No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home Compliance

DiCianni’s Idea: How It All Got Started

Affiliated Monitors: 15 Years of Independent Monitoring Excellence, Part 1

by Jay Rosen
December 4, 2019
in Compliance, Featured
closeup of magnifying glass on gray background

Fifteen years ago, the concept of independent monitoring was just getting off the ground. Jay Rosen discusses the importance of that development and AMI’s role in the change.

As we return from our Thanksgiving break and prepare to wrap up 2019, I would like to reminisce about Vin DiCianni, the president and founder of Affiliated Monitors, Inc. (AMI) on the first 15 years of AMI. This 15-year sweep is much more than simply the history of AMI; it details the rise of independent monitoring in the U.S. at multiple levels: the federal government, state agencies and local authorities as well as internationally.

AMI has been at the forefront of not only the use of independent monitors, but also the dramatic growth of the compliance and ethics profession over the past 15 years. In this year-end five-part series we will look at the history of the origin and expansion of independent monitors, as well as the government’s embrace of corporate compliance and ethics programs.

DiCianni began formulating the idea of an independent monitor when he observed a series of sanctions rendered by government agencies, in which he believed the underlying behavior did not fit the crime. As a white-collar defense lawyer in Boston in the 1990s, DiCianni saw that there were only two paths a state regulator could take if someone was found responsible for a transgression such as billing mistakes or similar regulatory violations. The licensed professional would often either be found guilty and have their state license suspended or revoked, or there would be no sanction. DiCianni viewed suspension or revocation as “a death sentence” for a licensed professional. He added:

“It just seemed wrong to me, but there were no other options that were out there. For about seven, eight years, this idea just percolated in my head about doing something to create these alternative sanctions, if you will, on the probationary side of things, so that a doctor or the practitioner could get better.”

The reality is that license revocation or suspension for relatively minor regulatory infractions does no good for any of the parties involved. It unfairly and harshly penalizes the defendant. It penalizes the public interest by removing a valuable service provider from bringing those skills to address a public need. Finally, it fosters negative implications for the regulator whose interest was not always punishment, but remediation in facilitating practitioners’ understanding of and practice within a jurisdiction’s regulatory scheme.

From this point, DiCianni was able to convince some state regulators in Massachusetts to try a new approach by having an independent monitor step in and assess whether a professional who had run afoul of a regulatory scheme could be rehabilitated via a probationary structure. He then reached out to several professionals in the Boston area to explore the idea of providing independent monitoring services as an alternative sanction.

Some of them were regulators, some were attorneys who represented clients before regulatory boards, some worked in state attorneys general’s offices and some were in business. With this idea coming to fruition, the next step for DiCianni was to create a business organization to fill this niche.

One of the first things DiCianni established with AMI was both integrity and professionalism in the company’s monitorship roles. The integrity comes from the independence the organization brings to the monitorship process. DiCianni said that one of the key reasons for a monitor’s success is true independence. Previously, a state regulatory board might appoint one of its own to become the monitor. In reality, they were simply the “eyes and ears of the board.”

Conversely, if the monitor is the best friend of the recalcitrant party, DiCianni noted, “then there’s a clear bias and lack of objectivity and neutrality to the process. AMI was able to establish processes to designate the company as a true neutral. The professionalism derives from the makeup of the AMI team, as well as in utilizing the services of subject matter experts on its monitorships. Having both of these two ingredients was key for AMI to successfully establish its integrity with regulators.”

DiCianni said that another key feature of a successful monitorship is around education.

A monitor is not there simply to represent the interests of a regulator on a punitive basis.

The monitor can also work to help educate a person or organization on how to better meet their regulatory obligations beyond simply meeting the base letter of the law. In other words, moving beyond simply a check-the-box program.

All of these concepts had to be explained literally again and again to regulators. DiCianni said, “It is talking to them, explaining to them what you do, telling them sort of the benefits of what they’re getting here and then showing them some of the examples of how monitoring works.” He spent “a lot of time sort of building some ground swell of support for the concept of the independent monitor.”

Please join me next week for Part 2 of this series as we explore the early days of AMI’s independent monitoring model.

 


In case you missed the earlier installments of this ongoing series, please see the links below.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Monitors But Were Afraid to Ask

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Potential Issues in Corporate Monitorships

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Suspension and Debarment in Monitoring

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Monitoring in the Health Care Sector

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

The Basics of Corporate Culture

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Monitoring in an M&A Context

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5


Tags: Monitoring
Previous Post

The Evolution of Compliance

Next Post

An Unconventional Interview Question: “Do You Have an HR Department?”

Jay Rosen

Jay Rosen

Jay Rosen is Vice President, Business Development and Monitoring Specialist at Affiliated Monitors, Inc., the first company in the U.S. to focus on providing independent integrity monitoring and assessment services across a wide range of regulated industries and professions. Jay previously headed up Merrill Brink’s FCPA Investigations and Ethics and Compliance translation group. He has over eight years of experience assisting clients on cross-border investigations, as well as helping them localize their code of conduct and other mission-critical English documents for their global colleagues. For almost three years, Jay has co-hosted the #1 weekly FCPA podcast, “This Week in FCPA,” with Tom Fox. Tom and Jay recently launched a second podcast, “Popcorn and Compliance,” and Jay is also a commentator on the biweekly podcast, “Everything Compliance,” with Jonathan Armstrong, Tom Fox, Sarah Hadden, Matt Kelly and Mike Volkov.

Related Posts

DOJ increasing monitorships

DOJ Signals Expanded Use of Independent Monitors for Corporate Criminal Enforcement

by Womble Bond Dickinson
June 8, 2022

The DOJ indicates that it will increase the use of monitors in corporate criminal enforcement; what does that mean for...

Demonstrators protest outside amazon investment firm

Employee Surveillance Can Turn Your Office Dystopian If You Don’t Reciprocate Transparency and Security

by Rob Shavell
December 7, 2021

Demonstrators protest outside amazon investment firm Remote employee monitoring is ubiquitous — and likely here to stay. However, using monitoring...

high-voltage power lines with sunset in the background

IPKeys Power Partners Announces New Grid Cybersecurity Breakthrough

by Corporate Compliance Insights
September 8, 2021

Addresses multibillion-dollar cybersecurity convergence challenges of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) & compliance facing utilities & grid operators Tinton Falls, NJ...

sparkles grey background with a winners cup

Eventus Systems Wins Trade Surveillance Product of the Year in 2021 Risk Technology Awards

by Corporate Compliance Insights
July 27, 2021

AUSTIN, Texas and LONDON (July 27, 2021) – Eventus Systems, Inc., a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and...

Next Post
job candidates awaiting inerview

An Unconventional Interview Question: “Do You Have an HR Department?”

Compliance Job Interview Q&A

Jump to a Topic

AML Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation Banking Board of Directors Board Risk Oversight Business Continuity Planning California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Code of Conduct Communications Management Corporate Culture COVID-19 Cryptocurrency Culture of Ethics Cybercrime Cyber Risk Data Analytics Data Breach Data Governance DOJ Download Due Diligence Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) ESG FCPA Enforcement Actions Financial Crime Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) GDPR HIPAA Know Your Customer (KYC) Machine Learning Monitoring RegTech Reputation Risk Risk Assessment SEC Social Media Risk Supply Chain Technology Third Party Risk Management Tone at the Top Training Whistleblowing
No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT