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A Gallup survey last year found that among employees who had received training on ethics and compliance, fewer than one in four rated the session as excellent. If you’ve seen the worst of the worst when it comes to compliance training, it’s not hard to see why. Ethics and compliance consultant Calvin London has a...

When we speak of non-retaliation, it’s often in an effort to encourage staff to speak up. Right now, lack of speaking up isn’t the problem. Retaliation itself, rather than employee silence, is running rampant, harming our cultures of integrity. Mary Shirley discusses some of the data around the culture-of-integrity crisis and provides a guide detailing...

Though it’s announced a new focus on corporate criminal enforcement, the DOJ has also, helpfully, given companies a playbook for avoiding running afoul of the law. StoneTurn’s Jonny Frank explores eight actions firms can take to remain in the government’s good graces. DOJ's initial and further revisions to corporate criminal enforcement policies epitomize the carrot-and-stick...

As federal rulemakers continue to shape guidance around ESG, corporate leaders have eagerly awaited the hint of clarity the rules are expected to bring. Too bad there’s the small matter of state lawmakers. ESG correspondent John Peiserich sets the stage for the upcoming clash between federal and state rules. A major challenge for companies today...

Serious risks to your company’s financial and reputational health probably aren’t going to walk up and introduce themselves. Protiviti’s Jim DeLoach offers tips on digging to reveal these potential pitfalls. Risk transparency is vital to every company. When Mary Barra became CEO of General Motors in 2014, she had no idea her first order of...

Parametric insurance, which has long been popular in disaster recovery, is gaining steam as a proxy for proving the effectiveness of ESG programs. Nir Kossovsky and Denise Williamee of insurer Steel City Re explore details of this novel ESG solution. New SEC rules, market trends and DOJ guidance have put compliance at the nexus of...

In mid-October, the DOJ announced it had reached a guilty plea agreement with Lafarge, a French cement manufacturer, and its Syrian subsidiary. While the cases against the companies represent the first-ever material support of terrorism charges the department has brought against a corporation, as a trio of attorneys from Paul | Weiss explains, they probably...

Spending on artificial intelligence across all sectors is expected to more than double by 2025, but Nigel Cannings of Intelligent Voice is here to throw some cold water on that hot trend — and bring a bit of well-earned wisdom. Artificial intelligence has, justifiably, been embraced as a labor-saving productivity tool across all sectors of...

Strong compliance programs don’t just happen. They require planning — and budgeting. Being thoughtful and proactive will help drive appropriate budgeting that supports and promotes program effectiveness, while reducing your stress both now and throughout the next fiscal year. ’Tis the season of budget management. Every year, around the time fall beverages show up at...

We don’t know exactly what will be in the upcoming national cybersecurity strategy. But, as FTI Consulting’s Anthony J. Ferrante explains, the policy will almost certainly be an improvement on the status quo. National Cyber Director Chris Inglis has said the Biden Administration plans to release a national cybersecurity strategy this year, perhaps as early...

Are we conditioning our employees not to speak up? The traits present in our best employees might make them less likely to raise issues, concerns and ideas. Compliance expert Courtney Sander explores integrating speaking-up practice within the business to benefit your compliance program and the broader organization. What makes good employees great can hurt a...

Following up on her watershed 2021 memo, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s latest missive highlights a pair of issues that companies need to begin preparing for now if they are to avoid major FCPA repercussions down the line. John E. Davis, member and practice lead of Miller & Chevalier’s FCPA and international anti-corruption practice in...

When we think of the term "career advice," we usually consider it from the job seeker's perspective. But career advice isn't just for those seeking a new role; it also applies to those in a position to help. For her column this month, Mary Shirley talks about how you can help others get a leg...

As the DOJ signals that proactive compliance measures focused on data and analytics will be central to the agency’s future treatment of organizations that run afoul of the law, experts from FTI Consulting explore what companies (and compliance professionals) need to know. FTI Consulting’s Andrea Levine and Jake Frazier co-authored this article. Two recent developments...

You’ve no doubt heard the refrain that companies doing business in the U.S. are facing more regulation than ever before. An analysis by libertarian think-tank Mercatus Center would back that up (the U.S. had a nearly 16% increase in the number of regulatory restrictions between 2006 and 2019). But it’s not fair to say that...

