Compliance officers and internal auditors are natural partners and allies in the compliance governance landscape.  As the compliance profession and influence grew, compliance officers often leaned on internal auditors for help in assessing risks, uncovering financial misconduct, and assessing compliance functions and controls.  Recently, however, I have noticed some changes in their relationship, suggesting that they both are maturing and gaining independence from each other. ...

Just like the ups and downs of the business cycle, SEC enforcement of accounting fraud cases follow an up and down trend as well. For example, during the financial crisis, SEC enforcement of accounting fraud cases took a back seat to enforcement actions surrounding disclosure and conflicts of interest in relation to the financial meltdown. The SEC, in the last two years, has returned to...