Ethics & Culture

Ethics and compliance positions are taking on increasing importance within organizations worldwide. That’s according to a survey conducted by Salary.com and the nonprofit Ethics Officer Association, which shows top ethics executives are garnering salaries commensurate to those of Chief Information Officers. The 2005 EOA Survey of Ethics & Compliance Officer Jobs shows total compensation for […]

Bankers and compliance officers seeking guidance on complying with federal money laundering rules have gotten their wish. Federal banking agencies and a bureau of the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury have issued a manual to help examiners comply with anti-money laundering laws. The Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual (see box at right), issued June […]

Daniel Terris first became interested in Lockheed Martin when a colleague entered his office carrying a board game called “The Ethics Challenge,” which involved characters from the popular Dilbert comic strip inserted into various ethical scenarios specific to the defense giant. Terris, who is the director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public […]

Companies need to be aware that both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice have stepped up enforcement of a federal law banning bribery of foreign officials, according to experts. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been in effect since the 1970s but only recently has it been aggressively enforced—due in part […]

Measuring the immeasurable. That’s how some consider the development of metrics and benchmarks necessary to ascertain the effectiveness of their ethics programs. But sophisticated calibration efforts increasingly are penetrating the sometimes nebulous world of ethics and compliance assessment. The advent of ethics program metrics—including measuring the ethical culture and awareness at corporations through employee surveys, […]

This article is Part Two of a two-part series on ethics programs. Last week, we spoke with ethics leaders at Sprint and other companies, who discussed the importance of “support from the top” in developing successful ethics programs (see box at right). In implementing their ethics and compliance programs, too many companies are focusing all […]

This article is Part One of a two-part series on ethics programs. Next week, we take an outsider’s view of corporate ethics programs; when it comes to corporate ethics programs, many experts fear there is too much focus on “process,” and not enough focus on results. Helplines, surveys, focus groups and employee training are great, […]

Companies may be treading dangerously by failing to coordinate the various environmental disclosures they make throughout the year, some experts tell Compliance Week. Ewing According to Kevin Ewing, a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, the passage of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other recent events have […]