“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” — Warren Buffett You often hear chief compliance officers speak about benchmarking.  CCOs often reveal their competitive streaks when they collect information about  other companies’ compliance programs.  It can easily come off as a little insecure.  In fact, CCOs are seeking valuable information — trying to measure their company’s performance outside their...

The Justice Department certainly has altered the landscape of enforcement, compliance priorities, and ultimately corporate decisions surrounding voluntary disclosure.  It has become a little bit more complicated to sort out all the carrots and sticks.  One thing is clear – DOJ wants more companies to voluntarily disclose misconduct.  And that is understandable. DOJ does not want companies to wait until they receive a grand jury...

Let’s move beyond the headline – trade compliance is the new FCPA.  We get it.  The next step is to do something about it.  The Justice Department has repeated this refrain – it is one of its greatest hits.  In addition, DOJ, OFAC and the Bureau of Industry and Security have sent a loud message — $629 million from British American Tobacco and $300 million...

We are living in a rapidly changing economic landscape. Companies are under the gun to navigate “traditional issues,” such as challenging economic conditions ranging from inflation, and a predicted recession, to supply chain disruptions.  It has been a long and difficult path in responding to two significant crises – first the pandemic in 2020 and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting global sanctions...

Everyone has jumped on the corporate culture bandwagon.  For some new converts, they like to espouse corporate culture as a recent discovery, or a new-fangled approach for compliance programs. The story of corporate culture as a talismanic tool for ethics and compliance is really nothing new.  Chief compliance officers knew the importance of corporate culture from the beginning.  A number of companies separately called out...

LRN continues to provide important insights and trends on the importance of ethics and compliance programs.  LRN’s annual report is an important resource and needs to be reviewed by the board, senior management and all compliance-related functions. LRN’s 2023 report emphasizes the importance of commitment, investment and promotion of corporate ethics and compliance, particularly during these difficult economic and geopolitical disturbances. LRN’s report is based...

The ABB case, like most significant FCPA enforcement actions, sets important precedent and policy reminders. With time, and looking back, ABB gives companies with a prior criminal history a way forward to seek a fair resolution notwithstanding huge obstacles based on past performance.  If you are ABB, you dodged a significant bullet – the appointment of an independent compliance monitor, which DOJ has been regularly...

You can always count on LRN.  No ifs, ands or buts, LRN continues to issue the highest-quality and most meaningful research and guidance on ethics and compliance programs.  LRN digs in to ask the hard questions, measures important trends and consistently provides importance support and guidance for corporate governance.  LRN is a must read in these areas. Now that I finished by promotional rant, let’s...