Category: General

14 Jun, 2017

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back – Mixed Bag of Compliance Progress

Companies are embracing the value of compliance and ethics. Interestingly, companies are implementing robust compliance programs, and enhancing such programs with a focus on ethical business values and decision-making. These are welcome signs of improvement and underscore the continued growth of compliance and ethics strategies as a basic part of corporate governance frameworks. A recent survey conducted by Ethisphere and Convercent, 2017 Ethics and Compliance...

General

13 Jun, 2017

The Challenge of Auditing and Monitoring Your Distributors

Whether you are in the high-tech industry and managing your channel partners (i.e. third-party distribution network), the pharmaceutical and medical device industry managing a complex network of distributors and sub-distributors, or any other industry relying on third-party distributors, chief compliance officers face a number of challenges managing and mitigating risks. To state the obvious, a company relying on distributors, by definition, has less control over...

General

11 Jun, 2017

Blockchain and the Future of Compliance

At a recent conference of the high-tech industry, an IBM representative provided a fascinating presentation on blockchain technology and the application to compliance programs. It was a fascinating presentation. Maybe I cam coming to the party relatively late, but blockchain technology, as it gain acceptance in the marketplace, could have a real significant impact on compliance functions. Aside from compliance applications, blockchain could have significant...

General

7 Jun, 2017

CCOs: The Importance of Documenting a Compliance Program

Tom Fox (here) frequently reminds every one of the importance of documentation to the integrity of a compliance program. A compliance program is only as good as the documents show. This principle is especially critical when a company has to respond to a regulatory inquiry or to an enforcement action. As we anticipate the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey in our current national...

General

4 Jun, 2017

A CCO’s Challenge: How to Convince a CEO to Embrace Compliance

A Chief Compliance Officer faces many challenges in designing and implementing an effective ethics and compliance program. If a CCO conducts appropriate due diligence before joining the company, he will know the challenges he is facing. All too often, I hear of CCOs who join a company based on numerous promises and representations by the CEO, the board and senior managers about the importance of...

General

1 Jun, 2017

Ensuring Compliance with Controls

Let’s start with some basics – a public company is required to implement a set of internal controls. A compliance program is a critical part of a company’s internal controls. A company’s compliance program is only as effective as its board, executives, managers and employees adhere to the compliance policies and procedures. If a company’s constituents do not comply with the compliance program and policies,...

General

30 May, 2017

Promoting an Ethical Culture — Actions Not Just Words

With an increasing focus on the value of an ethical culture, I have been reading more about chief ethics officers, the separation of ethics and compliance, and the traveling ethics officer who meets with employees to discuss ethics. Forgive me for being a contrarian but everyone is missing the point about an ethical culture. A company does not instill and promote an ethical culture by...

General

29 May, 2017

HCCA-OIG Resource Guide on Measuring Compliance Program Effectiveness

The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) jointly released a resource guide on measuring the effectiveness of a health care organization’s compliance program. A copy of the guide can be downloaded here. The resource guide was the product of a roundtable meeting of OIG staff and compliance professionals on January 17, 2017. The roundtable focused...