Compliance

Based on research from Thomson Reuters, this report indicates there's a perception that the overall value of maintaining a compliant workforce has diminished, and that training has largely been reduced to a "check the box" activity. The research suggests that more robust compliance frameworks are needed -- particularly given the "new normal" of the COVID era. Highlights include: Understanding the...

The SEC's updated MD&A rules will bring about key changes in financial disclosures, streamlining existing disclosure requirements. In adopting final amendments to Regulation S-K on November 19, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took additional steps to streamline disclosure requirements relating to Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and other financial disclosures required in public company periodic reports and registration...

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) will require millions of U.S. businesses to provide beneficial ownership information to the federal government. Foley Hoag’s Luciano Racco weighs in on who’s impacted, along with the regulation’s value for AML and sanctions compliance programs. Buried within the 1,400-page National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (the NDAA) – enacted on January 1, 2021...

Corporate whistleblower tips are skyrocketing. In FY 2020, the SEC received over 6,900 whistleblower tips – the most ever for any year. More than 80% of those tips came from company employees who had previously raised red flags, which typically should have triggered evaluations to determine what sort of internal probe might be necessary. This new guide, authored by lawyers...

GRC pros know that culture and compliance are inexorably linked. COVID has thrown a wrench in corporate culture, though (along with everything else). Calvin London opines about why re-establishing a culture of compliance now may prove difficult. (Non)Compliance in 2020 I, for one, was very glad to see the back end of 2020. It was the year of COVID, which...

With a new administration in the White House, we can expect big regulatory changes to come soon. Onna’s Scott McVeigh shares what organizations can do to prepare now, particularly in terms of information governance. With the massive distractions from the coronavirus pandemic and a reduced focus on regulation and what was viewed as red tape during the last four years...

There’s no denying the need for federal relief in the midst of COVID-19, but companies that have never before been exposed to False Claims Act liability may not have compliance programs designed to prevent these risks. Hughes Hubbard’s Michael DeBernardis and Philip Giordano stress that now is the time to prepare. On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus...

International trade attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis discuss a Trump executive order from early this year, discussing who it impacts and how and what may come to pass under the Biden administration. with contributing author Jeremy Iloulian On January 5, 2021, President Trump issued an Executive Order on “Addressing the Threat Posed By Applications and Other Software Developed or Controlled...

Mafia groups are taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to acquire bankrupt entities for their nefarious purposes. Pideeco’s Stefano Siggia analyzes how the Mafia is gaining from the pandemic, their methods of infiltrating failing companies and how they are carrying out their schemes in Italy and the rest of Europe. The COVID-19 crisis has wreaked havoc on businesses across the...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created urgency for organizations to ramp up digital adoption, but as they pivot entire service lines, digitalize operations and automate processes, they create unintended compliance risks. Baker & McKenzie’s Jessica Nall explains. The digital transformation of businesses around the world has been a steady, incremental evolution. But when COVID-19 uprooted our lives in the second quarter of...

ACAMS’ Hue Dang writes on the importance of an instilling a commitment to compliance in the corporate culture and how to go about it, by building a framework to support compliance. While there are conflicting views on whether the FinCEN files should have been leaked, it has been a critical reminder about how much work still needs to be done...

A lack of engagement in mandatory compliance training is putting organizations at risk. Elucidat Founder and CPO Simon Greany discusses using a more targeted and impactful approach to ensure your training sticks. Whenever the calendar flips to January, it marks a fresh start for many. But it’s safe to say 2021 brings us to a fork in the road, as...