When reviewing charge-offs, what is a compliance officer primarily responsible for?

In the context of charge-offs, the primary responsibility of a compliance officer centers around identifying internal control weaknesses. This role is crucial because internal controls are designed to prevent and detect potential issues related to financial practices, including charge-offs. A compliance officer ensures that the organization's processes adhere to regulatory standards and internal policies. By focusing on internal controls, the compliance officer plays a key role in safeguarding the integrity of financial reporting and minimizing risks associated with charge-offs.

While assessing customer repayment capacity and setting repayment schedules are important aspects of managing charge-offs, these functions typically fall under the purview of credit risk managers or collection departments rather than compliance. The compliance officer's main focus is ensuring that the system's controls are robust enough to mitigate risks tied to charge-offs, which includes making sure that policies are being followed and that there are no gaps that could inadvertently lead to financial loss or regulatory issues. Therefore, identifying internal control weaknesses aligns most closely with the compliance officer's responsibilities in this scenario.