Compliance

The COVID-19 outbreak is requiring companies to consider new policies and systems – ones conducive to a largely stay-at-home workforce. Smarsh’s Robert Cruz offers guidance on assessing solutions to facilitate this shift. Addressing the demands of a mobile, stay-at-home workforce is not a new topic for the compliance and risk community. However, the recent global coronavirus outbreak known as COVID-19...

Despite growing uncertainty due to increased protectionism, political instability and, most recently, pandemic fears, a new report shows U.S. and U.K. tech firms remain steadfast in their plan for international expansion. In fact, more than four in five tech companies said they plan to open operations in at least one new country over the next 12 months. But with these plans for...

A circuitous path into and through the compliance profession is pretty common among compliance professionals. ICA’s David Povey discusses several of the many roles available to new compliance pros (and seasoned ones, too). Staying in one job throughout a whole working life is less common than it used to be. Changes to the economy, technology and family life have permanently...

With U.S. sanctions compliance fines at a decade high, organizations should be taking note of how to address emerging areas of sanctions risk. BDO’s Steven Kuzma and Christian Cooper offer takeaways from OFAC’s new sanctions compliance framework. As former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty once warned: "If you think compliance is expensive, try noncompliance." The failure to implement and...

“Happy talk” amounts to empty words absent a frank, honest discussion of the issues. Michael Volkov explains one reason why so few compliance programs measure up. Chief compliance officers are heroes. They labor every day to advance a company’s ethics and compliance program without much recognition, with few resources and with well-known gaps in their programs. CCOs live by a credo...

Given the rapidly expanding use of collaboration platforms, like Cisco Webex, RingCentral, Slack, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, as well as video content management systems like Vidyard, Kaltura and Videolicious, Theta Lake conducted a survey to understand how the adoption of these applications is impacting companies in financial services and insurance. Highlights from the findings include: 90 percent of firms are...

Comment letters from the SEC can come out of the blue, require a lot of work involving executive leadership and the board and result in changes to disclosures and internal processes. Parker Poe’s Julie Rizzo and Doug Harmon provide tactical guidance on planning in advance and responding well. Receiving a comment letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can...

Simona Lipstaite and Michael Clauser of Access Partnership consider early-stage artificial intelligence regulations in the U.S. and EU, as well as their implications for companies operating globally. The clock is ticking on the European Union to legislate artificial intelligence (AI). The new European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has promised AI regulation in the first 100 days of taking...

Smaller organizations simply don’t have the resources their larger counterparts enjoy to keep up with compliance requirements. Polyient Labs CEO Brad Robertson outlines how they can clear that hurdle. There are those who still associate blockchain technology – decentralized, transparent immutable digital ledgers – with only two things: Bitcoin and hype. The hype is undeniable, but hype is a natural...

2020 promises to be a year of significant opportunity and change for organizations, as well as for the governance, risk and compliance (GRC) functions that support them. MetricStream’s Gaurav Kapoor discusses trends and changes to expect this year. New innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) and other disruptive technologies, coupled with a growing focus on culture, integrity, risk-awareness and real-time decision-making...

One can’t overstate the importance of planning to prepare for a possible crisis. It’s true for preventing fires, and it’s true for preventing compliance issues. Calvin London draws parallels between Australia’s devastating wildfires and ethical issues that can bring a company to its knees. Australia is trying to recover from the worst bushfire emergency on record. As thousands of firefighters...

Judgment is one of the key components of any successful compliance professional, though it's rarely discussed. Tom Fox opines on why sound decision-making is such an important trait in a compliance officer. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review outlined six key elements of good judgment (learning, trust, experience, detachment, options and delivery), and Tom dives deep on each...