Volkswagen completes monitorship; Deloitte family leave policy too good to be true?
Volkswagen gets a nod this week for successfully completing its 3-year compliance monitorship related to Dieselgate. Deloitte, on the other hand, lands on the wrong side of our list.
Chapter 6: Carnival looks toward a new horizon
Carnival will go through extraordinary scrutiny as it prepares to resume guest operations—not just in health, safety, and security but in environmental compliance as well. The storm is not over yet.
Chapter 5: The storms merge
How can Carnival meet the expectations of a government-mandated environmental compliance plan and stay in the court’s good graces while the coronavirus brings business to a standstill?
A step toward managing climate risk in U.S. financial system
A nearly 200-page report on managing climate risk in the U.S. financial system is comprehensively assembled by a group spearheaded by CFTC Commissioner Rostin Behnam, but the real work comes in its implementation.
Chapter 4: Carnival moves ethics and compliance to the fore
This installment looks at how new Carnival CECO Peter Anderson restructured the Ethics and Compliance department and developed a culture action plan to drive change across the organization.
Chapter 3: Carnival’s history as serial polluter catches up to it
This installment looks back at Carnival’s history of environmental law convictions, plea agreements with the DOJ, criminal fines, and environmental compliance plans (yes, there is more than one).
Chapter 1: Amid compliance overhaul, COVID-19 hits hard
It’s early 2020, and the world’s largest cruise line operator is about to confront an immutable collision of two storms: its court-mandated environmental compliance plan, more than 2 years in progress, and the imminent coronavirus pandemic.
Chapter 2: Carnival put to the test as early COVID-19 hotspot
As more and more Carnival ships become hotbeds of infection and the company faces harsh criticism, CEO Arnold Donald trumpets the company’s unwavering focus on compliance.
Compliance Week presents: ‘A Tale of Two Storms’
Our first-ever case study is the story of Carnival’s quest for compliance redemption, set in the context of not only new leadership and a court-appointed monitorship, but in the midst of a global pandemic.
Credit to JPMorgan Chase in this week’s banking-themed naughty/nice list
JPMorgan Chase, Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America all either “Nailed It” or “Failed It” this week.
10 reasons why should you be a compliance officer
Jonathan Bowdler of the International Compliance Association shares his list of factors that make compliance an appealing profession today.
Companies should give back to employees who let them into their homes
Where would companies be if employees hadn’t adjusted to working from home so well during this pandemic? The least firms can do is pay them back for their hospitality, writes Martin Woods.
Credit social media giants for prepping for election chaos
Silicon Valley’s social media heavyweights deserve a nod for “war-gaming” potential misinformation scenarios in advance of November’s elections, while McDonald’s again finds itself on our “Not Lovin’ It” list.
Credit Suisse faces FINMA enforcement in corporate espionage case
Credit Suisse is learning the hard way that spying on former colleagues is frowned upon, following announcement of an enforcement proceeding against the Zurich-based bank by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
FBI reforms compliance procedures, to establish new audit office
Compliance reforms set to take place at the FBI include enhanced training and oversight mechanisms and a newly created office to carry out “rigorous and robust auditing.”
Credit to KPMG for shining a light on fraud at Wirecard
A scathing report on the extensive fraud at German payment giant Wirecard had a compliance silver lining: KPMG’s by-the-books, transparent approach to a special audit helped bring that fraud to light.
CPE Webcast: Role of compliance in the fight against racial inequity
As mindsets shift from “managing through” to “moving forward with purpose” for many, how does compliance play a role in helping organizations heal in the realm of bias, diversity, and racial equity?
Survey: Weak leadership contributes to employee pressure to bend rules
A new global business ethics survey released by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative seeks to explain what factors contribute to employee pressure to compromise ethical policies or regulations and how to reduce that pressure.
Jury’s out on Wells Fargo compliance moves; Twitter #fail for Irish DPC
While it’s not yet clear whether Wells Fargo’s compliance moves (including the loss of its CCO) will pay off, we’re much more certain about the Irish Data Protection Commission’s stance on a potential Twitter fine.
How far is too far with employee monitoring? Barclays case could offer litmus
The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating allegations that Barclays Bank had effectively been spying on employees by using an intrusive software system that monitored workers’ activity.
Wells Fargo must do more than pay to redeem fake account scandal
Wells Fargo is now operating under a different regime, but what have the billions of dollars the bank has spent in attending to the compliance failures that arose out of its fake account scandal delivered? Not enough, posits Martin Woods.
McDonald’s handling of ex-CEO scandal gets compliments, criticism
A fresh podcast from the Theranos whistleblower and a new compliance association for Black practitioners get a round of applause from us this week, while a complicated case involving McDonald’s lands the company on both the “Nailed It” and “Failed It” lists.
NRA shot itself in foot with poor compliance commitment
The New York Attorney General’s lawsuit to dissolve the National Rifle Association might not play out as intended, but it nevertheless exposes a number of systemic compliance flaws at the organization that appear to still need to be addressed.
Having difficult conversations is key to modern compliance
Now more than ever, difficult conversations are necessary and increasingly expected of compliance professionals. Financial crime expert Martin Woods has some ideas on how to make them less painful.
McDonald’s whistleblower leads to lawsuit against fired CEO
An anonymous whistleblower’s complaint alleging sexual misconduct by fired McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook prompted the company to file a lawsuit attempting to claw back some of the $41 million severance package it paid upon his ouster.
