Category: General

7 Sep, 2022

U.S. Sentencing Commission Report: Corporate Prosecutions Decline and Ethics and Compliance Programs Increase

The proper balance in corporate prosecutions remains a tricky issue. On the one hand, many argue that large fines and penalties against corporations are needed to deter criminal conduct, while others contend that shareholders bear the brunt of such penalties while corporate actors escape punishment. In the most cynical sense, some argue that corporate fines are simply the cost of doing business. The pendulum swings...

General

6 Sep, 2022

Justice Department Announces FCPA Charges Against Two Individuals for Bribery of Marshall Islands Officials

The Justice Department announced the indictment in New York of Cary Yan, a Chinese entrepreneur, and Gina Zhou, his assistant, on FCPA and money laundering charges relating to a scheme to secure control of an atoll owned by the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). Yan and Zhou paid bribes to elected officials in the RMI in exchange for passing specific legislation. Yan and Zhou...

General

31 Aug, 2022

SEC Modifies Whistleblower Regulations

The SEC has a long list of priorities and a full agenda. One issue on its list was to address changes needed to the SEC’s whistleblower program. The SEC’s whistleblower program has been a success. It was adopted as part of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010. Since then, it has resulted in significant enforcement actions and large payouts to whistleblowers. Like any other program, the...

General

30 Aug, 2022

SEC’s Climate and Cyber Regulations Increase Compliance and Enforcement Risks (Part II of II)

You know companies face a new and aggressive enforcement regime when shorthand terms, such as “greenwashing,” are adopted prior to the implementation of comprehensive regulations governing disclosure of climate change issues and cyber-incidents. When these new regulations are adopted, companies will have to develop robust procedures for identifying potential violations of internal reporting and disclosure controls. This will be a difficult process. Along with the...

General

29 Aug, 2022

SEC Poised to Implement Complex Disclosure Obligations (Part I of II)

The Securities and Exchange Commission is quickly raising the stakes for global companies. Along with these new regulatory requirements, the risk of enforcement multiply, especially when it comes to corporate disclosure requirements. The risks in these areas will become complex and require a comprehensive system for identifying and escalating issues for consistent review and disclosure decisions. Climate Change Disclosures Let’s start with the new climate...

General

26 Aug, 2022

Michael Volkov Featured on Diligent’s Corporate Director Podcast

This week, I was honored to appear on Diligent’s The Corporate Director Podcast to discuss corporate ethics, corporate boards and compliance. You can access the episode HERE. Thank you to the wonderful people at Diligent for the opportunity.

General

24 Aug, 2022

Tracking Ethics and Compliance Program Performance (Part II of II)

Chief compliance officers rely on several important sources for feedback — internal data and communications (reviews with board, senior managers, employees); and benchmarking against comparable organizations. An internal compliance dashboard is an important part of this feedback loop and brings consistency to measurement and trend analysis. Policies and Procedures: Assuming that the organization has adopted a policy management program (often using an automated program), for...

General

23 Aug, 2022

Building a Compliance Dashboard (Part I of II)

This is a topic that every compliance professional has to address in one form or another. Chief compliance officers are so busy that they often cannot even take the time to tackle this difficult issue. This is a real practical issue of importance. Just to define terms and the focus of this blog posting — we have to define the issues and purposes of the...

General

22 Aug, 2022

New York’s Department of Financial Services Proposes New Cyber Compliance Requirements

The New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) has proposed rule changes to increase cyber compliance requirements. DFS has been the leading regulatory force in the cybersecurity industry. DFS first issued comprehensive cybersecurity rules in March 2017. Many other regulators and international organizations have adopted many of these regulations as best practices for cybersecurity requirements. The proposed rules would impose some significant requirements, including: Expansion...