Amicus curiae briefs play a significant role in appeals throughout the country. From state appellate courts to the U.S. Supreme Court, judges increasingly rely on the perspectives of amici to inform their opinions. According to the American Bar Association, over a third of U.S. Supreme Court opinions are directly influenced by amici, and the same...

Among public company directors' many obligations is mitigating ESG-related risks to the company, but as ESG columnist John Peiserich points out, in many organizations that means thinking about the environmental implications and not much else.  Former SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee gave an incredibly insightful keynote address at the 2021 Society for Corporate Governance National...

We know that compliance doesn’t necessarily equal security and that training employees is vital to preventing cyber attacks. But a poorly trained worker is the same as one not trained at all, and in too many tech companies, training isn’t exactly exciting or inspiring. As Stu Sjouwerman explores, there are simple-but-effective methods to get everyone...

The reputational damage and compliance failures that result from a data spillage incident are well-known, and as the volume of information companies collect continues to rise, those risks are only going to increase. ActiveNav’s Rich Hale offers simple advice that can help CISOs prevent (rather than clean up) a costly data spill. When you hear...

Brazil’s presidential contest will head to a two-man runoff election later this month, but if any observers had hopes for an anti-corruption movement to take hold in the country, Victoria Abut says the only thing that can’t win this election is transparency. On Oct. 2, the first round of Brazil’s presidential election failed to produce...

Most public companies will be required to disclose details about executive compensation starting with next year’s proxy statements, under rules the SEC formally adopted in August. Haynes Boone partner Rosebud Nau and associate Alexandria Pencsak sort through the information that will soon be required. In August, the SEC adopted Release No. 34-95607 implementing pay versus...

A relatively new law (the Defend Trade Secrets Act) aims to give businesses a legal framework to fight against theft of trade secrets by insiders. María Amelia Calaf of Wittliff Cutter explains the nuances of the law and discusses how businesses can prevent misappropriation of valuable trade secrets. Two founders hire their first employee to...

Data privacy laws in the EU and UK established the right of individuals to find out what personal information organizations hold about them, but organizations aren’t always timely in answering subject access requests. Cordery’s Jonathan Armstrong and André Bywater discuss recent UK actions and explore methods for ensuring companies remain compliant with consumer data requests....

The SEC is expected to publish its final rules regarding ESG disclosures later this year, and in the meantime, both the agency and consumers have been busy making noise about companies’ environmental records. Experts say that without a sober evaluation of claims, you could be risking your very reputation. Edited 10/06/22 “Seafood With Standards.” “Traceable....

As 2022’s midterm Congressional elections approach rapidly, political groups from inside and outside the state are mobilizing in Georgia, targeting a hotly contested U.S. Senate election. Andrew D. Herman and Bria Stephens of Lawrence & Bundy explain why recently revised campaign compliance rules should give political actors in the state pause. Two years ago, Georgia...

When assessing your ethics and compliance program, it seems only natural to look at each individual plank on its own, but as compliance expert and attorney Michael Volkov explains, this approach could fail to surface issues with program elements that don’t work in concert with one another. We often hear about the “essential” elements of...

Reputation is like a ticket to the big game. Show it at the door, or you won’t get in. It is also irreplaceable. Lose it, and it’s game over. Protiviti’s Jim DeLoach offers four tips for nurturing and preserving your company’s most precious asset — its reputation. A company can tarnish and even ruin its...

As a former chief privacy officer (CPO) of a publicly traded commercial real estate services firm, Maria D’Avanzo worked in close partnership with her company’s chief information security officer (CISO). They had regular meetings, shared information and issued joint messages and guidance on topics that had both privacy and security implications. Here, D’Avanzo explores the...

Twitter’s been in the news of late thanks to Elon Musk’s (failed?) takeover bid, but another recent bit of Twitter news could be even more concerning for data privacy advocates. A former employee testified before Congress about the company’s blatant disregard for cybersecurity protections, and as tech companies continue to amass an unprecedented volume of...

FCPA opinion releases can form part of your compliance program guidance arsenal, but there have only been two of them in the past seven years, so if you are relatively new to ethics and compliance, you may not be so familiar with them. In this month’s column, Mary Shirley covers some of the basics about...