Day: February 15, 2023

Categories
Wirecard

Season 3, Episode 38 – The Men Behind the Curtain

Welcome to Season 3 of Lies, Spies & Corporate Crimes: The Wirecard Saga. The Wirecard Saga, has become of the world’s leading sources on all things Wirecard. In Lies, Spies & Corporate Crimes: The Wirecard Saga; Mikhail Reider-Gordon, Managing Director of Institutional Ethics & Integrity at Affiliated Monitors looks at the biggest financial scandal in post-war Germany from a variety of angles. On this episode, Mikhail delves into the ongoing trial of Wirecard and Ollie Bellenhaus, who stand accused of numerous layers of deceit. She covers the landmark decision made by the Irish highest court as well as details around the many underlying entities that could now become exposed as a result. Mikhail also explores the many shell companies created. Tune in to this captivating episode to explore the world of corporate deceit, fraud, and money laundering on the Lies, Spies, and Corporate Crimes.

Key Highlights:

·      The History of Limited Liability Companies in Britain;

·      Allegations of Fraud in Binary Option Trading;

·      The Impact of Being Victimized by Financial Fraud Involving a Legitimate Business;

·      The Exploitation of Investors;

·      The Impact of Directors on Corporate Business: Examining the Cases of Ryan Coats and Liam Granger;

·      Credit Card Companies and Financial Services Providers;

·      Money Laundering Through Offshore Accounts in Ireland;

·      The Irish Central Bank’s Concern with Grey Mountain’s Unlicensed MSB Operation and Their Response;

·      Tax Evasion or Loss of VAT Revenue in Ireland; and

·      Directors’ Liability in an Irish Company.

Notable Quotes

1. “They label Bellenhaus, a professional liar.”

2. “The defense lawyers accused him of so many layers of deceit. It was almost comical.”

3. “The court’s decision means where a fraud perpetrated can be found to have a nexus through Ireland, there is now a basis to unmask those that ultimately benefited from that fraud no matter where they are.”

4. “Until this case, no Irish court had ever held that the veil of incorporation could be pierced or should be pierced in order that directors be held personally liable for the actual emissions of their company, in a case like the one mister Powell was bringing.”

Categories
31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

One Month to a More Effective Internal Controls – Board of Directors as an Internal Control

Is a Board of Directors a compliance internal control? The clear answer is yes. In the 2020 FCPA Resource Guide, Hallmarks of an Effective Compliance Program, there are two specific references to the obligations of a Board in a best practices compliance program. One states, “Within a business organization, compliance begins with the Board of Directors and senior executives setting the proper tone for the rest of the company.” The second is found under the Hallmark entitled “Oversight, Autonomy and Resources,” which says the CCO should have “direct access to an organization’s governing authority, such as the Board of Directors and committees of the Board of Directors (e.g., the audit committee).”

Further, under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the Board must exercise reasonable oversight of the effectiveness of a company’s compliance program. The DOJ Prosecution Standards posed the following queries: Do the directors exercise independent review of a company’s compliance program and are directors provided information sufficient to enable the exercise of independent judgment? The DOJ’s remarks drove home to me the absolute requirement for Board participation in any best practices or even effective anti-corruption compliance program.

Three key takeaways:

  1. Board oversight over the compliance function is a separate internal control, so document it and use it.
  2. The board must perform oversight over your company’s internal controls.
  3. Does your Board use the five principles for involvement in compliance with internal controls?

For more information on building a best practices compliance program, including internal controls, check out The Compliance Handbook, 3rd edition.

Categories
The Hill Country Podcast

Wynita Yancy – CMO of the Hill Country Youth Ranch

Welcome to the award-winning The Hill Country Podcast. The Texas Hill Country is one of the most beautiful places on earth. In this podcast, Hill Country resident Tom Fox visits with the people and organizations that make this the unique area of Texas. Join Tom as he explores the people, places, and activities of the Texas Hill Country. In this episode, I welcome Wynita Yancy, Kerrville transplant and Chief Marketing Officer at the Hill Country Youth Ranch.

Some of the highlights include

  • Founding of the Hill County Youth Ranch
  • The mission of the Hill Country Youth Ranch
  • Wynita’s journey from Chicago to Kerrville
  • Wynita’s experiences in Leadership Kerr County

Resources

For more information on the Hill Country Youth Ranch, click here.

For more information on the lunch workshop on why your business needs a podcast, click here.

Wynita Yancy on LinkedIn

Categories
Great Women in Compliance

Jen Hoar on Corporate Intelligence

Welcome to the Great Women in Compliance Podcast, hosted by Mary Shirley and Lisa Fine. Have you ever wondered about corporate intelligence?  What it means, how it is done, and how it relates to our work in ethics and compliance.  In today’s episode, Lisa speaks with Jen Hoar, who is a Managing Director at Forward Risk and Intelligence.  Jen calls herself a “recovering journalist,” and reflects on how that career path brought her to where she is today.

