Corporate boards face serious challenges – business disruption from the pandemic and a slowing global economy. Directors have to focus on these two issues for at least the next 12 months. But the issue plate contains other significant risks. Three out of five directors have identified cybersecurity as a significant risk along with the current crisis climate. The impact from a cyber-event is significant and...
Corporate board diversity continues to increase slowly – and I mean slowly. For United States companies, corporate boards are far behind their foreign counterparts. California has imposed a minimal requirement that every public company must reserve at least one board seat for a female director. Norway, Spain, France and Iceland have legal requirements that women comprise at least 40 percent of boards at public companies. ...
It is perhaps fitting that we are coming up on the one-year anniversary of the Business Roundtable’s Restatement of Corporate Purposes, which was signed by 181 corporate leaders and widely-praised for its expansion of corporate ethics and values. But I am sorry to say that not much has really changed. Some of this lack of action could be excused by the COVID-19 crisis and the...
OFAC has brought several significant enforcement actions in last two years that are described as the result of “screening errors.” These screening errors are sometimes described as the fault of sanctions screening software or human error. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews several OFAC enforcement cases stemming from screening errors, including Apple, Amazon, American Express and Cobham Metelics.
Change before you have to – Jack Welch The key to change . . . is to let go of fear – Rosanne Cash Corporations are slow to change. Unless forced by government prosecutors or regulators, companies inherently resist change, even when such changes can make a business more profitable. Corporate behavior often reflects individual human perceptions and conduct. Individuals are slow to change unless...
The European Union Whistleblower Protection Directive imposes a broad set of requirements – to Member States and EU companies. At the heart of the EU’s concern is to ensure that no employee (or business partner) should risk their job as a result of exposing corporate wrongdoing. Three-Tier Reporting System The EU Directive establishes a three-tiered reporting system. Tier-1 applies to corporate internal reporting systems; Tier-2...
Global companies face a number of challenges and a myriad of regulatory obligations. In December 2019, the EU adopted a directive to promote and protect persons who report violations of law. The EU Whistleblower Directive was adopted in response to a series of scandals that were reported by whistleblowers, including the Panama Papers and the Cambridge Analytica scandal. An EU-sponsored study in 2017 reported that...
World Acceptance Corporation (“WAC”), a US-based consumer loan company, agreed to pay the SEC $21.7 million for FCPA violations in Mexico. WAC’s cited violations covered the full gamut of FCPA violations, including bribery payments to government officials in Mexico, failure to keep accurate books and records and inadequate internal accounting controls. WAC engaged in an illegal scheme over a seven year period, from December 2010...
Companies do not operate in a vacuum. Political and social forces have a dramatic impact on individuals who in turn constitute a company’s workforce. We are witnessing significant political forces demanding justice for historical and engrained racism, sexism, injustice and discrimination. A significant majority of Americans have embraced the Black Life’s Matter movement and with that have demonstrated an increased demand for social justice. This...
Effective Management of Employee Reporting Systems August 12, 2020, Noon EST Sign Up Here. The compliance and ethics hotline represents one of the most integral tools available to a high-functioning Compliance Department. Companies that implement and properly manage their reporting hotlines create a more positive and robust organizational culture. In this webinar, Michael Volkov explains how to effectively manage your employee reporting system to create...
