We all know about the high-profile scandals that lawyers and compliance officers point to as examples of weak to non-existent ethical corporate cultures. ...more
Corporate boards all want to believe that their companies maintain an ethical culture. Each board members knows the right words, platitudes and buzz words to use. No one can fault them there. But like every issue in life,...more
I guarantee you if you ask your corporate board to define “ethical culture” and “compliance,” and their actual day-to-day responsibilities in this area, you will quickly realize most board members have no clue. ...more
Frankly, I have to admit my reaction to the recent Business Roundtable’s issuance of a new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, which was signed by 181 CEOs who committed to lead their companies for the benefit of all...more
We all know the phrase – “A fish rots from its head.” A perfectly accurate statement as to how corporate culture can suffer from leadership failures or C-Suite misconduct. But there is much more to corporate culture than...more
I have long predicted that corporate board members are in for a rude awakening. Corporate boards have to improve their ability and knowledge surrounding supervision and monitoring of a company’s ethics and compliance...more
8/7/2019
/ Blue Bell Creameries ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Bribery ,
Caremark claim ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Monitoring ,
Corruption ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Derivative Suit ,
Ethics ,
Failure to Comply ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Food Contamination ,
Risk Management ,
White Collar Crimes
I tend to repeat myself and when it comes to corporate cultured and ethics, I admit it. A company without an ethical culture, or at least a commitment to an ethical culture, will be unable to achieve an effective ethics and...more
In yet another major compliance development, the Justice Department announced the adoption of a new policy to credit effective compliance programs in resolving criminal cartel prosecutions against corporations....more
7/16/2019
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cartels ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Leniency Programs ,
White Collar Crimes
NAVEX Global recently released an important compliance report – 2019 Definitive Corporate Compliance Benchmarking Report. NAVEX’s report contains a number of interesting findings and brings together several current...more
7/10/2019
/ Benchmarks ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Management ,
Corruption ,
Data Privacy ,
Ethics ,
Internal Controls ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Harassment ,
White Collar Crimes
Sometimes what folks label a “new idea” is not so much of a new idea as the application of an old solution to a new discipline. I do not mean to be cryptic, but I am going to explain my point by referring to an area where I...more
6/21/2019
/ Analytics ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Monitoring ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Data Management ,
FBI ,
Innovative Technology ,
Internal Controls ,
Law Enforcement ,
White Collar Crimes
Bob Dylan, Watch the River FlowI have to admit it – I still love to listen to Bob Dylan. With age, his lyrics resonate more and more. HERE is a nice version of Watch the River Flow in case you want to listen while reading...more
6/19/2019
/ Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Safe Harbors ,
White Collar Crimes
An audit program of a company’s internal investigation function provides valuable insights for its internal investigation program and the company’s overall ethics and compliance program. It is a critical part of ensuring...more
In the compliance idea marketplace, there has been an increased focus on the importance of maintaining an organization’s speak up culture and the importance of a reliable and efficient internal investigation program....more
With the growth of the compliance profession and the importance of compliance functions as part of corporate governance, there has been a significant increase in the quantity and quality of compliance studies and surveys. ...more
People are good at convincing themselves that everything is okay, despite troubling indications. Sometimes it is easier to ignore warning signs than to face the harsh reality....more
Company managers are the lynchpin of a corporate compliance program. Without belaboring the Tinkers to Evers to Chance baseball analogy, a corporate culture of compliance requires an important information and accountability...more
We all like to believe in straight-forward and consistent trends and developments. For example, compliance programs are improving, budgets are increasing, and CCOs are embracing new technologies. Everything is just rosy...more
The final issue discussed in the new DOJ Corporate Compliance Guidance is the assessment of whether a company’s compliance program is working – at the time of the offense and at the time of the resolution of an enforcement...more
Part 1 of the Corporate Compliance Guidance addresses the following elements of a well-designed compliance program: risk assessment, policies and procedures, training and communications, confidential reporting structure and...more
5/3/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Officers ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Assessment ,
Senior Managers
The Justice Department’s new Corporate Compliance Guidance is keyed to the concept of a “well-designed compliance program.” Under this concept, we first examined risk assessments and policies and procedures. ...more
5/3/2019
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Training ,
Internal Communications ,
Internal Controls ,
Internal Investigations ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party ,
White Collar Crimes
In a major development in ethics and compliance program expectations, the Justice Department has issued a new and important revised guidance on the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs....more
5/2/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Officers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directors ,
Ethics ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Assessment ,
Senior Managers
It is always easy to second-guess or look back with 20-20 hindsight on a compliance breakdown and point out all the problems that were ignored or created by corporate actors. There are common factual scenarios that recur in...more
4/9/2019
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Integrity Policies ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Internal Controls ,
Regulatory Standards ,
White Collar Crimes
And now we return to a familiar theme with some important updates – I always start with the simple proposition: ethical companies perform better over the long run; that does not mean that ethical companies will always be...more
There is nothing training cannot do. Nothing is above its reach. It can turn bad morals to good; it can destroy bad principles and recreate good ones; it can lift men to ‘angel ship. – Mark Twain...more
The MTS FCPA enforcement action stands as one of several significant prosecutions in FCPA history. The breadth and depth of MTS’ corruption scheme stands as another example of systemic bribery cultures. The details of the...more
3/14/2019
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Internal Controls ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Telecommunications ,
Uzbekistan ,
VimpelCom ,
White Collar Crimes