Featured Articles:

Five Requirements for Organizational Justice

Ethical companies, by definition, have a robust system for internal organizational justice. A company that suffers from unequal treatment of similarly situated executives, managers, and employees cannot maintain an ethical culture. Unequal justice will undermine  employee morale, reporting of misconduct, and overall productivity rapidly. Cynicism breeds contempt, and there is nothing like employee discontent when it comes to the sustainability of corporate productivity. To ensure...

The SEC’s Year of FCPA Enforcement

Say what you will – the SEC is making its mark this year in FCPA enforcement. So far, the SEC has brought nine separate enforcement actions, the latest with Bristol-Myers Squibb. I am sure we will see more before the end of the year. The SEC’s success reflects the investment they made in a new enforcement structure, the creation of the FCPA Section, and the...

Four Clear Messages from Bristol-Myers Squibb FCPA Enforcement Action

The SEC’s FCPA enforcement action for $14.6 million against Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”) in China provides a textbook example of how things can go wrong in China. For the compliance practitioner (as well as CEO and senior executives) in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, the BMS enforcement action should be read and digested as a quick checklist of important principles. The facts underlying the BMS...

New E-Book: Question Everything — Effective Due Diligence and Third-Party Risk Management

I am pleased to announce the release of my new e-book:  Question Everything — Effective Due Diligence and Third-Party Risk Management. With almost every FCPA enforcement action involving third party misconduct in one form or another, shouldn’t companies devote more resources than ever to due diligence and third-party risk management systems? There’s no magic formula to implementing an effective system. It just takes two things:...

US and China Expand Law Enforcement Cooperation

Global anti-corruption efforts continue to increase. For global companies, this trend makes compliance even more critical. One of the most significant aspects of this trend is the US government’s cooperation with China. The United States does not have an extradition agreement or a law enforcement cooperation treaty with China. Prior to China President Xi’s recent visit to the United States, the US government turned over...

The 5 Key Ingredients to a Culture of Ethics

Every company wants to create a culture of ethics. If the senior leadership ignores or downplays a culture of ethics, they have narrowed business opportunities for the company, its shareholders, and other stakeholders. A culture of ethics does not guarantee financial success, but it does add to the bottom line financial performance of a company. There are a number of necessary ingredients that have to...

Ethics and Simplicity

Groucho Marx was (and is) my hero. No one else had a sharper wit.   One of my favorite scenes was in Duck Soup when Groucho conducts a meeting as the President of Fredonia. Here is the clip. In particular, when Groucho is given a report and looks through it and says, “Why, even a four-year-old child could understand this report.” He then flips the report...

SEC’s Hitachi Enforcement Action and Important Compliance Reminders

The SEC continues to plug away at aggressive FCPA enforcement. This year, at least so far, the SEC has had a very successful year. The Hitachi case is a very interesting enforcement action for several major reasons.  From a general perspective, the SEC’s decision to file the case in US District Court for the District of Columbia represents an important about face – instead of...

Masters of Disaster Podcast — Michael Volkov — Ethics Makes Good Business Sense

I am excited to support Leona Lewis, a compliance consultant, who has launched a new podcast — Masters of Disaster, in which she interviews professionals in the fields of risk, ethics and compliance. I was happy to be interviewed by Leona several weeks ago.  The podcast is available here.  My interview focuses on the importance of ethics and creating an ethical culture. Leona is a...

The Compliance Dangers of Cheerleaders and Nay-Sayers

Compliance always boils down to people and interpersonal relationships. No man is an island, and no one can go it alone in compliance. One essential requirement for effective compliance is the ability to engage colleagues and your audience. Many senior executives are smart people –we all understand that. But too often senor executives embrace an interpersonal style of cheerleading. It allows them to appear to...