In order to determine the optimal compliance boundary for your organization, it’s useful to consider the complexities by following the framework outlined herein. There is a direct correlation between the amount of knowledge you have access to and the unknown risk potential you face.
In today’s business environment, there are several ways an organization can help to ensure they are setting the right tone and imbedding processes into their day to day operations to help manage corporate risks.
With recent events on Wall Street and their spillover onto Main Street, the widespread call for stronger risk management in recent years may seem prescient now.
Any number of factors contributed to our economic collapse—credit default swaps, mortgage-backed securities, Ponzi schemes, subprime mortgages, and all sorts of other things that most of us had never heard of a year ago. But they all boil down to one simple concept: a loss of trust.
Business ethics education is a necessary component of any corporate compliance training initiative and will lead to long-term success for organizations.
As many in the compliance profession are likely finding out, this difficult job becomes exponentially harder in tough economic times. Jim Nortz offers some guidance on how to weather the storm and not just survive, but thrive.
If the first part of this post sounds famailiar, you may be experiencing an overload of “corporate speak” and it may be time to take another look at your internal communications.
By Steve Liccione — Director of Corporate Compliance for Johnson Controls
When an organization sets the proper “Tone at the Top,” it is often laudatory and occasionally inspiring. But, it does not necessarily prevent corporate misconduct. It may not even dissuade it. C-Suite occupants must resist the siren song of “Tone” that can lull them into a sense of complacency. The “Top” can be duped into believing that it has done its part by merely singing the appropriate compliance lyrics.
As with people, a company’s actions – rather than words – best reflect intent and commitment. An executive’s pledge to foster a “culture of compliance” is insufficient. There must be an enterprise-wide dedication of resources to the compliance function. This commitment need not be measured solely in hard dollars or dedicated compliance staffing. Rather, properly directed employee efforts may be more significant and yield better results than hiring troupes of lawyers and accountants.
by Karen Wilson — Managing Partner, Citadel Compliance LLC
The recent massive accounting fraud at Indian outsourcing giant Satyam has focused attention on risks associated with outsourcing. The Satyam case offers multiple lessons for companies considering outsourcing. Risks are not limited to the financial wherewithal of the outsourcer. Because the outsourcer controls key business operations of the client and interfaces directly with the client’s customers, often from offshore sites, regulatory risks associated with these services can be magnified. This article examines trends in the outsourcing industry and changes in services and delivery models that have a direct impact on the client’s compliance with laws.
The outsourcing trend remained strong in 2008. At $360 billion annually and growing, outsourcing’s appeal is not limited by business type or size and thrives despite, or because of, challenging economic conditions.
American companies and government agencies historically have outsourced low-value operations to reduce expenses, realign resources, and shift risks. Businesses are drawn to the appeal of shifting so-called “non-core’ business operations to a third party who will improve the balance sheet and guarantee cost reductions and access to leading-edge technology and innovation. For some, outsourcing is the answer to poorly managed operations that sap resources and distract attention from the business. In outsourcing parlance, this is known as “your mess for less.” European companies have embraced outsourcing as well. In 2007, Europe outpaced the U.S. for the first time in the number of new IT outsourcing deals and that trend continued in 2008. Mergers between outsourcing competitors in 2008 should spawn better capabilities and stronger competition in the future. Major outsourcers and their specialties include:
Elizabeth O’Keeffe describes how for compliance to take root and not to simply be perceived as an encroachment or intrusion upon its constituent stakeholders, it must move to the quality platform.