Lisa and Jen discuss what corporate and human source intelligence are, and the strategies she uses to obtain relevant information.  She also explains the distinction between corporate intelligence and corporate espionage.  They talk about the art of interviewing in her world, and how it is similar – and different – to internal investigations and what many of us do.  Jen also provides some great tips and advice for talking to and connecting with people.

A special thank you to Kelly Paxton for this recommendation, and if you haven’t listened to her podcast, “Fraudish,” you should definitely check it out.

The Great Women in Compliance Podcast is on the Compliance Podcast Network with a selection of other Compliance related offerings to listen in to.  If you are enjoying this episode, please rate it on your preferred podcast player to help other likeminded Ethics and Compliance professionals find it.  If you have a moment to leave a review at the same time, Mary and Lisa would be so grateful.  You can also find the GWIC podcast on Corporate Compliance Insights where Lisa and Mary have a landing page with additional information about them and the story of the podcast.  Corporate Compliance Insights is a much-appreciated sponsor and supporter of GWIC, including affiliate organization CCI Press publishing the related book; “Sending the Elevator Back Down, What We’ve Learned from Great Women in Compliance”(CCI Press, 2020).

If you enjoyed the book, the GWIC team would be very grateful if you would consider rating it on Goodreads and Amazon and leaving a short review.  Don’t forget to send the elevator back down by passing on your copy to someone who you think might enjoy reading it when you’re done, or if you can’t bear parting with your copy, consider it as a holiday or appreciation gift for someone in Compliance who deserves a treat.

You can subscribe to the Great Women in Compliance podcast on any podcast player by searching for it and we welcome new subscribers to our podcast.

Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn here.

Categories
Career Can D0

Unlocking Career Success with Mindset Shift and Skill Development with Sonja Price

Sonja “Dynamo” Price is a top career strategist, salary advisor, and leadership coach whose mission is to support professionals to have greater meaning, better work life balance, and significantly higher pay. She has worked with Tony Robbins, trained with Al Gore, and won an award from the Women’s Economic Forum. Sonja helps clients with career branding, job search and networking, and offer negotiation, to help them find clarity in their career, and ensure they are focused on the right roles and projects. Sonja is also the co-author of two books, The Pivot Point System and The Infinite Leader, which detail her process for helping individuals make transformative changes in their lives, careers, health, and wealth. 

It’s important to evaluate your coach to make sure they have the skills, qualifications, and experience necessary to help you reach your goals, Sonja tells listeners. Mary Ann highlights the need for individuals to gain more digital skills to stay competitive in the post-COVID job market and she suggests taking online courses or going back to school to gain such skills. Sonja recommends looking for a coach who offers a ROI guarantee.

When you want to transition careers you should marry your past work experience with the direction that you are heading in the future and to look for creative ways to work around any prerequisites or qualifications that may be listed in a job description. Mary Ann adds that it is important to adjust your mindset, as a negative attitude is likely to make interviews shorter. Sonja provides coaching services to help people adjust their mindset and identify the right fit opportunities in their next career chapter. She helps them build confidence and break down their fears for the future. 

Resources

Sonja Price on LinkedIn

Faremouth.com

Categories
Compliance Into the Weeds

ChatGPT for the Compliance Professional

The award winning, Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, Matt and I take a deep dive into ChatGPT, a natural language processing tool that works by indexing every piece of written content on the Internet. We discuss the impact of the Biden administration’s proposals for AI and discusses NIST’s voluntary AI framework and  the utility of chat GPT in the workplace. What should your organization consider about incorporating AI into both their shipping decisions and mission-critical processes. If you’re interested in efficient and advanced AI technology, you don’t want to miss this episode.

Key Highlights Include

  • Impact of Chat GPT on Jobs -The Quality of Chat CPG for non-English Speakers
  • The Biden Administration’s Nonbinding Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence.
  • The Benefits of Adopting a Voluntary AI Framework by NIST for Defense Contractors
  • The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Shipping and Work Processes

 Notable Quotes

  1. “Chat GPT can answer pretty much anything. It won’t necessarily tell you where it is getting this information. It will just give you information pretty much like the way Tom, I am answering your question right now. Just imagine text-based bot answering those questions in the same way. That’s what it is.”
  2. “Will it make your job easier? Probably for a lot of people who struggle to come up with written content. Yes, it could. But specifically then for compliance officers and let’s bring it back to what matters for our audience. We’ll chat GPT as used by others make my job harder. Compliance officers. Now I think, actually, you have a lot to worry about there, and we could get into that.”
  3. “But I just view this as a huge boom to anyone who is interested in research, anyone who is interested in learning, can’t replace the weekly and business journalist, Matt. So you’re good to go at Radical Compliance.”
  4. “But you have identified really, I think, the heart of the problem that compliance officers need to think about now. Because to me, it’s just 1 more tool.”
Categories
Daily Compliance News

February 15, 2023 – The Ghost of Hoffa 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.

Stories we are following in today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Speak up within teams. (FT)
  • Does visiting a museum = an ethical issue? (NYT)
  • Hoffa corruption still haunts organized labor. (The Globe and Mail)
  • Qatar Emir to make a case to Marcon. (Politico)