The ESG movement presents numerous opportunities for organizations to promote and improve overall performance.  By injecting the important focus on “sustainability,” organizations can take a broader view of their respective corporate missions to advance numerous objectives, including the financial bottom line. Under “traditional” economic analysis (e.g. Milton Friedman and a shareholder-interests only), a corporation’s sole mission was to increase shareholder value.  The market rules and...

Chief compliance officers have a difficult job (to say the least).  If everything goes well, they are hailed as heroes.  If a major problem occurs, everyone looks to the CCO to find out why the problem occurred.  In the latter situation, the implicit message to CCOs is “why didn’t you prevent this problem, I thought you were supposed to prevent this.”  This reflects a fundamental...

One of my favorite New Year postings is under the title of “Person” of the Year. In the past, I have singled out the Chief Compliance Officers, Chief Ethics Officers, Prosecutors, and Whistleblowers. For 2021, the choice is obvious – the most important trend is the rise of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) programs.  In second place, I would choose Supply Chain Management and Risks,...

Webinar: Policy Management, Governance and Leveraging Your Culture of Compliance June 16, 2021, 2 PM EST SIGN UP HERE Companies today face increasing pressure to build effective ethics and compliance programs as part of an overall governance structure. Investors, activists and key stakeholders are pushing for transformative reforms built around environmental, social and governance principles. An essential part of this initiative is a well-designed policy...

There is no doubt that corporate boards operate under greater scrutiny. The trend is clearly to hold boards and individual members accountable. But this is not the result of government prosecution; rather, this trend reflects increased regulation and changes in investor and shareholder efforts to monitor corporate boards and CEOs. As corporate boards assume greater responsibility for supervision and monitoring of company activities, they have...

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony – Mahatma Gandhi Happiness is an elusive concept – for some. For others who may be more enlightened or lived for years, happiness is a feeling that can be attained by commitment, determination and awareness.  My keys to happiness are love, gratitude and empathy. Some people are “content” being...

You know a company’s culture is suffering when you hear the CEO or senior executives say the best way to develop a “Speak Up” culture is to just tell all the employees “we want to hear from you.” I am an advocate for simplicity but sometimes simplicity can slip into stupidity. A “Speak Up” culture requires a commitment to a number of important principles and...

If your company is big enough and has the resources to consider establishing an internal ombudsman’s function, consider yourself lucky. When compliance professionals and lawyers use the term “ombudsman,” it is important to define how the term is being used. The most effective model for an ombudsman is the creation of an entire independent investigation and resolution function within a company. In this model, the...

The Volkswagen scandal will be studied for years. One of many themes from the Volkswagen scandal will rest on the complete absence of any commitment to corporate governance. Volkswagen’s weird corporate structure (it is owned in large part by  a family) and labor and government interests resulted in a mish-mosh of influences that permitted the family to exercise almost unbridled control over corporate functions, leaving...