Imagine you are conducting a routine review of a business process and you discover that a step is being performed in a way that violates an internal policy. What would you do?
RoleBusiness Analyst
DifficultyDifficult
TopicTechnical
Asked at
Why This Is Asked
This simulates a core responsibility: executing risk and compliance programs by monitoring processes and escalating issues. It tests your analytical skills, judgment, and ability to handle sensitive policy breaches without disrupting team dynamics.
General Approach
Use a methodical approach: contain the issue, document it, escalate to the right person, and propose a corrective action. Show you balance firmness on policy with respect for colleagues.
General Answer
Do not confront the person performing the step or assume malicious intent; first document exactly what you observed, the specific step, how it deviates from the documented policy, and how long it appears to have been happening, using neutral, factual language. Check whether this is an isolated instance or a broader pattern by looking at a few more cases or asking a process owner, not the individual involved, whether this is a known workaround, since sometimes a policy is being bypassed because it's impractical, which is itself useful information. Escalate to your manager or the designated risk or compliance contact rather than resolving it yourself, since policy violations often require a decision on remediation, disclosure, or corrective action beyond an individual analyst's authority. Propose a corrective action, either fixing the immediate instances or revisiting the policy if it's proving unworkable in practice, and follow up to confirm it was addressed. Throughout, keep the conversation focused on the process and the policy, not on blaming the colleague performing the step, since in many cases the deviation reflects a training gap or a broken process rather than misconduct.
PH Interview Gotcha
Avoid saying, 'Sinabi ko lang sa kanila na mali ginagawa nila, dapat sundin ang policy.' This sounds confrontational. Instead, demonstrate a collaborative and structured approach: 'I gathered evidence, set up a meeting, presented the gap and a solution, and offered training support.'
Sample STAR Answer▾
S
Situation
During an internship as a compliance analyst assistant, I was assigned to review the customer onboarding process for accuracy. While sampling forms, I noticed that the enhanced due diligence questionnaire for high-risk clients was often skipped because the team assumed the standard form was sufficient.
T
Task
I needed to address this policy violation without blaming colleagues, and to ensure the process was corrected immediately to prevent potential non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
A
Action
I documented the specific instances with timestamps and form IDs, then set up a meeting with my supervisor. I presented the evidence neutrally, explaining that the omission could lead to a regulatory gap. I proposed a temporary fix: a mandatory linked checklist in the system that would not allow finalization without the EDD form. I also offered to retrain the onboarding team on the correct procedure.
R
Result
My supervisor escalated the issue to the process owner, and the temporary checklist was implemented within a week. The long-term solution involved a system change to auto-trigger the EDD form for high-risk clients. The gap was closed, and a potential audit finding was avoided.
Key Takeaway
When you spot a policy gap, approach it as a process consultant, present facts and solutions, not accusations.
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