The Justice Department’s recent guidance on compliance programs, consisting of 110 separate questions, organized around specific compliance topics, has raised a number of interesting procedural and substantive issues. From an enforcement standpoint, how will DOJ prosecutors use the questions in negotiating FCPA enforcement settlements? The possible weight given to the factors will vary depending on a number of factors, including the nature and scope of...

In the wake of ever-constant business scandals (e.g. ZTE, VW, Takata, Odebrecht), chief compliance officers have to refresh their approach and strategy. Everyone agrees, or at least I think they should agree, that a company’s most effective control is its culture. For CCOs, selling the board and senior executives on this point should not be very hard. The research and common sense often come together...

I am proud to announce a new sponsor, Exiger, a well-known leader in governance, risk management and compliance services. Exiger assists organizations worldwide with practical advice and technology solutions to prevent compliance breaches, respond to risk, remediate major issues and monitor ongoing business activities. Exiger’s unique blend of industry expertise in financial crime compliance, diligence, and investigations uniquely positions Exiger to help organizations with actionable...

Here is a real zinger – clients sometimes do not tell their lawyers the truth. I will wait a minute while you get off the floor because I know everyone is shocked and amazed that this happens. But in the recent ZTE case, which we will discuss, the client company lied several times to its in-house and outside counsel resulting in false representations to the...

No one was really surprised when Kenneth Blanco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, US Department of Justice, announced last week that DOJ was planning to continue the FCPA Pilot Program past April 5, 2017, the scheduled expiration date. Blanco stated in a speech given at the annual White Collar Crime Conference: Before I conclude, I would be remiss if I did not...

We all enjoy an oxymoron, e.g., army intelligence, compassionate conservative. Some words go together and some do not. When it comes to compliance and private equity companies, you can predict with usual success that private equity and compliance do not fit. Sometimes simple statements turn out to be good explanations for a trend. When a private equity firm acquires a company, the focus is on...

Humans have an innate desire to complicate things. When it comes to ideas, professionals are no different – compliance consultants, lawyers, financial advisers and others enjoy solving complicated problems. Such an approach, however, does a disservice to clients and other professionals. Creating complications is not a sign of professional talent; rather, an effective consultant, attorney or financial adviser should be able to take complex issues,...

Assuming you made it through Part I of this two-part posting about internal controls, we need to consider a new approach to the design and implementation of internal controls. The first hurdle to overcome, as always, is acknowledgement that a new approach is needed. The CFO and the financial team will inevitable resist because this has long been an area where they are the experts,...

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have dedicated more time and energy to understanding a company’s internal controls and enforcing basic requirements that companies maintain effective internal controls. For prosecutors, companies often fall short when it comes to following their internal controls. If you follow my blog, you know that I have often predicted that DOJ will eventually prosecute criminally an individual...

Webinar: DOJ Issues New Compliance Evaluation Guidance Tuesday, March 21, 12 Noon Sign Up Here The Justice Department recently released an important list of questions used by prosecutors to evaluate corporate compliance programs.  The questions focus on important issues relating to a company’s tone-at-the-top, role of its Chief Compliance Officer, risk assessment, due diligence, training, investigations, and monitoring and audit functions. The Justice Department’s release...