One of the hardest issues for compliance professionals is encouraging employees to raise concerns about ethics and compliance issues.  It has become even more difficult when the government establishes whistleblower programs offering financial rewards for employees to tell the government about the problems. Employee surveys provide important and interesting information.  A recent survey by CEB (here) found that only five percent of employee concerns are...

People who consistently miss the point are frustrating.  Focus is an important discipline.  Whatever you do in life, the ability to focus is critical. In the compliance arena, the same principle rings true.  It is easy to get “distracted” into a number of areas.  CCOs are bombarded each day with risks and threats.  Meetings, internal journals, conferences, and other information sources cite all the risks,...

The Justice Department and the SEC have pushed extraordinary changes in the field of anti-corruption compliance.  If one looks back five years ago and compares the so-called best-practices from 2008 and compares them to recent pronouncements on anti-corruption compliance, the differences are stark. Here is a summary chart on current program elements and some “best practices” cited by DOJ and the SEC in recent enforcement...

Sometimes predictions come true.  Starting in 2011, the SEC sent shock waves through the private equity industry when it launched a general inquiry into private equity compliance with the FCPA. The SEC issued ten letters to investment banks and private equity companies requesting information about their interactions with sovereign wealth funds and anti-corruption compliance programs.  The Director of the Serious Fraud Office made numerous pronouncements...

The difference between white collar and violent crime usually comes down to this: In most cases of violent crime, the actor’s state of mind is not at issue: the cases often center on whether the specific person charged was the one who killed/shot/assaulted the victim; if he or she was the actor, then the issue may turn to self defense.  (I know this is simplistic...

As I get older, I try and convince myself I am getting wiser.  But I know that is not right.  Maybe a better way to say it is I am better at guessing.  Some like to call that educated guessing.  Talk about an oxymoron. I can never understand why companies don’t pay more attention to board governance.  There is the usual rush around a corporate...

The title for this posting is a little ambiguous.  What is the “cost” of compliance?  Is it the cost of implementing an “effective” compliance program?  Or is the “cost” to the company of an “ineffective” compliance program.  Let’s just say it is both. I often criticize the compliance profession for relying on the “negative” message around compliance – “if you do not comply, then the...

I was never a big fan of the Reagan Administration’ solution to America’s drug problem – Just Say No.  The phrase was a simple solution to a more complex problem, one that people now recognize as a health problem rather than a question of free will. My concerns with the “Just Say No” strategy do not extend to foreign bribery.  In fact, I know several...

When it comes to compliance, the best investment a company can make is to create and promote an ethical culture.  Dollar for dollar, communicating this message is the money well spent. A CEO has to commit time and effort to the program.  If the CEO does not want to commit, the job will be much harder.  A CEO who believes in the message of ethics...