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.
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.
SEC spring rulemaking agenda signals potentially hectic fall for compliance
Final action by the Securities and Exchange Commission on its climate-related disclosure rule, whistleblower amendments, unimplemented elements of Dodd-Frank, and more could all take place by the end of the year, according to the agency’s spring agenda.
Brinks fined $400K over restrictive whistleblower language in contracts
The Brink’s Company, a provider of security-related services, has agreed to pay $400,000 and add wording in U.S. confidentiality agreements to comply with an SEC rule regarding corporate whistleblowers.
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.
Real talk: How Best Buy manages challenges of DEI goals
Two years into its diversity, equity, and inclusion action plan, Best Buy leaders attended Compliance Week’s National Conference to discuss—in a refreshingly blunt manner—the retailer’s learnings.
Ten highlights from Compliance Week 2022
Editor In Chief Kyle Brasseur recaps the moments that stood out to him most from Compliance Week’s first in-person event since 2019.
Carreyrou lauds whistleblowers’ roles in helping expose Theranos fraud
John Carreyrou, whose reporting exposed blood-testing company Theranos as a fraud, discussed the vital role lab director Adam Rosendorff and his other colleagues that came forward played as sources during a fireside chat at Compliance Week’s National Conference.
Whistleblower to OCC: USAA had 400,000 undisclosed Military Lending Act violations
USAA Bank engaged in an estimated 400,000 violations of the Military Lending Act, a former director of compliance within the bank reported to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in documents seen by Compliance Week.
A look inside USAA’s ‘catastrophically mismanaged’ compliance culture
In exclusive interviews with Compliance Week, former USAA insiders describe a risk and compliance culture in which numerous individuals either were given the axe or quit because the problems were so endemic.
Whistleblower: USAA ‘actively lying to regulators for years’ regarding violations of law
Senior executives at USAA ignored warnings from compliance staff and consultants for years regarding violations of U.S. federal banking laws and hid from regulators the scope of the company’s illegal practices, a former USAA director of compliance turned whistleblower told Compliance Week.
NAVEX: Whistleblowers ‘more emboldened than ever’
NAVEX’s 2022 “Hotline & Incident Management Benchmark Report” provides chief compliance officers with valuable insight into how their hotline and incident management program stacks up against their peers.
Former tech exec to pay $97K for impeding SEC whistleblower
David Hansen, co-founder of Las Vegas-based software company NS8, agreed to pay $97,523 to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that he impeded a whistleblower’s attempt to communicate with the agency about a securities law violation.
CW National 2022 Q&A: Mia Reini on implementing DOJ guidance
Mia Reini, senior manager, corporate compliance and enterprise risk management at The Home Depot, previews her panel titled, “Proactive Response to DOJ Guidance—What to Expect from Regulators and The Home Depot Compliance Response” at CW’s National Conference in Washington, D.C. from May 16-18.
New bill seeks shorter wait for SEC whistleblower awards
The “SEC Whistleblower Reform Act of 2022” proposes to shorten the wait time for a whistleblower to receive a payout by requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue an initial ruling on a claim within one year of the deadline to file the claim.
Q1 roundup: SEC tackles climate disclosures, businesses navigate Russia restrictions, more
Regulation and guidance from U.S. agencies and the White House, plus compliance challenges stemming from a two-year global pandemic and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, made the first quarter of 2022 a novel risk environment for regulated businesses.
PCAOB whistleblower program bill reintroduced to Congress
A bill that proposes to create a whistleblower program for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has been reintroduced to the House after failing to be acted upon by the Senate in 2019.
Mallinckrodt to pay $260M for False Claims Act violations
Pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt agreed to pay approximately $260 million as part of a settlement announced by the Department of Justice for underpaying Medicaid rebates and violating kickback laws regarding its drug Acthar.
Six years later, CW whistleblower subject receives award
Andrew Russo, one of five whistleblowers to share their stories in CW’s “Witness to Wrongdoing” series, has finally received an award from the Securities and Exchange Commission, nearly six years after he filed his claim.
SEC proposal seeks to undo Trump-era whistleblower changes
The Securities and Exchange Commission will seek to undo several changes to the agency’s whistleblower program enacted during the Trump administration to potentially limit large awards.
False Claims Act-related settlements top $5.6B in 2021
False Claims Act settlements totaled more than $5.6 billion in the past federal fiscal year, the second-largest amount ever collected by the government in FCA actions in one year, according to the Department of Justice.
Supreme Court declines case on False Claims Act anti-retaliation provisions
The Supreme Court has declined to settle conflict between two federal court decisions on whether former employees are covered by whistleblower anti-retaliation protections contained in the False Claims Act.
NAVEX: Top 10 risk and compliance trends for 2022
Diversity, equity, and inclusion; prioritizing ESG; business continuity; and more highlight the latest edition of NAVEX’s annual list of risk and compliance trends worth monitoring.
CPE Webcast: Best practices for acquiring and acting on employee concerns & feedback
Encouraging employee feedback and reports with the proper tools and processes can help companies retain top talent, save thousands of dollars from less employee turnover, avoid embarrassing and public legal action, build cultures of trust and longevity, and more.
