“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please” – Mark Twain Corporate boards have to be more involved and informed. I know this sounds like a profound grasp of the obvious but corporate governance needs to move forward. This is not rocket science – we have all faced difficult issues and challenges. Corporate governance reform is not one of those types...
Chief Compliance Officers always are asked to do more with less. It is a simple and overused phrase, usually promoted by corporate bean counters looking for ways to justify decisions that serve their own financial interests. There has to be a better way to coin this phrase in the compliance context. CCOs are innovative and creative professionals. They like to embrace the concept of “leveraging”...
If you want to do the right thing in the ethics and compliance world, follow Donna Boehme (on Twitter (here)), in her regular columns in Corporate Counsel and other publications, and at her website (here)). Donna knows what she is talking about. She consistently challenges the idea of “tone-at-the-top,” when it’s talk, not walk (here). She explains that the concept is overused because it begs...
Chief Compliance Officers act with integrity. When it comes to their work, they know when an organization is committed to compliance. They also know when ethics and compliance is “window dressing.” The recent announcement that JP Morgan’s CCO is leaving after one year is a very telling development. When the CCO picks up and leaves, it usually reflects one thing – the organization is not...
We all remember our childhood when we believed in the power of superheroes. Superman was someone I always admired. (I was a DC Comics fan, not a Marvel Comics fan). Chief Compliance Officers have to be careful to avoid a trap – they are not superheroes and most importantly, CCOs cannot single-handedly prevent a company from violating its code of conduct or the law. In...
“Honesty: the best of all the lost arts.” – Mark Twain 1902 I may be getting cynical in my old age but honesty is a rare thing these days. It seems to be getting more difficult to find honest people, especially when it comes to business. Each day we read about another scandal involving another fraudster, corrupt politician or criminal motivated by greed. Corporate ethics...
I had the privilege to testify last week before the House Judiciary Committee’s Over-Criminalization Task Force on Federal Criminal Code Reform. It was an honor to appear before Members of Congress with whom I had worked in the past. The hearing focused on an important effort to reform the federal criminal code. A link to the hearing video is here. A link to the hearing...
It is easy to tie FCPA violations to corporate governance performance. Sometimes the tie is strong – sometimes a little more attenuated. The BIzJet case from last year underscored the importance of proper board oversight and monitoring. The bribery scheme in the BizJet case was specifically presented to the BizJet board. You would have expected the board to rise up, demand an explanation and immediately...
Sometimes we gloss over complex issues using shorthand phrases. Part of that reflects our continuing ADHD society where 140 characters is the most any person can read and understand at one time. The US Sentencing Guidelines are always cited for its definition of an “effective” ethics and compliance program (Section 8B2.1). Under Section 8C2.5(f)(1), a company can earn a three-point reduction in the base offense...
A compliance program built on a “check-the-box” approach is doomed because it isolates program elements that need to be integrated. Compliance is akin to holistic ideologies (yes, you can quote me on that one). The whole of a compliance program cannot be stitched together. Each piece is interconnected in a greater whole. Each piece of a compliance program is interdependent and reinforces the other pieces....
