In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
Day: May 18, 2021
In this episode, we will touch on new Russia’s Restrictions on Corporate Disclosures; and OFAC’s updates to Somalia sanctions.
In this special episode of K2’s Integrity Matters podcast series, I visit with Gabe Hidalgo. Hidalgo is a Managing Director at K2 Integrity. He has 20 years of legal, regulatory compliance, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) experience working with wholesale and retail banks, FinTech companies, broker/dealers, and money services business entities. Hidalgo is a recognized subject-matter expert in the cryptocurrency and digital assets market and is able to help clients navigate and mitigate Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance risks. In this podcast, we take a deep dive into the current issues around cryptocurrency regulation and where they may be headed down the road. Some of the highlights include:
The Current Landscape
- Consumer and institutional push into crypto.
- NFTs are growing in popularity. What is the significance?
- Heavy institutional hitters buying in of late. Is the little guy now cut out?
Current Regulatory Climate
- Alternative currency has gone from to an asset class being bought and sold for investing.
- What are the views of Gary Gensler and where might the SEC go in terms of regulation and enforcement?
- IRS and taxation issues.
- What are the benefits of a strong regulatory environment for both the financial system as well as the companies in it?
Into the Future
- Inevitability that there will be more regulatory guidance and rules; you have more and more mainstream institutions ready to buy or invest.
- Whenever you have that much interest, the government has to get involved from a risk mitigation standpoint, and consumer protection standpoint.
- Who is going to oversee it? Why types of products? Who falls in those product classes?
For more on K2 Integrity, check out their website, here.
Categories
Episode 062 — Robert Zafft
In this episode of The Ethics Experts, Nick welcomes Robert Zafft, Author of “The Right Way to Win,” to the show.
One afternoon at 4 PM, you get a call from the local Securities and Exchange Commission office, and they say they want to come by in two days to review your company’s Code of Conduct. You ask them why they want to review your Code. They tell you that it is a foundational document of your compliance program and view it as an internal control and, therefore, enforce it under the FCPA. They want to review all aspects of your Code design, implantation, training, and rollout.
What steps do you need to take to demonstrate the robustness of your Code but also your training and ongoing communications on it?
How do you dig deeper and review the Code of Conduct design, implementation, and review process?
How do you make sure facts on the ground have not changed and that your Code is still relevant?
IN THIS NEW EPISODE, Compliance Evangelist Thomas Fox and Kortney Nordrum, Regulatory Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Deluxe Corporation, break down the steps you need to take to survive (and ace) the Code of Conduct investigation review by the SEC.
Major takeaways discussed in the episode:
✔️ Dig deeper and review the Code of Conduct design, implementation, and review process. Show any changes or amendments, what was the process for these actions. Finally, how do you make specific facts on the ground that have not changed and that your Code is still relevant?
✔️ Build a focus group and pull in people from teams in audit, finance, I.T., business folks, and procurement to assess the current Code to identify what works, what doesn’t, and what’s missing.
✔️ Another vital step is benchmarking. Search and see examples of codes, whether a private or public company, big or small, to benchmark against and identify where you think you should be and where others are in your industry.
✔️ Develop a code that you’re proud of and that you want to display to the world. It should reflect and be tailored to fit your organization and not any other.
✔️ Approval and buy-in from the Board and top management are necessary to lend credibility and authenticity to the Code’s core message. This serves as the organization’s Bible for how to operate.
✔️ Identify your Code of Conduct training protocol and require annual attestation that the Code of Conduct is read and understood by all employees and directors.
✔️ Checklist of evidence to present to the SEC
■ Creation/Design
● Focus group minutes
● Drafts and updates to prior code language
● Benchmarking data and session information
● Translations
● Code launch plan – detailing Communications, emails, mgr meetings, printouts, CEO video
■ Training
● Training records & attestations
● Transcript of Code of Conduct training
■ Operationalization
● Culture and compliance surveys
● The open rate on emails/click rate on Code on the intranet
● How often employees reach out with questions
● Hotline calls and investigations
● Are people making good choices? Root cause analysis of non-compliance
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Welcome to SURVIVE AND THRIVE, the newest addition to the Compliance Podcast Network. Hosted by the Compliance Evangelist Thomas Fox and Kortney Nordrum, Regulatory Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Deluxe Corporation. This is a podcast where we unpack compliance, crisis disasters and walk you through all the red flags which appear and give you some lessons learned going forward.
Do you have a podcast (or do you want to)? Join the only network dedicated to compliance, risk management, and business ethics, the Compliance Podcast Network. For more information, contact Tom Fox at tfox@tfoxlaw.com.
Jeffrey Hayzlett is a global business celebrity, the CEO of The Hayzlett Group and the founder of The C Suite Network. He is a primetime television and podcast show host, author, and a keynote speaker. As a leading business expert, Jeffrey has shared his insight and expertise through various television networks and around the world via his travels. Tom Fox welcomes him to this week’s episode as they discuss the C-Suite Network, diversity, and the effects of COVID-19 on executives.
Pivoting in The Pandemic
The pandemic made Jeffrey and his team consider what they could do differently about their network conferences. “It really got down to the fundamental piece . . . we really don’t have to be together, meaning face-to-face to do the work that we need to do,” Jeffrey tells Tom. Tom remarks that this approach transformed the C-Suite Network as its membership grew exponentially. The key element, Jeffrey stresses, is that everyone wants to come together to do something together, and to learn and share each other’s expertise.
Having the Hard Conversations
As executives, we need to have the difficult discussions surrounding diversity no matter how uncomfortable they may make us. “I think we all think we know what we know, and we all think we know what other people go through; and we don’t,” Jeffrey says. We need to have frank and open discussions around diversity, and stop trying to coach our language and just address these topics and issues. We should approach these conversations with the understanding that we don’t intend to hurt anyone.
The New Normal
Jeffrey tells Tom that the way we usually conduct our errands and our business will change post-pandemic. “I don’t think you’re going to have certain things go back to the way what people would say is normal, we’re going to have whatever normal is.” Business events will also be smaller in capacity, Jeffrey states. “There’s gonna be a real hybrid,” he comments: events will be partly face-to-face and partly online.
Resources
Jeffrey Hayzlett | LinkedIn | Twitter
The Hayzlett Group
The C-Suite Network
We’re going to be talking about how sometimes we get stuck in some “self-talk” and how talking with other people and getting outside input can lead you to answers that are actually helpful to you!
Hal Garyn will be joining us for this podcast to also shed some light onto what many CAEs have been telling him regarding what they have been going through.
Not only are a lot of people becoming a little more insecure due to the covid lockdown, but some of these echo chamber type situations can lead to a bit of paranoia seeping it’s way into our work field.
Listen in at: http://www.jasonmefford.com/jammingwithjason/
