In this special five-part podcast series, I visit with Dr. Pat Harned, President of the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI), about the organization’s 2021 Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES). Since 1994, ECI has conducted this cross-sectional study of workplace conduct from the employee’s perspective. ECI’s GBES data provides the only global benchmark on the state of ethics and compliance (E&C) in business. This year’s GBES is the first compliance related survey conducted after the global pandemic hit. It has significant information for the compliance professional which they need to consider for every compliance program, literally on a world-wide basis.
While a multitude of factors influence ethical behavior, the GBES reports interplay of four major ethics outcomes are tied to the daily decisions employees make with respect to how they behave in the workplace. These are: pressure in the workplace to compromise ethical standards; observations of misconduct; reporting misconduct; and, ultimately, the retaliation perceived by employees after they reported misconduct. Some of this year’s findings are quite troubling as they are clearly trending in disturbing directions. Over this series we will review the key findings, how retaliation against whistleblowers has taken an alarming turn, the impact of Covid-19 on compliance, closing with conclusions and recommendations. In this Part 1, we review some of the key trends.
Join us for Episode 2, where we discuss some of the key findings from the 2021 GBES. To obtain a copy of the Survey, click here. To find out more about ECI, click here.
Day: March 15, 2021
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officers Korrine Kohm and Ariana Monchick discuss CCO liability, ways to avoid enforcement and best practices for compliance teams to mitigate risk and navigate regulatory complexities.
A CSS RegTech podcast series on moving from a tactical to strategic approach to regulatory compliance. The global regulatory space is complex and fragmented. Financial firms can address this problem through tactical responses to regulatory deadlines or think more strategically on how to optimize their compliance data, operations and technology. The CSS weekly podcast features regulatory experts, former Chief Compliance Officers, cybersecurity specialists, industry partners and RegTech collaborators to help prepare investment management firms for changes on the regulatory horizon. For more information on CSS, visit: www.cssregtech.com
About Our Guest Speakers:
Korrine Kohm is CSS’s Director of Retail Wealth Manager Services. Prior to CSS, Korrine was the Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Operations at Estabrook Capital Management where she was responsible for all compliance functions of this SEC-registered, $2.1B investment advisory firm. Korrine began her regulatory career while working at Allied Irish Bank (NY) in the Operations Department where she was a key member of AIB’s Compliance Committee, responsible for ensuring compliance with Federal and State regulations. An active member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals for over 10 years, Korrine earned her Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional (IACCPTM ) designation in 2006, is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and obtained her Certified Fraud Examiner designation. In addition to her experience in compliance and banking, Korrine began the 16-week intensive training course in Quantico, Virginia, to become a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She has particular experience in crafting customized policies and procedures, developing and implementing compliance programs, conducting on-site compliance reviews, acquisition due diligence reviews, risk assessments and mock SEC examinations. She routinely counsels clients on various regulatory matters, including SEC registration issues, social media and advertising, policies related to diminished financial capacity, disclosures and the annual review process.
Ariana Monchick is a Senior Consultant for CSS’s Compliance Services team, and offers broad expertise on securities and investment advisory regulations. Ariana’s experience working in senior compliance positions at various financial services firms allows her to offer effective and comprehensive compliance solutions while maintaining a big-picture orientation. She has established a strong background in developing robust compliance programs for organizations and partnering with business leaders to mitigate risk. Most recently, Ariana was an Advisory Chief Compliance Officer for Cetera Financial Group, one of the largest family of independent broker-dealers in the United States. She was also the Chief Compliance Officer for Legend Advisory Corporation, a registered investment adviser that services the 403(b) retirement plan market.
Jonathan Poling is one of the leading voices in sanctions and trade compliance. He has a wealth of experience as a federal prosecutor in the counter-espionage division of the Department of Justice, where he prosecuted spies, arms dealers, and people doing business illegally in sanctioned countries. Jonathan is currently a partner at Akin Gump. He chats with Tom Fox and Stephen Martin about his work at the DOJ, and other important trade compliance issues, including how he thinks the work of the DOJ will change under the Biden administration.
Working at the DOJ
When Jonathan joined the Department of Justice, the National Security Division was still new, having been established after 9-11 “to consolidate the different national security sections of the Department of Justice and facilitate the exchanging of intelligence with the intelligence community.” Jonathan explains that there were gaps in the economic sanctions that he and his colleagues focused on and helped to close. “Those seeds have since blossomed into a lot of new tactics,” he says. Stephen asks him what he expects from the Biden administration. He first responds with what he expects to stay the same, including an emphasis on foreign influence, particularly in China. What he expects to change, he says, is that things in the DOJ will “return to normal order”.
Tom asks what Merrick Garland can do to rebuild the morale of the prosecutors working at the DOJ. Jonathan remarks that the first thing is to slow down. In recent times, there has been a rush to prosecution, and it’s understandable that the public wants to see cases tried as soon as possible. However, there’s a reason things take a while, Jonathan says. “It’s a serious thing to charge somebody. You want to go through the evidence gathering. You want to make sure you have your i’s dotted and your t’s crossed.” He emphasizes that the Attorney General should focus on setting the priorities of the agency: his able prosecutors know the job well and can perform their duties in the courtroom. He also shares why not every case that can be prosecuted should be.
Navigating Trade Compliance
“What we’re doing [at Akin Gump] is trying to help our clients navigate a complicated regulatory space that is still very antiquated and doesn’t always fit their businesses,” Jonathan says. Companies trying to trade legally in sanctioned countries like Iran find it difficult to understand and navigate the regulations. “If they violate the regs – even technically – it can result in significant penalties to the company,” Jonathan points out. He is happy that sanctions are becoming more targeted so that companies can better understand what they can and can’t do.
World Bank Monitor & the Future of Trade with China
Tom asks Jonathan about his work as a World Bank monitor. He describes the role and his experience and comments, “There are a lot of lessons to be learned from that program… that probably could be employed to other monitorships around the world.”
With regard to trading with China, Jonathan comments that we’re witnessing a change of approach. Very soon, he says, how compliance is done in Chinese companies must change: “There is going to need to be a sea change in terms of how compliance is done in Chinese companies.”
Resources
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
jpoling@akingump.com
In the Episode, fan fav and MoFo partner James Koukios returns to discuss the firm’s always informative Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for December 2020. We focus this episode on ABC enforcement efforts from other countries. Highlights include:
· CFTC brings first FCPA enforcement action;
· Patrick Ho conviction upheld;
· Brazilian government announces 5-year ABC plan;
· MPP settles Car Wash enforcement action; and
· ABC reforms introduced in NDAA.
Recourses
MoFo Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for December 2020
