Allegations of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violation can easily cost a company hundreds of millions of dollars. And that’s before the U.S. Department of Justice or the Securities and Exchange Commission levies one dollar in fines or penalties. Internal investigations can quickly spiral into multi-million dollar affairs. Walmart, for example, spent nearly half a […]
Karen Kroll
Posted inTechnology
Leveraging Existing Technology for Better Policy Management
Companies are increasingly turning to technology to keep up with the speedy pace of changes to regulatory requirements. Not only are companies updating systems to track such changes and new rules, they are also using them to coordinate policy and training and track which employees have undergone training programs or have read and agreed to […]
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Managing Third-Party Corruption Risks in Decentralized Companies
Earlier this month, tech giant Hewlett-Packard announced a $108 million agreement with the Department of Justice to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The charges centered on the conduct of H-P affiliates in Russia, Poland, and Mexico, and they highlight a trend at the center of many recent FCPA cases: The […]
Posted inEthics & Culture
Winning the Battle to Get ‘Buy-In’ on Compliance
Getting executives and middle managers to “buy in” to the goals of compliance can be an uphill battle at many companies, especially at those where compliance is viewed as an obstacle to getting things done. Some line managers may harbor misconceptions about the role of compliance. They view most compliance initiatives as a nuisance, at […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Setting the scope of an investigation
Establishing the parameters of an investigation is one of the most critical responsibilities facing compliance officers.
Posted inTechnology
Balancing the Power of Social Media With Compliance Risks
In April of last year, the SEC issued a report stating that companies can use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to announce material information in compliance with Regulation Fair Disclosure, just as long as they alert investors about which social media channels will be used to disseminate such information. The news was a […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Pressure Mounting on Companies to Get Sustainability Reporting Right
As sustainability reporting steadily moves into the mainstream, companies are faced with dual challenges: determining just what sustainability data will be informative for the audience they want to reach, and developing efficient processes to gather that data. “It’s very easy to say companies should report more about sustainability and how it relates to their business […]
Posted inInternal Controls
More Companies Disclosing Measures of Realized and Realizable Pay
If you’re not familiar with the new compensation metrics—realized and realizable pay—you should be; more and more companies are using them to provide investors with what they consider a more realistic picture of what their top executives are really earning. Companies are providing figures on realized and realizable pay along with the executive compensation numbers […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
The Costs of The Dodd-Frank Act
As companies begin to add up the cost of compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act, some are feeling the effects of what might be called slow-motion sticker shock. As the rules required by the legislation have slowly rolled out, the financial effect is becoming clearer and by nearly all estimates the mounting costs far surpass most […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
How the Dodd-Frank Act Is Changing Corporate Governance
Just how much have the governance provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act actually enhanced corporate governance? It depends on who you ask. While some bemoan the law’s scattershot approach to governance, most say that its biggest effect is that it has caused investors and boards to communicate more with each other. And nearly everyone agrees that’s […]