We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode Sam and I, talk about the Accountability Assessment. Some of the highlights include:
· The Accountability Assessment creates a baseline by which you can create a roadmap.
· You can benchmark against your Accountability Assessment for continuous improvement.
· An Accountability Assessment can identify gaps in your corporate culture.
For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.
See Sam’s blog post, Corporate Culture: Accountability Means Acting on What You Stand For
Day: August 21, 2020
Welcome to a special five-part podcast series, A Conversation with Skillsoft and StoneTurn: From the Code of Conduct to Risk Assessment to Continuous Improvement. This week’s podcast series is jointly sponsored by Skillsoft and StoneTurn Group, LLP. Over the course of this series we have explored the recently released 2020 Update to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (2020 Update). Focused on your Code of Conduct and how it is informed by your Risk Assessment, training on your Code of Conduct, performing a Risk Assessment and conclude with how all this ties to continuous monitoring and continuous improvement. Participants in this podcast series include: from Skillsoft, Charlie Voelker, Director, Compliance Products; John Arendes, Vice President and GM of Global Compliance Solutions; from StoneTurn, Toby Ralston, Managing Director, Jamen Tyler, Managing Director and Stephen Martin, Partner. In this fifth and final episode, I conclude with Stephen Martin on continuous monitoring and continuous improvement.
A new focus in the 2020 Update and FCPA Resource Guide, 2nd edition, was the new mandate for continuous monitoring and continuous improvement. But it all begins with your risk assessment. Martin said, “they are the most critical part of your compliance program because they frame what you are supposed to do overall in your compliance regime.” What has changed recently, with the 2020 Update is the emphasis around continuous program improvement and that it should be “guided by your risk assessment, which is something new.” This means that you must look at more than “simply a limited snapshot in time, but using risk assessment, that is based on continuous operational data and information across a number of functions so that you can have real time risk assessment and improvement of your compliance program.”
All of these developments have led to the clear conclusion that your compliance program should be a living breathing document. Martin said, “I think it’s more important today, given the guidance that came out, before you would talk a risk assessment that would be done once a year or once every couple of years, or perhaps you would do a program assessment. Now, what you’re expected to do is continually be evaluating your program and looking at data and information.” From there compliance officers and companies need to gather the data and look at is as an “ongoing review to update your policies, procedures, and controls, and tracking the information to incorporate into their risk assessments.”
Webinar
If you enjoyed today’s podcast, I want to let you know about an upcoming webinar Skillsoft and StoneTurn are hosting. The webinar “Evolving Your Compliance Program” will be held on Wednesday Sept 23 and will explore how companies are leveraging data and information to improve and evolve their compliance programs. Information and Registration click here.
Resources
For more information on Skillsoft’s compliance offerings, click here.
For more information on the Skillsoft/StoneTurn partnership, click here.
For more information on StoneTurn, click here.
As the Trump Administration backtracks from its avowed goal to destroy the USPS, Tom and Jay brave the surge in Covid cases by staying safe at home. They are back to look at top compliance articles and stories which caught their eye this week.
1. First DOJ Opinion Release in 6 years. What is the significance? Tom explains it all in the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog.
2. FCPA enforcement action involving international adoptions. Harry Cassin in the FCPA Blog.
3. Bank/government partnership to fight financial crime. Dylan Tokar in WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal.
4. Once a cheater, always a cheater? Daimler pays $2bn fine. Aaron Nicodemus in Compliance Week(sub req’d)
5. At the one year anniversary of the Business Roundtable’s Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, Mike Volkov reviews Board performance in a 4-part series on Corruption, Crime and Compliance. Part 1, Accountability. Part 2, diversity. Part 3, challenges for Board decision-making. Part 4, steps to advance corp governance.
6. Is ‘Failure to Prevent’ the next big crime in the UK? Cordery Compliance alert.
7. When can you use a corruption defense in litigation? VE lawyers in the State Bar of Texas Int’l Law Journal.
8. Does the McDonald’s suit against its former CEO implicate D&O coverage? Kevin LaCroix opines in the D&O Diary.
9. This month on The Compliance Life, I am joined by Louis Sapirman. In Part 1, we looked at Louis personal and professional journey into compliance. In Part 2, we discussed the qualities of a successful CCO. In this week’s Part 3, communication as a driver of compliance.
10. On Compliance and Coronavirus we had a week of AMI. Tuesday had Eric Feldman discussing culture and compliance during Covid-19, Vin DiCianni on using compliance ambassadors during Covid; and Deb Waugh on challenges in the health care profession.
11. On the Compliance Podcast Network, on 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program, this month focuses on the role of the Board in compliance. This week saw the following offerings: Monday-what leads to a successful BOD investigation; Tuesday– Board metrics for compliance;Wednesday-BOD failures with special guest Vin Dicianni; Thursday– BOD & doing business in China; and Friday-the Board’s role in hiring. The month of August is being sponsored by Affiliated Monitors. Note 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program now has its own iTunes channel. If you want to binge out and listen to only these episodes, click here.
12. Join Jay and Tom at Converge20. Convercent’s top compliance conference is going virtual this year. Check at the agenda and register here.
13. Join Tom and Vince Walden (host of The Walden Pond) for a webinar on the ROI of Compliance, Tuesday August 25, 10 AM CT. Registration and Information here.
14. Join Tom and AMI’s Don Stern for a review of the 2020 Update to the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs as a part of Navex Global’s quarterly MasterClass on Thursday, August 27. Information and registration here.
15. Join K2 Intelligence FIN’s Bernard Factor for a webinar entitled “Examining the Nuances of Correspondent Banking to Address BSA/AML Compliance Risk”. Registation and Information here.
16. Join Tom next week on the FCPA Compliance Report, as he leads up to the 500th episode. All next week some of the top commentators in compliance will join Tom to discuss some of the top developments in compliance over the past 8 year. It is all leading up to the 500th anniversary episode which will run Monday, August 31.
Tom Fox is the Compliance Evangelist and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.
