On 14 May, UIC Barcelona’s Aula Magna hosted the ninth edition of One Day Compliance BCN, an event organised by CUMPLEN, the Association of Compliance Professionals. The gathering drew more than 270 experts, executives, academics and professionals involved in compliance, risk management, sustainability and corporate governance.
The conference once again established itself as a leading sector event, with a programme that addressed key contemporary compliance challenges, including business ethics in high-pressure environments, artificial intelligence, whistleblower protection, sustainability, human rights and the strategic role of compliance officers in an increasingly regulated and complex corporate landscape.
IA, ethics and responsibility
The rector of UIC Barcelona, Dr Alfonso Méndiz, opened the session by emphasising the need to integrate ethics and responsibility into technological and business transformation processes. “Compliance can no longer be seen merely as a control mechanism or regulatory requirement. Today we talk in terms of trust, reputation and sustainability,” he asserted. In this regard, he cautioned against the risks of detaching innovation from ethical criteria and defended the role of universities in shaping leaders “capable of acting with judgement, responsibility and ethical awareness”.
In his speech, the Rector also underscored the importance of fostering dialogue between academia and the professional world to address challenges such as artificial intelligence, data governance and growing regulatory pressure. “The key question is not only how to comply better, but what kind of organisations and societies we want to build,” he argued.
Dr Alejandra Vargas, a lecturer in Criminal Law and coordinator of the Postgraduate Degree in Compliance and Cybersecurity at UIC Barcelona, highlighted the relevance of a discipline which, in her words, “has ceased to be a field reserved for specialists and has become a strategic issue for culture and governance.” Vargas praised the programme’s approach, centred not only on rules and controls but also on the key issues affecting organisations today. “How should decisions be made in complex, uncertain and high-pressure environments?”
She further stressed that contemporary compliance can no longer be seen as separate from sustainability, social responsibility or human rights, and called for the training of professionals “capable of thinking rigorously, anticipating risks and upholding ethical standards even when they are unpopular.”
For his part, Carlos Alberto Sáiz Peña, vice-president of CUMPLEN, stated that the sector is experiencing “a moment of profound transformation”, driven first and foremost by advances in artificial intelligence and technological acceleration. In this context, he advocated for compliance professionals as key figures in helping organisations handle risk and make prudent decisions without sacrificing agility. “Ethics is more relevant than ever,” he affirmed.
A space for reflection and networking
The event’s programme included several panel discussions and presentations on corporate ethics, internal reporting systems and whistleblower protection, geopolitics and supply chains, ethical culture and sustainability, as well as a session dedicated to conflicts of interest and compliance officer responsibility. It also served as a backdrop for the first Life Sciences & Healthcare Compliance BCN conference, focusing on the specific challenges of the health and pharmaceutical sectors.
The event brought together institutional representatives and leading compliance professionals, including Manuel Villoria Mendieta, president of the Independent Whistleblower Protection Authority, and Josep Tomàs Salàs Darrocha, director of the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia, along with heads of compliance, sustainability, auditing, integrity and good governance from public and private organisations such as SEAT, Kids&Us, Port de Barcelona, CaixaBank, Naturgy, Mercabarna, Novartis, AENOR and ISDIN.
The ninth edition of One Day Compliance BCN once again highlighted the consolidation of compliance as a strategic function within organisations and reinforced the shared commitment between academia and the professional sector to promote more responsible, transparent and sustainable business models.
