General
One of the more frustrating topics for discussion is defining business ethics. It is frustrating to see how complex and unhelpful the discussion turns when defining business ethics. I have two tests for how to deal with this issue. 1. Do you use simple terms that can be easily communicated
General
Each year I have identified the so-called “person” of the year to capture the most significant enforcement and compliance trend. In the past, I have given the award to the Chief Compliance Officer, the Ethics Officer, the Prosecutors, and others. This year is not an easy choice. In my
General
Lauren Connell, Managing Associate at The Volkov Law Group, joins us again for a posting about third-party due diligence. Lauren's profile is here, and she can be reached at lconnell@volkovlaw.com. Most discussions of third party due diligence begin with an explanation of indirect liability and
General
You know a company’s culture is suffering when you hear the CEO or senior executives say the best way to develop a “Speak Up” culture is to just tell all the employees “we want to hear from you.” I am an advocate for simplicity but sometimes simplicity can slip
General
DOJ’s compliance counsel, Hui Chen, pronounced this year as the compliance year of third party due diligence. This has been a good year for compliance, but I would not characterize this year as limited to third party due diligence. I am not sure why Ms. Chen focused on third
General
I always use the “Streetcar Named Desire” line to describe the challenges a Chief Compliance Officer faces – CCOs depend on the kindness of strangers. It is a little bit of an exaggeration but bear with me. CCOs are not superheroes and cannot by themselves ensure an effective ethics and compliance
General
Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.~ Vince Lombardi Like so many areas in life, a successful ethics and compliance program depends on teamwork. My last two postings, Parts 4 and 5, will highlight these
General
These are heady days for Chief Compliance Officers. Over the last 20 years, the CCO has moved from the backwater of corporate offices to the front and center of the power structure. We now have debates over the independence of the CCO from the legal function, the reporting obligations and
General
Compliance has to continuously improve – as companies innovate, so do critical foundation functions like compliance. The forces of change on corporate governance and compliance were unleashed years ago. There is no way to put the genie back in the bottle – the wave is continuing to grow and so long as
General
Some things are easy to define by negative inferences. Corporate ethics or business ethics are not the same as legal ethics. Business ethics are not the same as our philosophy ethics – Aristotle and all of the classic philosophers were not operating in a corporate context. Some things require a positive
General
Before a Chief Compliance Officer accepts a new position with a company, a potential CCO should conduct his/her own “due diligence” of the prospective employer. A company without a corporate culture of ethics and compliance can pose serious challenges for CCOs seeking to implement an effective ethics and compliance
General
As a federal prosecutor with lots of trial experience, I generally know what questions to ask a witness or a defendant. In the compliance arena, there is much more leeway in how and what questions you ask. Many companies conduct employee surveys. These surveys are usually administered by human resources