2019 was a big year for ethics and compliance. In fact, it is easy to argue that since the adoption of the compliance provisions in the US Sentencing Guidelines in 1991, compliance had its biggest year....more
1/14/2020
/ Analytics ,
Automation Systems ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Innovative Technology ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Speak-up Cultures ,
Strategic Planning
Corporate leaders often talk to the talk when it comes to a Speak Up culture. In theory, many business leaders can articulate their commitment to a Speak Up culture by emphasizing the importance of employees raising...more
1/10/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
BP ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Ethics ,
Internal Reporting ,
Oil & Gas ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Speak-up Cultures ,
Supervisory Guidance ,
Tone At The Top ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
In a record year, there are bound to be numerous interesting enforcement actions and principles. I picked out a few to highlight....more
1/8/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Cell Phones ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ericsson ,
Ethics ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fresenius ,
Indictments ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Telecommunications ,
Wal-Mart ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wireless Industry
Corporate cultures do not operate in a silo or free from external influences.
Yet again, another profound grasp of the obvious. Employees, managers and senior leadership all bring their own experiences, perspectives,...more
12/12/2019
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Political Expression ,
Risk Management ,
Tone At The Top
On October 1, 2019, in In re Clovis Oncology, Inc. Derivative Litigation, a Delaware Chancery Court denied a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims under the Caremark decision against individual directors for failing to...more
10/22/2019
/ Biotechnology ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Capital Raising ,
Caremark claim ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Monitoring ,
Corruption ,
Derivative Complaint ,
Drug Design ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Efficacy Claims ,
Ethics ,
Failure to Monitor ,
FDA Approval ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Good Faith ,
Life Sciences ,
Nonperformance ,
Oversight Duties ,
Personal Liability ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
White Collar Crimes
Without belaboring all the feel good and esoteric discussion surrounding societal ethics and applying these concepts to business ethics, I would suggest that we focus on the term “business ethics” by focusing on the concept...more
The twist and turns of our political world amid the ongoing controversy surrounding whistleblower reporting has focused attention on an important issue – encouraging whistleblowers as part of a speak up culture and...more
Most compliance programs include some form of internal compliance committee separate from the company’s audit committee. An internal compliance committee can play a very important role in advancing a compliance program....more
We all are living in an era of rapid technological development – everyone understands that basic point. Even in a small way, we can observe the impact in ethics and compliance. Start with the simple transition from “paper”...more
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
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
OFAC’s new framework guidance for sanctions compliance programs stretched into new territory with its risk assessment requirement. This new approach reflects OFAC’s recent aggressive enforcement programs....more
If you follow my blog, you know I am not one to embrace hyperbole. So, forgive me for stretching a little here, but the OFAC Framework for Sanctions Compliance Programs is a game changer. Let me explain why I am saying...more
As an initial step, an audit of an internal investigation program requires a detailed understanding of the operation of a company’s 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
While I hate to start out a posting with such “mumbo jumbo” terms, I had to come up with short hand descriptions of some otherwise fairly complex and robust topics under the new DOJ Guidance....more
5/7/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
New Guidance ,
Performance Incentives ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Senior Managers
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