Boeing’s settlement with DOJ raises more questions than answers. While I understand that a criminal case against Boeing requires DOJ to identify one or more individuals who have committed a crime that can be fairly attributed to the Boeing corporation. The doctrine of respondeat superior is the mechanism by which this legal attribution occurs. Boeing has been praised for its remediation efforts and its end...
Bear with me for a second, but remember Presidential Candidate Romney’s statement in 2011 that “Corporations are people.” Starting with that premise, my so-called “Person” of the Year award for 2020 goes to, drumroll . . . Goldman Sachs, for its defining ethical and compliance lapses, leading to the largest ever FCPA Settlement. With tongue in cheek, the story of 2020 has to be the...
If ever there was a year that challenged corporate leaders on their commitment to business ethics, 2020 was the year. The number of difficult issues facing corporate leaders were challenging and ran the gamut – from health and safety concerns, to business continuity, and to economic disruptions and lay-offs or reductions in force. Even outside the organization, social concerns, supply chain management and community needs...
The Justice Department and regulatory agencies have emphasized the importance of corporate culture and ethics. As companies approach this important issue, it is important to examine a variety of strategies to ensure that a corporate culture adheres to ethical standards. Jeffrey Tilton, CFE, a leader in the compliance field, has an interesting perspective on this issue. In this Episode, Michael Volkov discusses the issue of...
Webinar: The Importance of an Ethical Culture November 10, 2020, 12 Noon EST Sign up HERE. Business leaders, politicians, shareholders, the public and other stakeholders are demanding that companies adhere to and implement measures to promote and advance an ethical culture. In the face of egregious corporate scandals and aggressive government enforcement programs, companies have to devote resources and attention to their corporate cultures. Government...
Goldman Sachs has a new leadership role – unfortunately, it is for corruption. It would be a serious mistake to characterize or describe the Goldman corruption scheme as the result of a few, bad actors. Instead, Goldman suffered this scandal because of a culture and a weak set of controls crafted to promote business with little regard for compliance. The lessons learned from this massive...
If you speak to members of a corporate board and the C-Suite and you ask them if the company has a strong ethical culture, we all know what they will say – “Of course, we do. We have a strong commitment to our Code of Conduct and Doing the Right Thing . . . . [blah blah blah].” You can listen, nod your head and...
Like all compliance programs, a company lives or dies based on its ethical culture. A company with a poor culture that operates in a concentrated competitive market has significantly higher antitrust risks than companies with a strong ethical culture. This basic and well understood premise has to be considered in designing an antitrust compliance program. If senior management does not walk the walk, antitrust risks...
2019 was a big year for ethics and compliance. In fact, it is easy to argue that since the adoption of the compliance provisions in the US Sentencing Guidelines in 1991, compliance had its biggest year. The federal government issued three important documents in 2019 – DOJ issued the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs from the Criminal Division (here) and from the Antitrust Division (here),...
Corporate cultures do not operate in a silo or free from external influences. Yet again, another profound grasp of the obvious. Employees, managers and senior leadership all bring their own experiences, perspectives, attitudes and influences. Of course, our political and social environment is a consistent and steady influence on corporate culture and behavior. Given the current social climate, the divisive nature of our politics, particularly...
