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Compliance Week Conference Podcast

Compliance Week 2024 Speaker Preview Podcasts – Junna Ro on Careers in Compliance

In this episode of the Compliance Week 2024 Speaker Preview Podcasts series, Junna Ro discusses her panel presentation at Compliance Week 2024, “Insights into Career Paths and Transitions within the Compliance Profession.” Some of the issues she will discuss in this podcast and her presentation are:

  • Key drivers for compliance careers
  • Mobility in compliance and beyond
  • Making new connections at Compliance Week 2024

I hope you can join me at Compliance Week 2024. This year’s event will be held April 2-4 at The Westin Washington, DC, Downtown. The line-up for this year’s event is first-rate, with some of the top ethics and compliance practitioners around.

Gain insights and make connections at the industry’s premier cross-industry national compliance event, offering knowledge-packed, accredited sessions and take-home advice from the most influential leaders in the compliance community. Back for its 19th year, join 500+ compliance, ethics, legal, and audit professionals who gather to benchmark best practices and gain the latest tactics and strategies to enhance their compliance programs. Compliance, ethics, legal, and audit professionals will gather safely face-to-face to benchmark best practices and gain the latest tactics and strategies to enhance their compliance programs, among many others, to:

  • Network with your peers, including C-suite executives, legal professionals, HR leaders, and ethics and compliance visionaries.
  • Hear from 80+ respected cross-industry practitioners who are CEOs, CCOs, regulators, federal officials, and practitioners to help inform and shape the strategic direction of your enterprise risk management program.
  • Hear directly from panels on leadership, fraud detection, confronting regulatory change, abiding by cross-border rules and regulations, and the always-favorite fireside chats.
  • Bring actionable takeaways to your program from various session types, including cyber, AI, Compliance, Board obligations, data-driven compliance, and many others, for you to listen, learn, and share.
  • Compliance Week aims to arm you with information, strategy, and tactics to transform your organization and career by connecting ethics to business performance through process augmentation and data visualization.

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, Compliance Week is offering a $200 discount on the registration price. Enter the discount code TFOX2024 for $200 off.

The Compliance Week 2024 Preview Podcast series is a production of the Compliance Podcast Network. Compliance Week is the sponsor of this series.

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Blog

Ten Top Lessons from Recent FCPA Settlements – Lesson No. 1, Self-Disclosure

Over the past 15 months, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have made clear, through three Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions and speeches, their priorities in investigations, remediations, and best practices compliance programs. Every compliance professional should study these enforcement actions closely for the lessons learned and direct communications from the DOJ. They should guide not simply your actions should you find yourself in an investigation but also how you should think about priorities.

The three FCPA enforcement actions are ABB from December 2022, Albemarle from November 2023, and SAP from January 2024. Taken together, they point a clear path for the company that finds itself in an investigation, using extensive remediation to avoid monitoring, and provide insight for the compliance professional into what the DOJ expects in a best practices compliance program on an ongoing basis.

Over a series of blog posts, I will lay out what I believe are the Top Ten lessons from these enforcement actions. Today, we begin with Number 1, self-disclosure. The first and most important thing is that a company should self-disclose a potential FCPA violation to the DOJ.

The DOJ expects and will reward self-disclosure above all else. The ABB enforcement action all began with ABB’s putative attempt to self-disclose. ABB set up a meeting where they intended to self-disclose but only set up the meeting without telling the DOJ the reason for the meeting. Unfortunately for ABB, this attempt was unsuccessful, as the South African press broke the story of ABB’s bribery and corruption between the time ABB called to set up a meeting and sat down with the DOJ. Yet the DOJ spent significant time discussing the underlying facts, and it was clear it positively impacted the DOJ.

Kenneth Polite, then Assistant Attorney General, said of ABB’s conduct around this attempt, “Before the meeting, however, a media report drew public attention to the wrongdoing.  But because the company could demonstrate intent and efforts to self-disclose before, and without any knowledge of, the media report, the Department weighed both the early detection of the misconduct and the intent to disclose it significantly in ABB’s favor.”

In the Albemarle enforcement action, there was a significant discussion in the NPA around Albemarle’s voluntary self-disclosure to the DOJ. “The disclosure was not “reasonably prompt,” as it was made approximately 16 months ago to the DOJ after initial discovery by the company. This meant the self-disclosure “was not within a reasonably prompt time after becoming aware of the misconduct in Vietnam,” and it means that Albemarle did not meet the standard for voluntary self-disclosure. While the DOJ “gave significant weight” to the company’s voluntary, even if untimely, disclosure of the misconduct, it is certainly cautionary.

