The Institute of Internal Auditors has published a practice aid that serves as a kind of mid-year reminder to internal auditors to assure a company’s governance is rooted in the those critical intangibles—integrity and ethics, for example—that steer people in the right direction.The practice guide, titled “Auditing the Control Environment,” is a compilation of lessons […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Regulators Update Guidance for Online Financial Services
On Tuesday, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council issued a supplement to its 2005 guidance for financial institutions that let customers conduct transactions online. The goal of the supplement, Authentication in an Internet Banking Environment, is to “reinforce the risk-management framework described in the original guidance, and update the FFIEC member agencies’ supervisory expectations regarding […]
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XBRL Compliance Is Upon Us
All public companies must now comply with the SEC’s mandate to use XBRL technology when filing financial statements. How hard has compliance been? How do you amend a filing when you discover an error? We chatted with Jill Radloff, partner at the law firm Leonard, Street & Deinard, to find out. (9.5 minutes, 2.2 Mb)
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The Elusive Art of the Risk Assessment
Our latest Compliance Week editorial roundtable happened last week in Chicago, where we paired up with the software firm Recommind and convened a group of nine compliance officers to talk about anti-corruption programs. Now at first glance, you’d assume that any roundtable with the word “anti-corruption” in the title would dwell on the Foreign Corrupt […]
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Effective Employee Training on Ethics
In our latest podcast we chat with Tom Yorton, CEO of Second City Communications, about how to develop effective training programs for complex topics like ethics and compliance, and what Second City has learned in its efforts to help companies with training.(11 min., 2.7 Mb)
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Working Together To Improve Strategic Planning
With the downturn drawing to a close, companies are redirecting their focus from survival to long-term strategic planning for growth. Yet, many organizations are at risk of failing to achieve the goals of their strategic plans. New research from CFO Research Services, IDG Research Services and Oracle suggests that a lack of alignment between finance […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
More on Defendants’ Post-SEC Settlement Press Releases
Earlier this week, I wrote here about Commissioner Aguilar’s speech at SEC Speaks, and his wish that 2011 will bring an end to press releases issued by defendants following settlements arguing that “the conduct was really not that bad or that the regulator over-reacted.” If such statements continue, Aguilar said, “it may be worth revisiting […]
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SEC Charges Co. For Failure to Disclose Perks
A settled enforcement action offers a sharp warning for public companies: proper disclosure of executive perks still matters.Kansas-based NIC Inc. is the latest reminder that executive perquisites can cost companies far more than their face value. In addition to potentially angering shareholders, extra frills for executives can land a company in hot water with the […]
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Facebook Tries to Befriend the Public Markets
The modern U.S. regime of regulatory compliance is not easy, not cheap, and not popular—until you consider the alternatives. Then you can see that, as Winston Churchill once said in a somewhat different context, it’s the worst system in the world, except for all the others.Churchill’s words stuck in my mind last week as we […]
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Coming to Compliance in 2011
We’re all about prognostications here at Compliance Week when the first week of January rolls around. For detailed predictions about what’s to come in financial reporting, enforcement, securities regulation and more, I encourage you to read our “Year in Preview” stories coming in our January 4 newsletter. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t take […]
