FinCEN is an active law enforcement agency. They have taken on more responsibility over the last five years for AML enforcement, and they show no signs of letting up. FinCEN’s proposal to expand beneficial ownership requirements for financial institutions is expected to be released before the end of the year. FinCEN’s proposal in this area will have a significant impact on companies subject to AML...
Contrary to the opinion of many in the FCPA space, the BNY Mellon settlement and the looming actions against six major financial institutions for hiring practices is not a big shock or surprise. The SEC is not raising a new or novel interpretation of the FCPA. After all, assuming an actor has corrupt intent, there is no real question as to whether hiring a person...
One person who does not have a conflict in evaluating a company’s reputational risks should manage a company’s reputation. This approach starts with one basic requirement – the board and the CEO have to agree that a company’s reputational risks should be managed and mitigated. As an initial step, the company has to assign responsibility for reputational risk to a senior executive responsible for risk...
Most companies do not adequately manage their reputations and the risks to their reputations. Too many companies are focused on “crisis” management, which is just another way to respond to a reputational risk that has already occurred. Such a focus is not reputational risk management but is more accurately labeled as crisis management, a reactive strategy. Companies have to change their perspectives and focus proactively...
Today I begin a three-part series on reputational damage. The first part tries to define the term “reputational damage;” the second part focuses on managing threats to a company’s reputation; and the final posting proposes creation of a senior risk manager in a corporate leadership team. If you ask CEOs and board members about the threats to a company resulting from a DOJ enforcement action,...
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Webinar: Anti-Corruption Compliance in the High-Tech Sector Wednesday, September 9, 2015, 12 Noon EST Sign Up Here The Justice Department and the SEC have focused FCPA enforcement resources on high-tech companies. Several high-tech companies have settled FCPA enforcement actions, while others remain under investigation. In a recent enforcement action, an SAP former executive plead guilty to an FCPA conspiracy and is awaiting...
We always bandy the phrase around of “people skills,” or the old trendy phrase of “emotional intelligence.” Hopefully, this posting can create some ideas around new approaches to these old concepts and trendy terminology. Compliance professionals need to develop strong interpersonal skills. It is one of several important personal skills and talents that are needed for a compliance officer to succeed. Maybe the point is...
As everyone knows, I am an advocate for promoting and maintaining a company’s culture of ethics and compliance (not compliance and ethics). The best investment a company can make is to create and maintain a positive commitment to an ethical culture. I often repeat myself (just ask my wife and kids), but a culture of ethics is far more important than well-designed and effective policies...
When DOJ acts, they like to make a splash. While the FCPA Paparazzi have been lamenting the “slow down” in FCPA enforcement actions and the increase in case closings, DOJ still makes its mark when it acts, and I expect more DOJ actions in the last quarter of 2015. DOJ’s latest salvo was the criminal plea of a former SAP official, a US citizen, for...
