Who are we?

Certainty Compliance designs compliance systems that genuinely work. Our team of compliance specialists bring together many years of practical experience gained designing and implementing compliance systems in Australia and internationally.

What we are not

We are not lawyers who will simply hand over a pile of pro-forma documents or an opinion, then leave you to fend for yourselves.

We are not software vendors or publishers selling software tools that you have to implement yourself.

We are not trainers who deliver hours of words rather than understanding and competence.

What we are

We are a team of professionals who have run financial services businesses themselves and understand the practical difficulties of ensuring compliance. Our people come from a variety of financial services backgrounds including funds management, investment banking, broking, consulting and legal.

Our team includes people with experience in strategy and business management, finance, risk management, legal and compliance, sales management, change management, training and assessment. We are the people who can make compliance second nature to your business. So who are we?

Michelle East, Director

Michelle East established Certainty Compliance in 2007, building on extensive financial industry experience including 15 years work in compliance and risk management. She established her consulting practice in 1998, and co-founded Emergence Consulting in 2004 to provide specialist compliance services to support companies affected by the new FSR regime. She has helped funds managers, advisors and brokers, derivatives dealers and electricity market participants set up new businesses, obtain appropriate licences and grow into successful and compliant businesses.

Prior to this, Michelle worked across the spectrum of financial services, from private clients, funds management, financial markets and treasury, investment banking to property finance and a wide range of functional roles (strategy and project management, dealing and sales, risk management, operations and accounting).

Her strengths lie in the risk governance, performance and ‘change management’ side of effective compliance. She has a special interest in new financial markets (electricity, energy, carbon trading etc) and innovative funds management (hedge funds, derivatives, property).

Michelle is an economics and finance graduate of the University of Technology, Sydney, a management post-graduate of AGSM, Sydney and is completing a Juris Doctor. She is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Australasian Compliance Institute, and Global Association of Risk Management Professionals.

Michelle has also made considerable contribution to policy development and industry standards through her work with AFMA and other industry bodies.

Rob van Veenendaal, Senior Consultant

Rob van Veenendaal is a funds management operations expert, with over 18 years industry experience. He has held senior positions with GoldLink Capital Asset Management, CIBC World Markets Australia, UBS Australia and Billiton Australia.

Rob has a diverse background and started his career with commodities marketing and trading with a Billiton, then based in the Netherlands, which sent him to Australia (Melbourne) in 1993. He then joined UBS in their Sydney commodities department, and was some years later hired by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) to set up a financial products desk in Sydney. Rob then joined GoldLink Capital, a start up commodities fund manager in 2002 and as Chief Operating Officer helped grow this business into a group with over 10 employees managing two listed investment companies and a separate Responsible Entity.

He specialises in all aspects of AFS licensing and fund set-up, including ongoing requirements, compliance, marketing, outsourcing and improving general operating procedures. His operations experience includes IT, training and all back office procedures.

Rob’s qualifications include a Diploma of Financial Services (AFMA), Diploma of Financial Markets (SIA), and the AICD Company Directors Course Diploma. He has a Masters degree from the Business School of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He is a Senior Associate of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, and Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Nicola Grace, Senior Consultant

Nicola Grace is a senior project management executive with an outstanding track record of project delivery. She has worked for a number of large financial services organisations, both in Australia and the United Kingdom including IBM and Direct Line Insurance Group (a Royal Bank of Scotland subsidiary).

Nicola has delivered numerous large complex business engineering projects from conceptualisation, through design into delivery and training of users. Critical to the success of these projects has been clarification of strategic issues, such as recalculating risk exposure, and bridging the gap between business need and IT implementation. On time and on budget delivery has been dependant on Nicola’s ability to control project scope and timescale.

Experienced in the delivery of significant projects in short timescales with limited resources, Nicola’s strengths lie in communications, people management and motivation, budgeting and cost control, change management, corporate strategy and policy.

Nicola has various computer and management qualifications and has recently completed units in current technologies with the University of New England.

Jeremy Danon, Senior Consultant

Jeremy is an experienced compliance professional with a strong background in financial services. He has held senior compliance roles at the SFE and Fortis Clearing Sydney as well as accounting roles during the past 17 years.

