Twenty years ago, in the aftermath of the Enron and WorldCom financial reporting scandals, Congress acted and created the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Such a milestone anniversary marks a good time for organizations to refresh, rethink, and modernize their SOX programs.
Internal Controls
Posted inInternal Controls
DOJ-informed compliance guidance helps Home Depot prep for potential scrutiny
How can a company prove its compliance bona fides to a regulator, should one ever come knocking on its door? The Home Depot has prepared for such a scenario with detailed guidance pegged to the DOJ’s “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.”
Posted inInternal Controls
Robinhood Crypto fined $30M for AML, cybersecurity failures
Robinhood Crypto agreed to pay a $30 million fine to the New York State Department of Financial Services for “significant failures” in its Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering and cybersecurity compliance programs.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Historic EY fine latest by-product of KPMG cheating scandal
It is impossible to ignore the SEC’s $100 million fine against EY for employee exam cheating is double the amount the regulator penalized KPMG for its separate cheating scandal. Especially since the latter resolution appears to have served as a starting point for the SEC’s ruling on the former.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
EY fined record $100M for employee cheating scandal
Ernst & Young will pay $100 million after admitting to SEC charges addressing systematic cheating among its accounting professionals on CPA license exams over four years. The fine is the largest the agency has ever imposed against an audit firm.
Posted inEurope
FCA fines Ghana International Bank $7.1M for AML failings
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority fined Ghana International Bank £5.8 million (U.S. $7.1 million) for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls over its correspondent banking activities.
Posted inEthics & Culture
USAA whistleblowers want to be heard—and now
Jaclyn Jaeger reflects on feedback received from former and current USAA employees following her three-part series detailing alleged violations of law and mismanaged compliance culture at the financial services giant.
Posted inInternal Controls
Morningstar to pay $1.15M in SEC internal control failure case
Morningstar Credit Ratings agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.15 million to resolve charges of disclosure violations and internal control failures levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission last year.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Synchronoss to pay $12.5M over alleged accounting misconduct by former execs
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced software company Synchronoss Technologies agreed to a $12.5 million settlement for “long-running accounting improprieties” caused, in part, by alleged misconduct from senior executives.
Posted inInternal Controls
The importance of maintenance and record-keeping
Stringent maintenance and record-keeping measures are part of the foundations of an effective compliance and risk management framework, so their neglect is as puzzling as it is unwise.
