The concept of independence does not mean that the compliance function cannot work closely with management and staff in the various business units. Indeed, a co-operative working relationship between compliance function and business units should help to identify and manage compliance risks at an early stage. Rather, the various elements described above should be viewed as safeguards to help ensure the effectiveness of the compliance function, notwithstanding the close working relationship between the compliance function and the business units. The way in which the safeguards are implemented will depend to some extent on the specific responsibilities of individual compliance function staff.