Webinar: Is Your Company “At-Risk” for a Government Enforcement Action? Monday, August 7, 2017, 12 Noon EST Sign Up HERE A government investigation and enforcement action can have a devastating impact on a business.  Aside from the financial impact, companies can suffer significant reputational harm.  To detect and prevent potential misconduct, businesses are dedicating time and resources to design and implement an effective ethics and compliance program. As...

Sarbanes-Oxley revolutionized the auditing profession. Section 404 imposed stringent requirements for disclosure of the state of a company’s internal controls and financial reporting. The company’s independent auditor is required to report on the effectiveness of the company’s internal controls, and include bribery, theft and fraud. The requirements are intended to prevent a material misstatement of the company’s financial statements. The key term of art surrounding...

In a bizarre enforcement action, The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) assessed a $2 million civil monetary penalty against ExxonMobil (“Exxon”) for violations of the Ukraine sanctions. (Copy Here). OFAC’s enforcement action boiled down to Exxon’s execution of eight legal documents with Igor Sechin, the CEO of Rosneft OAO (“Rosneft”), who is a Specially Designated Nation and Blocked Person on what is...

For some reason, I have always believed that picking successful stocks should not be very difficult. Unfortunately, my record in the stock market does not back up my self-assessment. On the other hand, when it comes to compliance and corporate misconduct, I am confident about identifying and defining “at risk” companies. What is an “at-risk” company? An at-risk company is a company that suffers both...

As a former federal prosecutor, I noticed a renewed discussion of the important question of whether witness interviews should be recorded (either audio or video). I have always found this issue to be interesting and have welcomed discussion of the pros and cons of recording witness interviews. In this era of focus on prosecutorial misconduct, the issue has taken on greater importance. For example, in...

In these days of political turmoil, it is always important to know specific and relevant events from our country’s past. I was fascinated by the Watergate scandal and was enamored with the role played by prosecutors and Congressional investigations that eventually uncovered the full scope of President Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate burglary and cover-up. One of the more significant events, with continuing ramifications today,...

On June 28, 2017, Bureau van Dijk, a sponsor of my blog, conducted a webinar on the importance of beneficial ownership information to corporate compliance functions. The blog posting by Alistair King is here, and the replay of the important webinar is here. I have emphasized in a number of postings the importance of beneficial ownership information to compliance functions. It is not enough to...

It is easy to say something and convince yourself it is true. As George Costanza advised Jerry Seinfeld when Jerry had to take a polygraph examination when he failed to admit that he watched  “Melrose Place,” “Remember Jerry.  It’s  not a lie, if you believe it.” See Video Here. This statement from this Seinfeld episode (Season 6, Episode 16) reminds me of compliance professionals who...

Tom Fox, the Compliance Evangelist and Guru, has posted a new episode of Everything Compliance, a roundtable discussion led by Tom and including Matt Kelly, Jonathan Armstrong, Jay Rosen, and myself. During this episode, we discuss the Uber controversy, blockchain technology, GDPR, and FCPA enforcement trends and questions. Here is a link to the episode. Thanks to Tom, Matt, Jonathan, and Jay!

Compliance officers have a tough job. In most cases, they are overworked, under-resourced, and accountable for significant risks and issues. In the recent compliance vernacular, a CCO has to “operationalize” the company’s compliance program. That requires a CCO to go out and make friends inside the company. CCOs have “natural” friends – legal, internal audit, human resources, and security – which share many common objectives...