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BNP Paribas Overhauls Compliance, Replaces CCO

French banking giant BNP Paribas is replacing its top compliance chief, Jean Clamon, who has served as head of group compliance since 2008, and undertaking a major reorganization to strengthen its compliance and internal control functions. The overhaul comes shortly after the bank reached a record $8.9 billion settlement with the Justice Department for U.S. sanctions violations. More details inside.

Officer With Many Hats: Study Confirms Frazzled CCO

Another survey of compliance officers, this one from PwC, continues to show the evolving—and sometimes dizzying—role compliance executives play. Proliferating regulatory burdens continue to drive more responsibilities for the CCO, even as he or she still tries to define a more strategic role in helping your organization find and reduce risks. More details inside.

RTI International Metals Names Chief Risk Officer

RTI International Metals, an integrated global supplier of advanced titanium and specialty metals products and services, has named Bill Hull to the newly-created role of chief risk officer. The move is part of a reorganization of the company's financial and risk management activities. Details inside.

AML Costs Soaring for Banks

As regulators continue to press financial companies to beef up anti-money laundering compliance, some are experiencing sticker shock as they consider implementing more extensive AML programs. And more vigilance means higher costs. "When you consider that we're getting tens of thousands of AML alerts every month, it very quickly adds up," says Robert Redman, AML risk manager at Citigroup.

PwC Audit Inspection Drives Restatements, Revised Opinions

PwC's 2013 regulatory audit inspection led to four restatements and five revised audit opinions on internal control, according to the firm's recently published inspection report. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board found fault with 32 percent of the PwC audits it inspected in 2013, down from 39 percent in 2012. More findings inside.

BlackLine Systems Unveils COSO Jumpstart Solution

BlackLine Systems has unveiled its "COSO Jumpstart Solution" to help companies comply with new guidelines set forth in the updated 2013 COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework. Details inside.

OSHA Fines SpongeTech Delivery Systems $32K in Whistleblower Case

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration this week ordered SpongeTech Delivery Systems to pay $31,835.33 in back wages to a former employee for violating the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. More details inside.

Control Freak: Audit Firms Giving Controls More Scrutiny

This summer many public companies will be spending an exorbitant amount of time examining their control documentation as audit regulators—and hence audit firms—focus not just on the detection of controls, but also whether they are operating effectively. "The issue is to what extent do you have to repeat or somehow additionally verify that the control is operating effectively?" says Larry Rittenberg, audit committee chairman for Woodward Inc.

ESMA Censures S&P for Internal Control Lapses

The European Securities and Markets Authority issued a public notice of censure to Standard & Poor's this week for a breach of European Union CRA regulations regarding sound internal control mechanisms and safeguards for data processing systems. S&P inadvertently triggered an email alert to subscribers in November 2011 with a header that erroneously indicated France had been downgraded, when in fact there had been no such downgrade.

SEC Official Stresses Value of Protecting Whistleblowers

A top SEC official stressed the importance of encouraging employees to report wrongdoing internally in remarks during Compliance Week 2014 last month. He also warned that the SEC will pursue companies that discourage external reporting. "Something that prohibits employees from reporting wrongdoing or intimidates them is very problematic," said Stephen Cohen, associate director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.

Constructing a Speak-Up Culture

Encouraging whistleblowers and ensuring that managers and coworkers don't retaliate against them are lynchpins in building an effective compliance program. Companies can create great processes, but their compliance programs won't be effective if their best eyes and ears—employees—don't feel safe reporting problems. "The more you can do to communicate that if you call the hotline here's what's going to happen, the better," said Patricia Harned, president of the Ethics Resource Center.

Deloitte Audit Inspection ReportRaises ‘Level of Precision’ Issue

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board published its first major inspection report of the 2013 cycle, giving Deloitte a 28 percent audit failure rate after studying 53 audit files, a slight weakening from 2012 results. The inspection report calls out a number of instances where Deloitte auditors failed to show that a particular control operated at a "level of precision" necessary to prevent or detect a material mis-statement. More inside.

Only Half of Companies Started on Control Framework Update

Inundated with internal control changes spurred by poor regulatory inspection results, public companies are taking their time putting a new internal control framework into place before the old one expires later this year. Nearly half of respondents said their organizations had not yet begun work on applying the new COSO Internal Control — Integrated Framework, according to a survey taken during the first quarter of 2014. More survey results inside.

Global Fraud Loss: $3.7 Trillion

Occupational fraud costs companies about 5 percent of their revenue annually, according to the latest data from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Other findings: The top detection method continues to be through insider tips, and most frauds are committed by first-time offenders with clean employment histories. More survey results inside.

2013 Reports to Show Progress, Gaps in Internal Control Audits

The next round of audit inspection reports will show leading audit firms have made progress in their audit of internal controls over financial reporting, but often are still missing the final step in assuring controls are effective, according to Jay Hanson, a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. More details inside.

PCAOB Member Wans Don't Rely on Gap Analysis in COSO Update

Audit experts at Compliance Week 2014 are warning companies to be careful not to rely too heavily on a gap analysis of internal control when implementing the new COSO framework. Analyzing internal control gaps can serve as part of the implementation process, but should not form the entire basis for implementing the updated framework, says Jeanette Franzel, a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

GM Fails to Report Safety Issues; Fined $35 Million by NHTSA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today entered into a record $35 million settlement—the maximum amount allowed by law—with General Motors resulting from the automaker's failure to report safety defects in its vehicles to the government in a timely manner. As part of the settlement, GM agreed to "unprecedented oversight requirements," the NHTSA stated. Full details inside.

FINRA Fines Morgan Stanley $5 Million for Supervisory Failures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority hit Morgan Stanley with a $5 million fine for supervisory failures on how its sales staff pitched initial public offerings to retail investors. According to FINRA, the firm lacked adequate procedures and training to ensure that its sales professionals distinguished between "indications of interest" and "conditional offers" when soliciting potential investors. Full details inside.

Accounting Class-Action Settlements Rise Slightly in 2013

The number of U.S. accounting class-action settlements increased slightly in 2013 to 47, up from 46 in 2011, with an average settlement amount of $26.6 million. The number of cases still remained relatively low compared with the past decade, according to an analysis of securities class-action cases. More inside.

When ‘Holding Executives Accountable’ Hits Home

The compliance world is buzzing over news that one of its own, a former chief compliance officer of MoneyGram, might face millions in fines for poor anti-money laundering compliance that happened under his watch at the company. Sure, maybe punishment so draconian will scare compliance enthusiasts away from the profession. Then again, Compliance Week Editor Matt Kelly writes, there's also the possibility that the man in question deserves it.

MoneyGram CCO Could Face $5M Fine for Compliance Lapses

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network notified a former chief compliance officer of MoneyGram that he could face personal fines of up to $5 million for anti-money laundering compliance failures. In November 2012, MoneyGram agreed to forfeit $100 million and enter into a deferred-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department to resolve money laundering charges. Details inside.

Insurance Group Launches Task Force to Analyze Cyber-Risks

The Casualty Actuarial Society has announced the establishment of a new task force to search for effective ways to analyze cyber-risk. According to the industry group, many aspects of cyber-risk remain poorly understood and tying research on specific IT aspects of cyber-risk to financial outcomes and insurance coverage has been particularly difficult. More inside.