DiMauro: Seven compliance areas to watch in 2022
If 2021 was about transition under the Biden administration, 2022 is looking as if it will be a year of action. CW Director of Compliance Programs & Training Julie DiMauro shares her list of key areas she expects to receive enhanced scrutiny in the year ahead.
McDonald’s claws back $105M severance paid to disgraced former CEO
McDonald’s has agreed to drop its lawsuit against disgraced former CEO Steve Easterbrook, who will return more than $105 million in equity and cash he received upon the termination of his employment in 2019.
Five compliance triumphs from 2021
A key CCO appointment, a company committed to transparency, and a bank that spent big on improving its AML controls highlight CW’s annual list of laudable ethics and compliance moments.
Top ethics and compliance failures of 2021
Systemic risk management lapses at a financial services firm, allegations of toxic culture at a video game giant, and more of the same baffling behavior from one of the world’s largest tech companies comprise CW’s list of the biggest ethics and compliance fails of 2021.
CWE panel: EU Whistleblowing Directive a test for company procedures
Multiple weak points identified with the upcoming EU Whistleblowing Directive could put the burden on companies to determine how to best implement the law, experts discussed during CW’s virtual Europe event.
SEC rewrites whistleblower record books during historic FY2021
The SEC announced more whistleblower awards to more recipients in fiscal year 2021 than all prior years combined, according to the agency’s annual report to Congress.
Lawsuit: Ex-JPMorgan VP links firing to concerns raised about compliance program
A former compliance executive with JPMorgan Chase alleges she was fired after pointing out flaws in the bank’s compliance program and misrepresentations the bank made to regulators regarding a 2016 settlement of bribery allegations in the Asia Pacific region.
NHTSA issues first-ever whistleblower award of $24M to Hyundai insider
A former Korean safety engineer with Hyundai will receive the first whistleblower award from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: A $24.3 million payment for information regarding engine safety issues in 1.6 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles sold in the U.S.
Nicole Creola Kelly named chief of SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower
The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Nicole Creola Kelly to be the next chief of its Office of the Whistleblower.
SEC awards whistleblower extra $2M for DOJ action
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced a second award to a whistleblower after their information provided led to a successful related action by the Department of Justice.
e-Book: What whistleblowers want compliance officers to know
A five-part series from Compliance Week and SAI360 chronicles the experience of whistleblowers—and what CCOs can learn from their stories.
Compliance Week National Conference is going back in person in May
Mark your calendars: Compliance Week’s National Conference in Washington, D.C. will be held in person for the first time in nearly three years from May 16-18, 2022.
CFTC issues record $200M whistleblower award
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission paid out what is believed to be the largest-ever whistleblower award to an individual—nearly $200 million—who provided credible information to open investigations launched by the CFTC, another U.S. regulator, and a foreign regulator.
When academic studies and hoax hotline claims go ‘off the rails’
Imagine this: An anonymous hotline tip comes through that a senior executive has engaged in insider trading. This scenario happened this summer as part of academic research, effectively leaving hundreds of unwitting corporate subjects to foot the bill for unnecessary follow-up conducted.
How to respond to government’s renewed emphasis on cybersecurity
The Department of Justice’s new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is the latest development to suggest companies’ cybersecurity defenses had better be up to snuff when doing business with the U.S. government or risk enforcement.
Late surge expected to comply with EU Whistleblowing Directive
European companies are expected to rush to comply with new whistleblower protection rules only when they take effect in December, meaning workers are not adequately protected for any disclosures they make in the meantime.
Ask a CCO: How do you prevent whistleblower retaliation?
Seven senior compliance practitioners detail the steps their respective companies take to ensure whistleblowers are not retaliated against when reporting potential misconduct.
Lessons learned from actions of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen
Many whistleblowers are forced to take their complaints outside the company because their attempts to address the problems internally are rebuffed or ignored. Facebook is paying the price for that inaction.
Ask a CCO: What makes a good internal reporting system?
Seven senior compliance practitioners explain what they believe to be the key tenets of an internal reporting system that encourages employees to come forward with reports of potential misconduct.
Ask a CCO: How do you encourage internal reporting?
Seven senior compliance practitioners share how they encourage employees to come forward with reports of potential misconduct in support of the greater mission of instilling a culture of compliance.
SEC issues top-10 whistleblower award at $36M
With the end of a record fiscal year around the corner, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued yet another top-10 whistleblower award at approximately $36 million.
SEC whistleblower awards surpass $1B with $110M payout
The Securities and Exchange Commission surpassed $1 billion in whistleblower awards with the announcement of a $110 million payout to a whistleblower whose independent analysis led to two successful enforcement actions against a company.
Compliance officials to split $1M SEC whistleblower award
Three compliance practitioners received shares of a more than $1 million whistleblower award announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
BSI guidance offers whistleblower management best practices
The British Standards Institution has created international guidance to help companies set up an effective whistleblowing management system.
Encouraging whistleblowing could mean casting the word aside
Whistleblower is a loaded term, one that conjures up images of rats, snitches, and backstabbers. Maybe it’s time to call it something different.
Five pieces of advice for potential whistleblowers
Thinking of becoming a whistleblower? The path ahead likely won’t be easy. Learn from others that have been through the process.