changing business landscape.