Compliance

The DOJ doesn’t take kindly to recidivism. Jeff Kaplan and Rebecca Walker discuss the importance of a “lessons learned” approach to your organization’s compliance and ethics program. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” famously wrote philosopher George Santayana. But what exactly – of the past – should be recalled? The need to explore violations...

As many employees continue to work remotely, effective oversight remains an issue, and for some, that may feel like license to bend the rules. Calvin London offers practical tips to reinforce your company’s commitment to compliance. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, it is hard to imagine when it will subside, if it will subside and what...

Miller & Chevalier’s James Tillen, Ann Sultan and Brittany Neihardt discuss the effect the DOJ’s revised guidance will have on compliance officers and those in the compliance space. On June 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released an updated version of its “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” (the Guidance). Among the many changes made to the Guidance since...

Rather than being the catalyst for compliance it could be, the regtech sector is impeded by its current abstractions. Evidology System's Rupert Brown explains the shift that’s needed to propel regtech to greater success. The Naming of Parts The emergence of the regtech business sector as a specific categorization of technology companies in the past decade has been driven by...

In honor of National Whistleblower Appreciation Day, Frank Staelens discusses the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive (WPD) at length. Frank explains the regulation’s broad impact and offers guidance for compliance. Most listed companies and large public organizations already consider whistleblowing management as an important governance mechanism with, in most cases, boards/audit committees being accountable to measure its effectiveness. This group is...

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable upheaval to many businesses, regulators continue to press forward with investigations. In fact, the pandemic and the related CARES Act have ushered in additional oversight. Bass, Berry & Sims’ John Kelly and Allison Wiseman Acker explore these initiatives. Companies are being required to consistently innovate and develop new approaches to their business models...

The world has changed and compliance along with it. Results from a benchmark survey of more than 160 compliance professionals worldwide is proof positive. StarCompliance CEO Jennifer Sun details the findings. StarCompliance recently completed a market survey of compliance professionals from across the world of finance, asking questions we believe got at the heart of the unexpected and continuing challenges...

What have been the overall and specific impacts of COVID-19? This resource from StarCompliance compiles the results of a benchmark industry survey on how the pandemic is affecting the field of financial compliance. Highlights include: The biggest challenges facing compliance teams right now How firms are currently managing their compliance programs How certifications processes and programs are holding up The...

Clear, consistent messaging is vital for compliance, whether to tamp down outbreaks in a pandemic or to ensure adherence to government regulations. Calvin London provides examples from the COVID response in Australia to illustrate how we can unnecessarily complicate compliance. As we struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, it continues to provide examples of human behavior that are relevant to what...

Companies that have begun a digital transformation from point-in-time compliance assessments to real-time management are already realizing benefits. Coalfire’s Adam Shnider discusses the need to transition from old approaches to new ones. The growing burden of compliance costs is becoming unsustainable, and it will create even more problems if we don’t abandon old traditions and replace them with modern approaches....

Allegations of financial misconduct dogged German payment processing giant Wirecard AG since its inception; why did it take so long to uncover the fraud? Michael Toebe muses here about the perils of ego and unchecked greed. Wirecard's gross financial misconduct and resulting scandal and crisis has been dubbed the Enron of Germany by some analysts. No matter how many times...

It took a while, but the U.S. Department of Justice is getting ever smarter about analyzing compliance programs. Compliance Systems Legal Group Partner Win Swenson describes this historical trend, explains why it is happening and highlights important takeaways from the DOJ’s recently revised criteria. In 1995, four years after promulgation of the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines – the first law or...