I always enjoyed economics – understanding “rational” behavior and applying it to business situations can be very productive. Of course, there were many detractors who argued that economics is filled with assumptions that take the discipline away from reality, but I find those arguments unpersuasive. There has been a fair amount of research on corruption and the impact that bribery has on a functioning market....
Now that the dust has settled a little on the FIFA criminal case, I wanted to throw my two cents into the commentary pot. Those who focus on whether the FIFA case is a “corruption case,” “an FCPA case” or some other short-handed description are missing the point. The FIFA case represents the best that DOJ can do – it was a classic, long-term investigation...
Okay, everyone take out their tea leaves and let’s get started on the IAP corruption case – DOJ announced a Non-Prosecution Agreement with IAP Worldwide Services and the criminal plea of a former executive who funneled bribes through a third-party to a Kuwait government official. When you read the facts, the case is like many other FCPA fact patterns. Illegal bribes were paid to a...
To state the obvious (and this shows my age), we are way past George Orwell’s 1984. Yes, I know 30 years past it. But we are way past the privacy concerns expressed in Orwell’s book; we are in a new era where technology and instant communications have collided with new privacy concerns. Companies are fast becoming enamored with quick and easy detection systems for employee...
Everyone needs a hero, someone they can look up to and admire, and project feelings of positive personality. The world’s history is replete with “great” leaders who instilled in people a feeling of connection, commitment and admiration. History also tells us that the “leadership dynamic” can also be used for negative purposes. We all have our list of horrible and evil “leaders” who led countries...
I recently posted an article on International Trade Matters — 9 Ways Global Businesses Need to Step Up Their Sanctions Compliance Strategies –– the article is located here.
Companies face lots of risks – the soup du jour has been anti-corruption enforcement and compliance. Like any consistent restaurant you might visit regularly, one risk continues to grow, quietly and significantly – antitrust criminal enforcement. Sure, I could have written a posting about the recent foreign exchange current price-fixing conspiracy among many of the large financial institutions, and trumpeted the $3.2 billion settlements recently...
It is good to be an optimist. I am sure that optimistic people are happier, more loving and tend to live longer. All of this rings true. But not everyone is an angel, and not everyone at your company is a “good person.” When we refer to someone as a “good person,” that is our gut instinct speaking about our specific interactions with a person....
Webinar: Building a Due Diligence System from the Bottom Up Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 12 Noon EST Sign Up Here Companies continue to focus on due diligence systems for managing third parties and supply chain vendors and suppliers. Every due diligence system has to build in mechanisms for identifying and resolving red flags. Beyond these basic requirements, due diligence programs need to include appropriate documentation,...
Compliance officers face plenty of challenges. The list of close allies always includes the General Counsel, Internal Audit, Human Resources and Procurement officials. In two recent surveys (here and here), CCOs reported that they do not have a strong working relationship with the CFO and typically do not get involved in the design and implementation of financial controls. That is a real significant problem. Lets start...
