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 […]
Risk Management
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 inAccounting & Auditing
Five Big Banks Failed Federal Reserve’s Annual Stress Tests
Five of the nation’s biggest banks flunked their annual Federal Reserve stress tests for 2013. Citibank, the largest on the list, also came up short in 2012, and its back-to-back failures will prevent it from increasing shareholder dividends and moving ahead with share repurchases. The failures are not quite so simple as failing to tuck […]
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 inInternal Controls
Studies Find Weaknesses in Data Management Programs
Big Data may be here, but lots of companies are still struggling to get a handle on garden variety information and records management. Indeed, two separate benchmarking reports released last month revealed that even though most companies claim to have information and records management programs in place, many are not up to par, leaving companies […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Dodd-Frank Act Still a Work in Progress
This is a crucial year for the Dodd-Frank Act. More than 70 percent of its required rulemaking is either proposed or finalized, on track to take effect in the weeks and months ahead. For the first time, enough pieces of the regulatory reform puzzle are snapped into place to make an early assessment of if […]
Posted inRisk Management
Saxo Bank Names New Global Head of Finance, Risk Operations
Denmark-based Saxo Bank, an online trading and investment specialist firm, has named Steen Blaafalk as global head of finance and risk operations, effective April 22. In this role, Blaafalk will be responsible for all legal and compliance, finance, risk management and business intelligence within the bank. He also will be a member of the board […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Nasdaq Will Use Kill Switches to Halt Trades, Prevent Flash Crashes
Responding to hardware and software glitches that have led to mini market meltdowns in recent years, Nasdaq is looking to implement a “kill switch” to instantly halt questionable trades. A proposed rule change filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the exchange’s parent company, Nasdaq OMX, seeks permission to make offer the risk management […]
Posted inRisk Management
FCPA Focus Will Test the Compliance Function
Compliance officers, legal counsel, senior operating management, and boards of directors know well the importance of an effective compliance program. With the myriad of laws and regulations already in place and still more on the way, those groups are all devoting more attention to what’s needed to ensure compliance. These days, there’s no law that […]