We need to start giving compliance a better foundation of basic knowledge, strategies and practical approaches. The compliance profession can adopt common solutions to problems for different companies. The fact that companies have their own distinct risk profiles and operations does not mean that they have to rely on distinct compliance solutions. No two companies are alike – that does not mean that the same...
We often hear the compliance refrain on the importance of tone-at-the-top – meaning when the board, the CEO and senior executives demonstrate by communications and by conduct their commitment to a culture of ethics and compliance. This single idea carries with it enormous importance to the success or failure of a compliance program. A positive tone-at-the-top permeates every aspect of a compliance program and specifically...
The Justice Department added to its roster of criminal FCPA defendants. Going back to 2017, it is clear that the Yates Memorandum requirements have resulted in an increase in criminal FCPA prosecutions. Last week, the Justice Department unsealed a superseding indictment adding two individuals to the Rolls Royce criminal FCPA case in Ohio. The criminal investigation centers on bribes to a Kazakh official to win...
The compliance profession cannot rest on its achievements and become complacent. There are two significant events that are on the horizon and inevitably will occur. Compliance professionals have grown in number and in influence. At the same time, compliance professionals are enjoying unprecedented independence and authority. As the compliance profession rises, however, so will accountability – fair or unfair, it is soon about to hit....
A chief compliance officer can only succeed with the support of other important compliance partners. Another way to put it – in the words of Blanche Dubois from A Streetcar Named Desire, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” This observation, while dramatic in license, applies to the place of the compliance officer in the corporate governance world. A key partner for compliance...
The fundamental principle of SEC’s market regulation is the power of sunshine, transparency and disclosure. In other words, the SEC seeks to ensure that companies disclose important information to the public so that securities markets operate efficiently. Whether the SEC has appropriately applied this principle in regulating the securities industry is a debate for another day. The SEC, however, has used this policy goal to...
We live in a bizarre time — an information age where lines are blurred between truth and lies — a strange era in which our daily doses of information are dominated by scandals, corruption, and repeated claims of “fake news.” One of the unfortunate consequences is that otherwise important issues often fade in competition with these ever-pervasive scandals. Please do not misunderstand me – the...
Tom Fox has been called the “Compliance Evangelist.” Whatever title may be given to Tom, one thing is for sure – Tom is a steady force, providing practical advice to advance the compliance function. To that end, Tom’s latest contribution is a new tome – The Complete Compliance Handbook: A Guide to Operationalizing Your Compliance Program. I recently received my autographed copy of Tom’s new...
Michael Volkov Quoted by ABC News: Michael Avenatti casts himself as anti-Trump avenger, May 16, 2018 HERE The inspector general of the Treasury Department is now investigating possible leaks of Suspicious Activity Reports, or SARs, from Cohen’s financial institutions. “Suspicious activity reports are confidential. They’re not allowed to be leaked,” said Michael Volkov, a white-collar defense lawyer who spent seventeen years as a federal prosecutor...
Corporate commitment to speak up cultures is suffering. The Ethics and Compliance Initiative’s recent Global National Business Ethics Survey (available HERE) contained a critical finding – corporate instances of retaliation against employee for raising concerns doubled in the last five years. In the 2013 survey, 22 percent of respondents reported instances of retaliation against employees. This number increased to an astounding 44 percent of respondents...
