Talk is cheap, especially when it comes to ethics and compliance programs. Words are easy but action and commitment are even harder. The compliance industry needs to put more meat on the bones of compliance. It is not enough to rely on subjective standards for determining whether an ethics and compliance program is effective. Compliance professionals need to design meaningful measurements and standards for ethics...

I do not mean to be facetious or snarky, but I am concerned about organizations that sell or promote their ability to certify or give a seal of approval to a company as an “ethical” company.  Even more troubling (or perhaps misleading) is the certification: “world’s most ethical companies.” With the growth of ethics and compliance, you can expect that charlatans, greedy snake oil sales...

Anti-money laundering compliance is a very difficult task. The number of risks is exponential. AML compliance officers have an innovative and rich history of compliance techniques and strategies. In the end, AML compliance depends on: accurate and comprehensive risk assessments; pre-screening of customers through appropriate KYC programs; and audit and monitoring of transaction and customer activity. Despite the commitment and dedication of AML compliance professionals,...

Webinar: August 18, 2015 1 PM to 2 PM EST Sign Up Here Companies are spending more resources on ethics and compliance programs. Department of Justice and SEC prosecutors are increasing their focus on compliance training programs to make sure they are tailored to a company’s risk profile and the company’s workforce.   Compliance officers have to develop training content that is engaging and relevant to...

The Supreme Court is very likely to enter into the fray over the Second Circuit’s controversial Newman decision concerning insider-trading liability. The government has filed a petition for certiorari, and the stakes are high. Insider trading liability for unauthorized disclosures to tip recipients (‘tipees”) flows from the common sense notion that an insider cannot engage, directly or indirectly, in insider trading by personally benefitting from...

Maurice Gilbert, head of Conselium Executive Search (here), the leading  executive search firm for compliance professionals, has written a fascinating piece on the difficulty in hiring compliance professionals.   He was gracious enough to allow me to reprint it for CCC blog readers.  Maurice maintains the highly popular blog, Corporate Compliance Insights (here), and can be reached at [email protected]. As managing partner of an executive search...

We all know the importance of the sentencing guidelines and the impact the revisions, especially the 2010 amendments, have had on corporate governance and compliance. The history behind the sentencing guidelines tracks the rise of the compliance profession. The time is now for the Sentencing Commission to launch a further review of the guidelines to reflect the rapid changes in the compliance profession. The Sentencing...

Many companies, depending on the industry, have implemented anti-corruption compliance programs. Some of the programs meet the standard for an “effective” anti-corruption compliance program. There is a vast difference between getting a program implemented on paper and an “effective” anti-corruption compliance program. After all, when you boil it down, anti-corruption compliance is not as difficult a task as everyone thinks. Some programs are immature, some...

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 Time: 12 Noon EST Sign Up Here Justice Department and SEC prosecutors are devoting greater attention to private equity FCPA enforcement. This coincides with increased SEC regulation and examination of the private equity industry. Private equity companies face significant corruption risks in global markets. From sovereign wealth funds to portfolio companies, private equity compliance officers have to design and implement...

Last week, the SEC announced a settlement of an FCPA enforcement action for $12 million against Mead Johnson Nutrition for payment of bribes in China to health care professionals at state-owned hospitals. Mead Johnson’s illegal payments were intended to increase referrals by Chinese physicians and healthcare officials of Mead Johnson products, and obtain access to marketing and personal information about expectant and recent mothers. Over...