As we kick off a new year, now is the perfect time for compliance officers to step back and think strategically about where to focus their efforts in 2026. While much of the compliance role is necessarily reactive, an effective compliance program cannot survive on reaction alone.
This week’s podcast focuses on how and why compliance officers should set clear priorities for the year ahead – and how doing so can strengthen both the program and the organization’s culture of compliance.
Why compliance priorities matter
A large portion of a compliance officer’s job involves responding to immediate needs: answering questions, investigating complaints, or implementing new regulations. These tasks are unavoidable and critical. But when compliance becomes purely reactive, it’s like constantly putting out fires rather than preventing them in the first place.
Proactive compliance activities – audits, training, policy updates, and culture-building – are the fire prevention tools of the compliance world. Setting priorities ensures that when time becomes available, those moments are used efficiently and intentionally, rather than jumping between tasks without a clear plan.
What compliance priorities are (and aren’t)
Compliance priorities are not the non-negotiable parts of the job. Activities like board reporting, compliance committee meetings, and responding to investigations are mandatory and automatically part of the compliance officer’s workload. These don’t belong on a priority list because they must happen regardless.
Instead, priorities are the proactive initiatives you want to move forward when time and resources allow – the work that strengthens your compliance program over the long term.
Start with the compliance work plan
The foundation of any compliance priority discussion is the compliance work plan. This plan is informed by your organization’s risk assessment and outlines the audits, reviews, policy updates, and training initiatives designed to address identified risks. If you don’t have a work plan, that becomes your first priority.
A risk assessment and work plan are essential tools for proactive compliance and are discussed in more detail in earlier podcast episodes, including Episode 10.
Why you should think beyond the compliance work plan
For many compliance officers, especially those working solo or juggling multiple roles, simply executing the work plan may feel like more than enough. Even if your work plan consumes most of your time, it’s still valuable to maintain a separate list of additional compliance priorities. This list serves several important purposes:
- It gives you direction when you unexpectedly have time to work on something proactive.
- It provides ready answers when leadership asks about compliance gaps or resource needs.
- It helps ensure all seven elements of an effective compliance program receive attention over time.
Some of these elements may not appear in a given year’s work plan, but ignoring them altogether can lead to outdated or incomplete compliance efforts.
What should go on your compliance priority list
Your priority list should reflect the current needs of your organization. For some, it may include long-overdue updates, such as refreshing new-hire compliance training or developing a code of conduct. For others, it may involve closing foundational gaps in a newer compliance program.
If nothing immediately comes to mind, revisiting the OIG General Compliance Program Guidance can be a helpful exercise. It may highlight areas you haven’t reviewed recently or elements that could be strengthened.
Other possible priorities include:
- Improving compliance culture through visibility and communication
- Creating internal compliance champions
- Expanding education or training for the compliance officer or staff
- Strengthening investigation processes or regulatory knowledge
Engage your compliance committee
Once you’ve developed your list, consider sharing it with your compliance committee. Asking for feedback not only generates new ideas but also helps build internal buy-in. Together, you can decide whether any items might fit into the 2026 work plan and who is best positioned to help move them forward.
The goal is not to add unnecessary work, but to make meaningful progress – even on just one or two of these items – over the course of the year.
Using the list throughout the year
This priority list can be a living document. You may choose to actively work on one or two items, report progress to leadership or the board, or simply keep the list handy for when time allows. Over time, items that linger on the list may signal the need to formally schedule them into a future work plan.
By setting compliance priorities, you create focus, improve efficiency, and strengthen your ability to communicate compliance needs internally. Most importantly, you move your compliance program beyond reaction and toward prevention.
For more ideas on building and strengthening your compliance program, listen to these related episodes:
Ep. 9 – Building a Compliance Dream Team
Ep. 10 – How to Conduct an Effective Risk Assessment… And Why You Need One!
Ep. 16 – Creating a Compliance Culture: Including Compliance in Performance Reviews
Ep. 51 – Building Effective Compliance Committee Agendas
Ep. 83 – Places to Look for Your Next Compliance Audit
