People are getting confused. A company’s ethical culture is not a touchy-feely concept that makes everyone warm and cozy all over. At the same time, compliance controls are not hard and fast rules that are mechanically...more
There has been so much attention paid to due diligence. We have reams and reams of articles highlighting the importance of due diligence. In addition, numerous vendors of due diligence services and technologies fill the...more
9/7/2017
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
Ethics ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
If you are a fan of Simon Sinek, you will understand and probably agree with the thrust of this posting. Sinek is a great motivational and business speaker. Many of his observations are spot-on and I would urge you to review...more
Ethical culture is the flavor of the year these days. We are seeing more postings and articles about the importance of ethical culture, and even pushing the idea of measuring and monitoring culture....more
One of several difficult compliance questions facing companies revolves around reporting of employee concerns. If the number of complaints coming in on a company hotline goes down over time, is corporate misconduct going down...more
In our perpetual quest for simplicity, sometimes we fail to understand the complexity of an issue. In the corporate world, if you ask board members and CEOs how they would define a compliance program ”failure,” I am sure...more
Compliance practitioners divide their commentary and insights into two general categories – ethical culture and compliance controls. It is easy to divide compliance issues into these two categories. Ethical culture articles...more
For some reason, I have always believed that picking successful stocks should not be very difficult. Unfortunately, my record in the stock market does not back up my self-assessment.
On the other hand, when it comes to...more
The business headlines are filled with the latest corporate scandal – Uber’s defective culture, CEO misconduct and reprehensible comments by supervising board members. Uber is just one of several significant companies caught...more
Compliance professionals are riding high. They are the darlings of the corporate governance world, commanding higher salaries, C-Suite positions with access to senior leadership and the board, and an empowered position within...more
We all know the scenario. A corporate scandal breaks, heads will roll and criminal investigators have invaded a company to investigate and prosecute the CEO, senior executives and others. It is a toxic environment when this...more
If you want a reliable indication of a company’s culture, just look at how the company treats employee concerns and whistleblowers. Recent events have highlighted serious failures on the part of major companies to address...more
No one was really surprised when Kenneth Blanco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, US Department of Justice, announced last week that DOJ was planning to continue the FCPA Pilot Program past April...more
In an unusual move, the Justice Department issued an important document in the dead of night – Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.
We have no explanation from the Justice Department for the issuance of this...more
As we look across the corporate governance landscape and focus on the spikes of corporate scandals, I started to wonder if there was any pattern or trend to the nature of corporate scandals....more
1/25/2017
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Motors ,
Internal Controls ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities ,
Takata ,
VimpelCom ,
Volkswagen ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes
When unraveling a major corporate scandal, especially multi-year schemes involving senior executives, the blame game or lessons learned approach can easily turn into a fruitless exercise.
The VA and Takata scandals are...more
1/23/2017
/ Airbags ,
Automobile Recall ,
Automotive Industry ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Design Defects ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Product Recalls ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safety Standards ,
Self-Reporting ,
Takata ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud ,
Yates Memorandum
In my continuing review of corporate misconduct in the automobile industry, today we examine the Takata Corporation scandal for its airbag scheme.
Takata is a manufacturer and supplier of automotive safety equipment. It...more
1/20/2017
/ Airbags ,
Automobile Recall ,
Automotive Industry ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Design Defects ,
Product Recalls ,
Safety Standards ,
Takata ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
Corporate misconduct occurs in a variety of forms. Starting with the basic truism – companies act through people, and when companies engage in misconduct it requires the coordination and collaboration of multiple actors. The...more
1/19/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
There is no question that the Justice Department has raised compliance program expectations in a number of areas. Whatever you may think about the efficacy or fairness of the FCPA Pilot Program, the Justice Department has...more
11/30/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Embraer ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Penalties ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
White Collar Crimes
A number of recent FCPA enforcement actions have cited common compliance program failures relating to internal investigations. For example, PTC settled FCPA charges with the DOJ and SEC for $28 million. According to the...more
In a speech last week, Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell touted the success of the FCPA Pilot Program.
AAG Caldwell outlined the success of the FCPA enforcement program, listing many of the...more
11/7/2016
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Individual Accountability ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
The corporate compliance function is only as successful as its partnerships with key internal constituencies. Depending on the company and the personnel involved, compliance has to establish and maintain effective working...more
9/29/2016
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Code of Conduct ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cybersecurity ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Ethics ,
Export Controls ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Internal Investigations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Management
What does it take (or not take) to be a con artist and/or a white collar criminal? Do not kid yourself — white collar criminals can be “dangerous,” in that they usually suffer from significant personality disorders. Many are...more
Perhaps the most positive and important aspect of the FCPA Pilot Program was the announcement of forward-looking and innovative remediation requirements for corporate compliance programs.
As an aside, DOJ’s FCPA Pilot...more
Let’s start with a big “If.” I know that sounds like a real turn off but bear with me.
Assuming that the Justice Department is ready to turn over a new approach to criminal enforcement and aggressively prosecute culpable...more