Governance

We’re all in agreement that culpable whistleblowers should not be eligible for financial awards. But Dan Hurson argues that legislation already in place has guards against the potential of awarding guilty parties. And the vast majority of whistleblowers have kept their hands clean anyhow. The inclusion of a “co-conspirator” disqualifier would only muddy the waters.

One of the more hotly contested issues with Dodd-Frank was that the Act would encourage misconduct – that the promise of ample compensation for whistleblowers would in fact incentivize individuals to direct or participate in criminal behavior, then reward those culpable for the wrongdoing. But the authorities have made clear they’ll take culpability into account.

While many expect the new administration and Congress to chip away at employee protections, several initiatives in Congress and the executive branch suggest a trend in the opposite direction for federal employees. Two Acts currently pending in Congress are designed to fill gaps in protection for federal employees and prevent agencies from enforcing gag orders.

The SEC’s new and proposed rules allow companies to update and simplify their disclosure requirements as part of the SEC’s overall disclosure effectiveness review. This modernization of the SEC disclosure system discussed in the SEC’s Regulation S-K concept release in 2016 is designed to eliminate redundant, overlapping and outdated requirements and align them with current accounting principles and improvement in...

Understanding culture is difficult. It’s especially tricky for directors to know whether the culture supports the right kind of risk-taking. Aggressive compensation targets or growing numbers of whistleblower complaints may be signs that a company’s culture is out of control. Does your board have a handle on company culture?

Driven by technology advances, GRC is going through a sea change. Practitioners are completely rethinking the GRC infrastructure and will use digital transformation and data analytics to make their programs far more responsive to the evolving needs of their organizations. GRC practitioners who ignore this transformation do so at their organizations’ peril.

The Information Governance Process Maturity Model (IGPMM), developed by the Compliance, Governance and Oversight Council (CGOC) in 2012, has become a standard foundation for starting and revising enterprise information governance programs. The CGOC has now released a new version of the model to help organizations deal with today’s information realities.

The vast majority of board candidates are self-appointed leaders – those who have created a high level of visibility for themselves, directed efforts to achieve superior results and created learning opportunities for themselves to advance their expertise and position themselves for advancement. Here are a few tips to help board candidates as they seek appointments.

As public companies approach Proxy Season 2017, investor voting policies and the hottest trends in governance are important issues companies will face at their annual meetings. Equally important are how to navigate proxy advisors, engage with investors, react to activists, and position boards for successful voting outcomes. This report from Teneo offers key steps. Seven for 17: Tactical paproac

AML and Other Regulatory Concerns Virtual currency is gaining momentum by the day. There are many tax, compliance and regulatory issues still to be resolved around virtual currency, making it a controversial form of tender. However, if the issues are to be handled through a global initiative, this innovative financial tool may be helpful to developing societies globally. Virtual currency...

This new report from PwC’s Governance Insights Center shows boards steps they need to take in order to effectively oversee a company’s key risks. According to PwC, 63% of directors rate risk management expertise as very important to have on their boards, while 79% of investors said it’s a very important attribute to be represented on boards. This report addresses...

4 Failings that Hold Candidates Back Professionals seeking board appointments must be prepared to articulate their value proposition for the industry, company, and board at hand. Those who fall short in this regard often do so because of one of these four common failings.  Tracy Houston outlines some of the key areas where director candidates can often use some work....