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Featured Articles
The current high-risk environment creates an imperative for IT leaders to exploit information technology to manage risks both to existing assets and to future growth. IT should be used to enable systemic risk management by delivering a high-quality, reliable continuum of information from dispersed operations for heightened awareness, improved decision making and enhanced business performance.
In the second installment of the CCI Interview Series, Cheryl Strackeljahn of Deloitte discusses the importance of effectively incorporate information technology into enterprise-wide risk management initiatives.
By James Bone — former Chief Compliance Officer for Fidelity Investments
During a time of financial crisis survival is typically the priority of the day for most organizations, as well it should be. However, examples of success stories have begun to emerge through all of the dire economic news. Some banks and other institutions are surviving quite well and even thriving in this tough economic environment. The question is what has prepared these firms to do more than just survive and how are they preparing for the coming changes in regulation that may impact the future of their organization?
By Homer E. Moyer, Jr. — Member of Miller & Chevalier
The current economic downturn and the accompanying uncertainties about job security may increase the usual pressures on managers to “make their numbers.” These pressures may tempt those responsible for foreign sales and deals to operate close to the line, or even cross the line, in their efforts to secure new business.
In this climate, risks under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) are heightened, as some enforcement officials have already publicly noted. Corporate management, audit committees, compliance professionals, and others may worry that in the mind of an anxious manager on the other side of the world, the lure of new business may outweigh the risks inherent in an improper payment or inducement to a foreign official.
The same economic pressures, however, may also limit dollars and resources available for FCPA compliance. This twin set of pressures is causing corporations to ask themselves how they can stretch their compliance dollars and make them as cost-effective as possible.
Although the answers to this question will vary with each company’s individual business and risk profile, the following eight suggestions may nonetheless have broad applicability and help maximize the cost-effectiveness of FCPA compliance programs. Companies can implement these steps on their own or with the assistance of knowledgeable outside counsel who share a sensitivity about managing costs.
By Jason B. Meyer — Chair of the Ethics, Compliance, and Corporate Governance Committee of the New Jersey Corporate Counsel Association
What does it mean to a company, its governance, and its legal and compliance teams, when the government becomes a major shareholder? This article will review this question in theory – what could it mean to have Uncle Sam as a big shareholder – as well as in immediate practice, based on what the Obama Administration has said it will do as a shareholder.
By David Childers, CEO and President of EthicsPoint
In the almost seven years since the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley, compliance and risk professionals have worked diligently to be in compliance with the law and sustain an ethical culture. You would think more than two-thirds of a decade would be sufficient time to get it right, but that assumes Sarbanes was all they had to contend with. Unfortunately, during this period of time more than 18,000 additional laws and regulations have been passed in the United States alone. Each requires either a cursory review or the direct attention of CEO’s, Boards, or compliance professionals.
Recognizing that compliance is a moving target, organizations must determine their long-range compliance strategy. Will they study and define a minimum set of standards to achieve compliance or seek to fund and refine a very broad set of initiatives to ensure minimal out-of-compliance risk –- or something in between?
David Childers explains how to properly assess the compliance realities of your organization and develop “voluntary boundaries of compliance.”
by Matthew Putvinski — Chief Information Security Officer at Wolf and Company
Lack of a documented security policy is a huge red flag when determining liability in the event of an incident. You do not know when the next attack will happen and if someone is aggressively targeting you, they will cause pain. When it comes time to defend yourself, no matter the strength of your security environment, the lack of a documented information security program is a message that management has not taken data security seriously. This perception becomes increasingly dangerous when we’re talking about a court of law and an untold number of potential customers in the court of public opinion.
Whether you are currently without a policy or want to ascertain where yours fits along the continuum, here are key components that should be in a best practices Information Security Program.
by Generational Equity
There have been many important and interrelated trends that have emerged over the past decade, as the American economy has gone from the heights of the tech boom that defined the “Roaring 90s” to the lows of the GM and Chrysler bankruptcy that are sure to define the end of the 00s.
In between these two economic landmarks, we have faced countless examples of fraud, incompetence, and malfeasance from the likes of Enron, WorldCom, Bernie Madoff and a litany of others. In response, the White House, the Department of Justice, and the SEC, among others, are all scrambling to bring corporate boardrooms and economic markets back into something that resembles a controlled equilibrium. As a result, new regulations and laws have come into being while regulations passed long ago, but considered relatively toothless before, are now being enforced with far more vigor and focus; one example is the FCPA.
The consequence of all of this is that the importance of corporate compliance has never been greater. There is an unavoidable onus on business executives to develop fundamentally sound compliance programs. In addition, for executives of companies with operations in multiple geographic locations, it is imperative that they also develop fundamentally sound strategies for compliance communication.
However, for many middle market companies that are just trying to keep their heads above water during the recession, funding such compliance initiatives can prove difficult. How, then, can middle market companies ensure that they cost-efficiently maximizing their spend when it comes to investing in compliance communication? This article outlines a few specific strategies.
by Tina Williamson — Director of Corporate Compliance for Mississippi Children’s Home Services
Most of your effectiveness as a compliance professional can be directly tied to the all those years of clinical experience you gained while working as a medical professional. However, you can’t reap the benefits of this experience until you learn how to channel your clinical experience in relevant ways into your new career in corporate compliance.
Making the transition from the clinical field to corporate compliance is not an easy one. Nevertheless, a compliance professional with a clinical background will find that the skills gained over the years “in the trenches” will serve them well, not only in gaining “street cred” with employees but also in developing a corporate compliance program that is easy to understand and effective.
By Jodie Fredericksen and Stephen Martin, Corpedia, Inc.
As the United States continues to muddle through the current recession, corporate executives have been faced with the challenge of finding areas in which to cut operational costs. As previously reported by Corporate Compliance Insights, even in a booming economy, compliance and ethics budgets are often unfairly scrutinized, due to the misperception that there is no return on the investment of compliance dollars.
While academics and political pundits disagree as to whether current economic conditions will cause an increase in ethical/legal misconduct or simply bring such behavior to light, recent repeated statements by government and regulatory personnel make it abundantly clear that now is not the time to cut your compliance budget.
By Thomas Fox — FCPA Compliance Attorney
The year 2009 is shaping up to be a watershed year in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance investigations and enforcements. This article will review the current state of FCPA investigations and enforcement actions and provide guidance to companies to help navigate in this time of heightened FCPA sensitivity.
