Given the turbulent times we live in, it is refreshing when we hear a corporate leader explain the importance of trust as a corporate value. Marc Benioff is the CEO at Salesforce who is aggressively pushing his company to...more
The compliance community is well aware of the risks in the C-Suite. As you move up the corporate ladder, the level of risk from executive misconduct increases. A rotten executive can quickly bring down a company, destroy...more
2/1/2018
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bribery ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
KPMG ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Och-Ziff ,
PCAOB ,
Rolls-Royce ,
Tone At The Top ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
The chief compliance officer is at an important professional juncture – 2018 is an important year for the profession. In this era of growth, and after corporate tax relief, companies have an opportunity to invest increased...more
We all enjoy citing government sources for guidance on an effective ethics and compliance program. Whether it is the United States Sentencing Guidelines, the Justice Department’s and SEC’s FCPA Guidance, Health and Human...more
When you look back on the rise of the ethics and compliance profession, you cannot ignore the history of accomplishments. It is easy to minimize these accomplishments as a reaction to the government’s aggressive FCPA...more
1/9/2018
/ Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Distributors ,
Ethics ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Agents ,
White Collar Crimes
A basic truism is – ethics and compliance reinforce each other. An ethical culture is an effective control against violations of law and a company’s code of conduct. Conversely, legal compliance promotes a company’s...more
The Justice Department’s new FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy has altered the balance between disclosure and non-disclosure of FCPA violations. How is that for a profound grasp of the obvious?...more
The Justice Department’s aggressive enforcement program, particularly in the FCPA arena, has been the primary impetus to the growth and empowerment of the corporate compliance function. The Justice Department and SEC’s FCPA...more
12/11/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Policy Statement ,
White Collar Crimes
I have always been struck by the “feel good” advocacy and advice from so-called ethics “experts.” Sure, it is great to talk about moral values, ethical principles, and other high-minded ideas that inspire an audience to...more
My final posting on this week’s ethics series is a call to action for all compliance professionals. Every compliance officer should insist on and embrace a title – “Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer.” Some larger...more
The challenge for corporations is to build practical approaches to business ethics and its specific corporate values. Business ethics as a field is all well and good but we need to start sharing specific and practical...more
Here is another profound grasp of the obvious – all companies need to make a profit.
However, as companies begin to focus on long-term performance rather than short-term quarterly objectives, innovative leaders believe...more
This week I am examining in a four-part series the issue of business ethics in an attempt to provide practical approaches to business ethics to help build and promote a company’s culture.
...more
An effective ethics and compliance program requires a careful assessment of risks and existing controls. In order to design and implement an effective program, a chief compliance officer has to identify and prioritize...more
Global companies need to actively work to prevent fraud and corruption. Fraud and corruption go hand-in-hand. To commit bribery, bad actors have to gain access to money for unauthorized (illegal) purposes. A failure to...more
11/8/2017
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Fraud ,
Corruption ,
COSO ,
Ethics ,
Financial Reporting ,
Internal Controls ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Transparency ,
White Collar Crimes
As we celebrate Ethics and Compliance Week in 2017, I wanted to offer my own assessment of where the compliance profession stands and the challenges facing the profession for the future....more
Human resources and compliance professionals share many common objectives and interests. They need to coordinate and operationalize their joint interests in a variety of ways....more
11/2/2017
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Management ,
Ethics ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Internal Controls ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Screening Procedures
Corporate boards need to devote more energy to oversight and improvement of corporate culture and compliance. Over the last ten years, we have witnessed corporate scandals and misconduct that could have been prevented or, at...more
10/24/2017
/ Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Management ,
Corruption ,
Employee Training ,
Ethics ,
Leadership ,
Risk Management ,
White Collar Crimes
In Part II of my continuing series, I identify in broad strokes some of the more significant positive and negative aspects of ISO 37001. While it is easy to second-guess the ISO 37001 authors, there are some interesting...more
10/17/2017
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Bribery ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Ethics ,
Internal Controls ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
White Collar Crimes
Lawyers get a bad rap, and I am not just referring to all the lawyer jokes we have heard numerous times. Lawyers get a bad rap when it comes to compliance. Much of it is not deserved – but candidly, some of it is deserved....more
Compliance officers have to avoid complicating a compliance program. As in many areas in life, there is a value in simplicity.
Take for example a compliance training presentation. If a compliance officer overwhelms his/her...more
It is always interesting to learn how companies handle specific compliance issues. Years ago, I could always tell when a compliance department was lacking in stature and independence in a company. Typically, I observed three...more
Instead of wrestling over the definition of an “effective” ethics and compliance program, let’s take a step back and define what we all agree on is an “ineffective” compliance program. Unfortunately, when you work in the real...more
Chief compliance officers have to throw out their template for charts, diagrams and data that they use to report to the Audit/Compliance Committee and start over. Slick and colorful charts and diagrams are great but CCOs are...more
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