Compliance

What Does This Mean for You? The Department of Justice (DOJ) has increasingly been using pretrial diversion programs, which often take the form of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and non-prosecution agreements (NPAs), as a tool to hold corporations accountable for wrongdoing. with co-author Briannon Irwin The Department of Justice (DOJ) has increasingly been using pretrial diversion programs, which often take...

Landmark Decision on Criminal Liability In the ongoing, global fight against corruption, it appears the gloves are coming off. Charges were leveled against the acting director of Kassar Logistics and World Eastern International for his negligence in incorporating the companies despite evident fraudulent activity. Wendy Wysong and colleagues from Clifford Chance detail the sentence and offer advice for directors and...

The Opaque Nature of Ownership As regulation around global business relationships increases in importance, it’s critical for enterprises to know the true owner of the businesses they are working with. Brian Alster of Dun & Bradstreet describes the opaque ownership structure that many businesses often implement and strategies companies can adapt to find out true beneficial ownership of businesses. While...

What Business Owners Need to Know as Governments Outsource Code Enforcement Companies across virtually every industry are experiencing a rapid increase in regulation. Naturally, regulatory agencies are having a hard time keeping up with enforcement. That being the case, some state and local governments are turning to private companies and outsourcing enforcement. Compliance is always in a company’s best interest,...

6 Critical Changes for Client Life Cycle Management In less than six months’ time (January 3, 2018), banks must be fully compliant with MiFID II regulatory obligations, bringing in wide-ranging compliance changes. Laura Glynn, Fenergo Director of Regulatory Compliance, examines the six key changes that MiFID II will have on Client Lifecycle Management in particular and how financial institutions can...

(And How to Avoid Making Them) We all make mistakes, and CCOs are no exception. While CCOs are a creative and dedicated bunch, they are often susceptible to these five common mistakes. Probably unsurprisingly, the cure for these ills is more due diligence and more relationship building. Chief Compliance Officers are fallible – I know that is not a controversial...

Moving Beyond Routine Contract Provisions If companies are to maintain a commitment to risk mitigation, they must keep an eye on (and extend its oversight to) distributors – as well as sub-distributors and sub-sub-distributors. This will mean leveraging distributor relationships and using a variety of tools and strategies to conduct compliance and financial audits. Limiting oversight to strictly formal audits...

Evaluating Effectiveness Companywide Regulatory authorities don’t expect perfection in a compliance program, but they do expect a concerted effort on all fronts, from the C-suite to the front-line employees. Internal controls are an essential part of a robust compliance program, but ensuring compliance with internal policies and procedures takes ongoing analysis.  Let's start with some basics: a public company is...

The ex-compliance chief of MoneyGram International Inc. (MoneyGram) is found personally liable for MoneyGram’s AML failures. The lawsuit is unprecedented in growing regulatory efforts to impose personal liability on a compliance officer for a company program failure. Patty Tehrani offers an analysis of the settlement and lessons for compliance practitioners.

Where does your company rank on the compliance checklist? Frankly, anything below an A in today’s competitive climate can put your business at risk and your reputation at stake. With modern Business Process Management tools that clearly define your goals and identifies your weaknesses, you can bid compliance-related pains adieu.

4 Key Components The number of distinct assurance functions has nearly doubled over the last 10 years, but only 10 percent of assurance leaders believe that their company's risk management functions are currently integrated. Unfortunately, despite investments in these functions, the lack of integration leaves general counsel and compliance officers feeling no more confident in managing risks today than they...

Are Banks Bracing for Tougher Compliance? Every new AML regulation – or update – is meant to prompt banks and financial institutions to improve their compliance efforts. The latest announcement by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYS DFS), enacting Part 504, is another such regulatory measure. Initially the impact will be felt only in New York, but...