Compliance

Medical device firms have long loaned hospitals their equipment rent free with the understanding that the institutions will give them a certain amount of business in other areas. While this business model is pervasive in the health care industry and has generally gone unchallenged, it may in fact be a form of bribery. The risks with this arrangement are many,...

An effective compliance program is predicated on trust; without employees' trust in their compliance officer, the compliance function is unlikely to be regarded seriously. This is especially true in Latin America, where building strong relationships and engaging staff face to face is of utmost importance. No "tick box" compliance programs welcome here.

Financial services institutions have gotten themselves in hot water in the past for improper use of electronic communications. In the wake of two significant cases of manipulation, regulators have provided updated guidance on electronic communications. Joanna Belbey offers five key pieces of advice to aid regulated firms in maintaining compliance.

The most effective compliance programs provide an avenue for employees to report wrongdoings without fear of retribution. In order to promote a culture of compliance, your employees have to feel that they're heard and that issues of misconduct are treated seriously and handled swiftly. Is your company sending the message that staff are free to speak up?

Facilitation payments are handled differently depending on where you're doing business. Under U.S. law, they're allowable in only very limited circumstances, but they're never warranted under UK regulations. So how should companies operating in India who are also accountable to FCPA authorities move forward?

Singapore's judicial system is broadcasting a pretty plain message: corruption -- whether in the private sector or in the public sector -- will not be tolerated. In a recent case involving bribery of a marine surveying consultant, the courts handed down an unusually strict sentence. This case can serve as a warning: the country's policy on corruption is zero-tolerance.

Corporate culture, defined by behavior, is notoriously difficult to measure. Determining, then, whether an organization boasts a "culture of compliance" or instead operates in a "culture of corruption" is tricky. There are a number of red flags, however, that often point to endemic corruption. Among them: tone at the top, incentive structure, and strategy.

Transfer pricing — determining the price charged for goods and services exchanged between related entities — is one area in which companies often exhaust time and money while still ending up penalized.

This article looks at the key program characteristics of independence and authority, which have enormous capacity to contribute to the level of independence and authority of an E&C program.

Are your colleagues a bunch of criminals? Didn’t think so. So why does so much compliance training focus exclusively on wrongdoing? Why not focus on the small everyday behavious that keep us all safe? Doing that will start to build a positive compliance based culture.

While some may disagree with my point of view, I am confident most will agree that the potential for disruptive change in the marketplace makes the above task very important.

Most companies have a plan for disaster recovery of IT, real estate, and data – but what happens when you must respond to allegations of a violation of customer trust or compliance?