In the immortal words of Goethe, “To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.” In my experience, I would add to have experienced Sicily is to understand one’s own heart and soul. On this Fourth of July holiday, it is helpful to focus on gratitude and thankfulness. In these turbulent...
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ― George Bernard Shaw With a new administration at the Department of Justice, practitioners and commentators are looking for signs of change. Given the current politics of the new administration, the Justice Department will undergo changes in civil rights, antitrust, and criminal enforcement. These “new” or return to old policy announcements were not surprising since they went hand-in-hand...
Chief compliance officers spend a significant amount of time comparing their compliance programs with other companies’ programs. CCOs often find solace when benchmarking their respective programs against other companies’ programs. I often refer to “benchmarking” as a process designed to reduce anxiety. CCOs need feedback on their efforts. CCOs want to know where they stand and develop priorities for initiatives. So where should CCOs turn?...
Honesty is the best policy – when there is money in it. – Mark Twain Compliance professionals encounter a diverse range of corporate personalities in their work. To be sure, compliance officers have to rely on their abilities to analyze, lead, persuade, understand and motivate different functions in a company to contribute to the company’s ethics and compliance function. In doing so, compliance officers have...
I recently wrote an article for Corporate Compliance Insights, “Top 5 Mistakes Chief Compliance Officers Make (And How to Avoid Them). Here is a link to the article. Thank you to Corporate Compliance Insights for its support!!
Tom Fox and I recorded a recent discussion on blockchain technology and compliance. Here is a link to the recording. Tom and I share the belief that blockchain technology could have a significant impact on compliance strategies.
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 in the headlines. Wells Fargo has been caught in another scandal just when it was thought to be dealing with the sales incentives scandal. Many high-profile companies are facing difficulties, usually self-inflicted from...
The compliance profession is enjoying its moment of triumph. Chief compliance officers are earning substantial salaries and rewarded with high-level positions in the C-Suite and significant influence. CCOs are the hot commodities in the in the corporate governance world. It is an intoxicating time for compliance professionals. In this environment, CCOs have to be wary. CEOs and other corporate leaders know how to talk the...
If you give a Chief Compliance Officer truth serum and ask him/her whether they believe a risk assessment is valuable, what do you think the CCO say? Let’s start with the cynical side – not that I am a pessimist. Many CCOs will candidly tell you that a risk assessment provides them with a colorful and expensive report on the company’s risks that contains no...
We all know it when we see it – a company with a weak corporate culture of ethics and compliance. Many companies claim they have an ethical culture but few really do. With increasing emphasis and understanding of the tangible benefits of an ethical culture, companies are striving to achieve such a goal. Unfortunately, there is no single solution to companies that want to establish...