New York AG cites ‘culture of noncompliance’ in NRA fraud lawsuit
Central to the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association are allegations that the nonprofit’s “culture of noncompliance” allowed EVP Wayne LaPierre and three other NRA officers to steal $64 million from the organization over three years.
CCOs show resilience in early survey data; compliance-blind NRA in crosshairs
The National Rifle Association “Failed It” big time if a suit alleging a lack of compliance controls proves true. Meanwhile, we tip our caps to the stalwart CCOs who carry on despite a cut in pay and resources due to the pandemic.
Firms must apply contact tracing rules to bank relationships
In order to prevent debacles like the one Deutsche Bank is embroiled in, there is a need to combine the processes of “know your employee” and “know your customer,” writes Martin Woods.
Credit Suisse combines risk and compliance, adds sustainable investing unit
Credit Suisse has combined separate risk and compliance heads into one board-level position, part of a shakeup of the bank’s corporate structure that includes a renewed emphasis on sustainable investing.
What do FIFA chief, ‘Florida man,’ and Trump have in common? All Failed It this week
The lesson in this week’s edition of “Nailed It or Failed It?” is the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Shared elements of best-in-class risk and compliance programs
A revamped NAVEX Global report reinforces a long-held belief in the compliance industry that those companies that trust employees to behave ethically continuously work to improve culture.
Facing potential takeover, PG&E pins hopes on reorganization
Found to be at fault for yet another wildfire last week, PG&E’s return from bankruptcy is off to a rocky start. A new reorganization plan at the company built around risk management and safety is key to avoiding a takeover by the state of California.
Nailed It or Failed It? Disney sends anti-hate message to Facebook
In this week’s “Nailed It or Failed It?”, Disney gets kudos for throwing its weight behind the #StopHateForProfit protest, while PG&E earns criticism after being found responsible for yet another California wildfire.
Want an image of corruption? Look to the victims
Harrowing images of coronavirus-related suffering exacerbated by bad actors plaguing healthcare systems offer a glimpse at the true devastation of corrupt activity, writes financial crime expert Martin Woods.
Boohoo complaints put spotlight on supply chains and working practices
Recent reports of underpaid workers at suppliers for U.K. fashion retailers Boohoo and Quiz shed light on inherent weaknesses in companies’ monitoring of their supply chains.
Nailed It or Failed It? Twitter’s meltdown exposes major vulnerability
In this week’s “Nailed It or Failed It?”, we reflect on the most troubling aspect of Wednesday’s giant Twitter hack while giving Wells Fargo a rare kudos for being good corporate citizens.
CCO Hinton leaves Google to advise whistleblower startup
Andy Hinton told CNBC he left his longtime position as vice president and chief compliance officer at Google in March as he looks toward a new role advising a startup that offers a whistleblower app.
Kudos to TikTok, tech brethren; Starbucks & Luckin have us soured on coffee cos.
In the inaugural edition of our weekly “Nailed It or Failed It?” feature, we give TikTok and other tech companies a pat on the back and shake our heads at the actions of Starbucks and Luckin Coffee.
PG&E makes organizational changes to risk, audit, and safety
A month after admitting guilt in the wildfire deaths of 84 Californians, PG&E announced organizational changes to its risk, audit, and safety leadership teams.
Deutsche Bank rightly paying the price for looking the other way on Epstein
In terms of Know Your Customer, Deutsche Bank knew what it had with Jeffrey Epstein. It just didn’t care enough to do anything about it.
Deutsche dinged $150M for compliance failures related, in part, to Jeffrey Epstein
Deutsche Bank will pay $150 million in penalties under a consent order with New York State for “significant compliance failures” regarding, in part, its former relationship with accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Adidas vows more ‘diverse and inclusive’ workplace after key exec departs
Footwear and apparel giant Adidas is focused on improving its diversity efforts after its head of global human resources stepped down following controversial remarks on race that angered employees.
Ask Amii mailbag: What to do when back-to-work guidance falls to you
Executive coach Amii-Barnard Bahn offers some tips for when your compliance title morphs into “Chief Public Health Officer,” plus ways to highlight the compliance function at your company and more.
Market forces, not regs, leading the charge for data privacy
Data privacy is about to become a more tangible concept to Americans not due to regulation like the CCPA, but because the most influential brand in the nation is making it a pillar of how it does business.
What are expectations of compliance at a negligent company like PG&E?
Financial crime expert Martin Woods wonders about the compliance priorities of a company found to be as reckless as Pacific Gas and Electric.
Ask Amii mailbag: Five strategies for maximizing virtual communication
Executive coach Amii Barnard-Bahn provides guidance on how compliance practitioners can best have the tough conversations they need to have in a virtual environment.
From financial crisis to coronavirus: Shifting compliance trends in financial services
Keeping up with regulatory change; budget and resource allocation; and data protection issues were cited as the top three compliance challenges in the financial services industry, according to a recent study.
Tumultuous U.S. leadership hurts image of compliance
If “tone at the top” is a benchmark for determining ethical leadership, where does the United States stand?
Be mindful of gender equity with return-to-work policies
As you’re making your back-to-work policies during the emergence from our collective quarantines, take into consideration that “optional” isn’t an option for everyone.
Navigating layoffs is always hard. During a pandemic, it’s harder
As businesses begin to reopen, many companies are reassessing the furlough decisions they made in March. If you manage such employees, you would be wise to heed this advice.