Lauren Connell, Managing Associate at The Volkov Law Group, joins us again for a posting about anti-money laundering (AML), terrorism financing and CCO certifications.  Lauren’s profile is here, and she can be reached at [email protected]. Preventing money from getting to terrorists is a chief goal of AML programs. But at a basic level an AML program is only as strong as its budget, regardless of...

When the going gets tough, the tough do not necessarily get going. This is evident in the world of corporate governance, compliance, and defense against aggressive government enforcement. Corporate lobbying interests are pushing a new and dangerous agenda, one that is shortsighted and certain to create problems for chief compliance officers. Several years ago the Chamber of Commerce launched an attack on FCPA enforcement with...

As we close out the year, it is now time to begin the retrospective reviews and predictions for the New Year. I will try to keep them to a minimum but I find it important to reflect and look forward to new challenges. Compliance is a fast moving profession. More attention is being paid to the compliance function, and more companies are embracing the importance...

You know a company’s culture is suffering when you hear the CEO or senior executives say the best way to develop a “Speak Up” culture is to just tell all the employees “we want to hear from you.” I am an advocate for simplicity but sometimes simplicity can slip into stupidity. A “Speak Up” culture requires a commitment to a number of important principles and...

A Chief Compliance Officer can get so overwhelmed with risks that it is hard to keep their focus on priorities. Risks are everywhere and no compliance program can address every risk – the trick is keeping your eye on the ball and focusing on the significant risk. There are lots of risks surrounding a company’s supply chain. Unfortunately, vendors, suppliers and their respective vendors and...

The Justice Department’s hiring of Hui Chen as the new Compliance Counsel is an important development in DOJ’s prosecution of corporate defendants. It is not clear yet what impact Ms. Chen will have. At a recent event at NYU (video here), Andrew Weissmann, the head of the Fraud Section, and Ms. Chen spoke about the new compliance position. The video provides important information. Ms. Chen...

These are heady days for Chief Compliance Officers. Over the last 20 years, the CCO has moved from the backwater of corporate offices to the front and center of the power structure. We now have debates over the independence of the CCO from the legal function, the reporting obligations and the relationship between the CCO and the board. There is no question that CCOs have...

Your CEO is either on board for compliance, or he/she is not. There is no half-way mark here, no way to deceive or soft-shoe your way through the compliance requirement. Yet it is common to see a CEO who is not committed and a Chief Compliance Officer who is in denial and points to half-hearted steps to justify their own self-deception. CCOs need to take...

Complacency in compliance is a cancer on a company’s culture. Woody Allen said it best in Annie Hall: A [compliance program] relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark. Here is the video clip of the scene: here When a Chief Compliance...

I am a positive person (anyone who has to say that raises doubts). At least I like to think I am. I am not yet sold on the wisdom of DOJ’s hiring of a compliance counsel. Frankly, I have a lot more respect for the knowledge and experience of line prosecutors at DOJ and their supervisors on this issue – they know and understand compliance...