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Greetings and Felicitations

Podfest Expo 2023 – Angela Proffitt on Affiliate Marketing

In this episode of the PodfestExpo 2023 Preview Podcasts series, I visit Angela Proffitt, founder of the Business Unveiled podcast. We discuss her presentation at PodfestExpo on affiliate marketing. Some of the issues we tackle in this podcast are:

  • The different types of affiliate marketing.
  • Moving from a B2C to a B2B world.
  • How to expand your connections at Podfest Expo.

I hope you can join me at PodfestExpo 2023, hosted by Podfest Global. This year’s event will be January 26-29, 2023, at the Renaissance Orlando at Seaworld in Orlando, Florida. The line-up of this year’s event is first-rate, with some of the top names in podcasting.

Podfest Expo is a community of people interested in and passionate about sharing their voice and message with the world through the powerful mediums of audio and video. We’re proud to unite as many people as possible to learn, get inspired, and grow better together.

 PodfestExpo is so much more than just a mere conference. While we pride ourselves on featuring the most engaging speakers, exciting topics, and in-depth content, the thing that sets PodfestExpo event apart from all others is the tight-knit community we’ve been building since 2013. You don’t just attend a Podfest event – you become part of the Podfest family.

 Whether you’re new to podcasting or a veteran podcaster looking to innovate and improve your podcast, our easy-to-understand Conference Topics allow you to customize a daily agenda based on what you’re most interested in learning. No matter your skill level or experience, PodfestExpo 2023 has plenty to offer!

 I hope you can join me at the event. For information on the event, click here. As an extra benefit to listeners of this podcast, Podfest Expo is offering a discount on the registration price. Enter discount code Fox10.

 PodfestExpo 2023 is a production of Podfest Global, which is the sponsor of this podcast series.

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31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

Day 5 – The Board and Operationalizing Compliance

The most significant development for Boards and compliance continues to come from the Delaware courts, which have been expanding the civil law obligations of Boards through a series of court decisions involving the expansion of the Caremark Doctrine for the past several years. These developments began with the Marchand (Blue Bell Ice Cream) decision which required Boards to manage the risks their organizations face. Next was Clovis Oncology which required ongoing monitoring by the Board. Finally, the Boeing case stands for the continuing proposition that a Board cannot simply have the trappings of oversight, it must do the serious work required and have evidence of that work (Document, Document, and Document).


The decision in Boeing is yet a further expansion of the Caremark Doctrine, once again beginning with MarchandBoeing also states that a company must assess its risks and then manage them right up through the Board level. Finally, a Board must be aggressive in their approach and not passively take in what management has presented to them.
The DOJ has also made clear its thoughts on the role of the Board of Directors. The role of the Board is different than that of senior management. The 2020 Update and DOJ Antitrust Division’s 2019 Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations were even more explicit in announcing their expectation for robust Board oversight of a corporate compliance function.

Name any of the most recent corporate scandals; Wells Fargo, Theranos, Volkswagen, Boeing, FTX, etc., and there was no compliance expertise on the Board. It is now enshrined as a best practice for companies to have a seasoned compliance professional on the Board. I would also add that the DOJ may soon expect a Compliance Committee separate from the Audit Committee.
The DOJ continually speaks about the need for companies to operationalize their compliance programs. Businesses must work to integrate compliance into the DNA of their organization. Having a Board member with specific compliance expertise or heading a Compliance Committee can provide a level of oversight and commitment to achieving this goal. The DOJ enshrined this requirement in the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy. This means that when your company is evaluated by the DOJ, under the factors set out in the 2020 Update and FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, to retrospectively determine if your company had a best practices compliance program in place at the time of any violation, you need to have not only the structure of the Board-level Compliance Committee but also the specific subject matter expertise on the Board and on that committee.

This means that every Board of Directors needs a true compliance expert. Almost every Board has a former Chief Financial Officer, former head of Internal Audit, or persons with a similar background. Often, these are also the Audit Committee members of the Board. Such a background brings a level of sophistication, training, and SME that can help all companies with their financial reporting and other finance-based issues. So why is there no such SME at the Board level from the compliance profession?

Three key takeaways:

1. The 2020 Update required active Board of Director engagement and oversight around compliance.
2. Board communication on compliance is two-way, both inbound and outbound.
3. The Delaware courts have been expanding Board’s roles through the expansion of the Caremark Doctrine.

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Life with GDPR

The ABB Enforcement Action from a UK Perspective

Jonathan Armstrong and Tom Fox return for another episode of the award-winning Life with GDPR. In this episode, we discuss the recent ABB Foreign Corrupt Practices Act resolution. Jonathan considers the ABB enforcement action from the UK perspective and opines how a UK judge might consider the company’s recidivism differently than the DOJ did.

Some of the highlights include:

1.     What were the facts?

2.     How would UK court’s view recidivist behavior under the UK Bribery Act?

3.     Where was the SFO?

4.     What is the status of the investigation in Germany?

Resources

For more information on the issues raised in this podcast, check out the Cordery Compliance, News Section. For more information on Cordery Compliance, go their website here. Also check out the GDPR Navigator, one of the top resources for GDPR Compliance by clicking here.

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Daily Compliance News

January 5, 2023 – The Hell Hath No Fury Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

Some of the stories we look at today include:

·       7% of Robinhood stock seized in the FTX scandal. (Reuters)

·       UNMNT whistleblower made allegations after son’s WC benching. (WSJ)

·       MEPs lose immunity in Qatar corruption scandal. (BBC)

·       Corruption and human rights abuse on Chinese fishing fleets? (BBC)