Jeremy’s strengths lie in ASX and SFE policy and procedure development, and he has assisted many organisations comply with all aspects of their ASX Participation and AFS licence conditions, industry standards and relevant legislation and regulations. Areas that he specialises in include conducting assessments of compliance with licence requirements, compliance health checks, preparation for regulation visits, and project managed remedial action.

During his time at the SFE, Jeremy conducted numerous investigations and routine audits of SFE and New Zealand Futures and Options Exchange Participants, investigating complaints made against Participants and preparing reports for disciplinary action. This brings valuable behind the scenes experience from a regulatory perspective.

Jeremy’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from the University of Technology, Sydney and he has recently completed a Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance. He is also a Practitioner Member of the Stockbrokers Association of Australia (Master Stockbroking), a member of Chartered Secretaries Australia and a member of CPA Australia.

Richard Ang, Senior Consultant

Richard Ang is a banking and finance professional with an accounting and strong compliance background. He has sound knowledge of the financial markets and investment products gained from over a decade of multifaceted roles within the financial services sector.

Richard has held various positions of trust and has been managing and advising investment solutions to high net worth individuals over the last decade at BT Financial Group, Rothchild Australia Asset Management, Westpac, State Street Australia Ltd and more recently at Merrill Lynch & Co.

He brings with him a wealth of private banking and investment management experience. He has a proven track record of client relationship management and has knowledge and experience of trading securities and derivatives on major exchanges globally.

Richard’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Economics, majoring in accounting from Sydney University. He is also an ASX accredited Derivatives Adviser (ADA level 1), a Fellow of Financial Services Institute of Australasia (F Fin) and a member of CPA Australia.

Willow Forsyth, Senior Consultant

Willow Forsyth established her consulting practice, Willow Consult, in 2001. Originally graduating as a geologist, she immediately entered the world of banking at a time when the Australian resources boom demanded banks offer more innovative financing structures. Over a period of 15 years she rose from being a research analyst, through project finance to head of strategy of Westpac’s institutional bank.

In her work in the banking sector and in her consulting practice, Willow has undertaken research, investment and strategy analysis across the financial services, health care, resources, mining contracting, property, education, child care, not-for-profit, and retail sectors. Her strengths lie in the fields of strategy (and implementation), market research and analysis, business and operational planning, and commercial deal structuring (including negotiation / documentation). She has a special interest in the funds management and financial planning sector (she runs her own superannuation fund), board performance and ‘disruptor’ business start-up and growth strategies.

Willow is a graduate of the University of Sydney, Securities Institute of Australia and a prize-winner and graduate of Institute of Management Development (IMD), University of Lausanne, Switzerland. She is a Graduate Member of the Institute of Company Directors. Willow’s pro bono work includes strategic advice, coaching support and business planning assistance for a number of small family run businesses that operate within her local community.

Stafford Gallagher, Consultant

Stafford Gallagher is a financial services professional who has over 5 years experience dealing in both a front and back office environment.

Stafford has a strong background in relationship management. His strengths lie in project management where he has delivered projects from handover from the Business Development Manager through to the full implementation of the project. Projects vary from client to client but performance was measured through the delivery of trading systems to the client through IT implementation, the training of systems to clients and marketing. Stafford has a proven track record of delivering these implementations both on time and on budget.

His strengths also lie in people management, motivation and leadership, strategy and policy. Stafford also believes strongly in commitment to getting the job done. He also delivers compliance training to clients and fostered a culture of compliance such that it became second nature.

Stafford has over 10 years experience and knowledge of trading securities and derivatives and has excellent knowledge of execution of trades through to clearing and settlement. Product knowledge includes equities, foreign exchange, money market, ETO’s and OTC derivatives including contracts for difference. Stafford also has extensive knowledge of IRESS products including Net IRESS and Web IRESS.

Stafford holds a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Economics and Finance, from the University of Sydney.

Jennifer Gal, Research Analyst

Jennifer Gal is a research analyst and information specialist. Her work in both the legal and accounting services industries has focused on providing business intelligence research as well as reference services for legal and accounting practitioners.

After graduating with a degree and diploma in education she worked as a high school teacher for 5 years. Before re-training as a librarian. Her work since has regularly seen her conduct research projects, create and deliver training materials, and manage corporate clients undertaking forensic due diligence, and assisting with the management of a whistleblower hotline service.

Her strengths lie in training, use of research tools and applications, effective information searching, and client relationship management.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts, an associate diploma in applied science (library and information management) and a graduate diploma in education.