Equally interesting was the SAP enforcement action. Although this factor was not present in the SAP enforcement action, the DOJ’s message regarding the DOJ’s expectation of self-disclosure and the obvious and palpable benefits could not be any clearer. Under the Corporate Enforcement Policy, SAP’s failure to self-disclose cost it an opportunity of at least 50% and up to a 75% reduction off the low end of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range. Its actions as a criminal recidivist resulted in it not receiving a reduction of at least 50% and up to 75% from the low end of the U.S.S.G. fine range but rather at 40% from above the low end. SAP’s failure to self-disclose cost it an estimated $20 million under the Sentencing Guidelines. SAP’s failure to self-disclose and recidivism cost it a potential $94.5 million in discounts under the Corporate Enforcement Policy. The DOJ’s message could not be any clearer.

In addition to these enforcement actions, Kenneth Polite, in a speech announcing changes in the Corporate Enforcement Policy, made clear the importance of self-disclosure in the eyes of the DOJ. “Our existing policy provides that if a company voluntarily self-discloses, fully cooperates, and timely and appropriately remediates, there is a presumption that we will decline to prosecute absent certain aggravating circumstances involving the offense’s seriousness or the offender’s nature. These aggravating circumstances include, but are not limited to, involvement by executive management of the company in the misconduct; a significant profit to the company from the wrongdoing; egregiousness or pervasiveness of the misconduct within the company; or criminal recidivism.” If a company self-discloses, but a criminal resolution is warranted, our existing policy offers 50% off of the low end of the applicable Sentencing Guidelines penalty range.

He re-emphasized this position: “When a company has uncovered criminal misconduct in its operations, the clearest path to avoiding a guilty plea or an indictment is voluntary self-disclosure.  It is also the clearest path to the greatest incentives that we offer, such as a declination with disgorgement of profits.” While noting the difficulty of a company deciding to self-disclose, “we are underscoring that a corporation that falls short of our expectations does so at its own risk. Make no mistake – failing to self-report, cooperate, and remediate fully can lead to dire consequences.” [emphasis supplied]

The DOJ could not be clearer. The No. 1 lesson is that you need to self-disclose if you want any of the benefits available.

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Compliance into The Weeds: The ACFE 2024 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report

The award-winning Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast that takes a deep dive into a compliance-related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. Looking for some hard-hitting insights on compliance? Look no further than Compliance into the Weeds! In this episode, Tom and Matt look at the recent ACFE publication of its 2024 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report and what it means for compliance professionals.

The ACFE 2024 Antifraud Technology Benchmarking report unveils an intriguing shift towards the use of AI in antifraud analytics, with a significant 83% of respondents planning to adopt generative AI in the coming years. However, the report also highlights a gap in current practices, with only a quarter of organizations utilizing analytics for corruption and bribery detection. Tom views this report as a crucial tool for understanding the evolving landscape of fraud detection. He emphasizes the importance of staying ahead of technological advancements and the potential risks of not having sophisticated tools for managing fraud investigations.

Similarly, Matt underscores the report’s insights into the challenges faced by antifraud professionals. He stresses the importance of aligning analytical capabilities with manpower resources and the critical role of experienced professionals in managing complex issues like bribery and corruption. Both perspectives highlight the need for a strategic blend of technology and human expertise in the ever-evolving world of compliance and audit.

Key Highlights:

  • Generative AI Integration in Antifraud Analytics
  • Generative AI Impact on Fraud Examination Trends
  • AI’s Role in Fraud Detection and Compliance
  • Detecting Financial Fraud Through Advanced Analytics

Resources:

Matt on Radical Compliance

Tom 

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: February 28, 2024 – The Did They or Didn’t They 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.

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Did McKinsey work for or not work for the Chinese government. (FT)
  • How did Iraqi corruption cost the country. (OilPrice)
  • Does changing travel habits decrease or increase risks. (FT)
  • SBF tries to change his narrative.  (NYT)

For more information on Ethico and a free White Paper on top compliance issues in 2024, click here.

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Compliance Tip of the Day

Compliance Tip of the Day: Compliance and Human Rights

Welcome to “Compliance Tip of the Day,” the podcast where we bring you daily insights and practical advice on navigating the ever-evolving landscape of compliance and regulatory requirements.

Whether you’re a seasoned compliance professional or just starting your journey, our aim is to provide you with bite-sized, actionable tips to help you stay on top of your compliance game.

Join us as we explore the latest industry trends, share best practices, and demystify complex compliance issues to keep your organization on the right side of the law. Tune in daily for your dose of compliance wisdom, and let’s make compliance a little less daunting, one tip at a time.

In this episode, we begin to consider the role of compliance in a corporate human rights strategy.

For more information on Ethico and a free White Paper on top compliance issues in 2024, click here.

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – Roundtable Discussion on Board of Directors and What They Expect from The Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer with Haydee Olinger and Avril Ussery Sisk

Welcome to the Great Women in Compliance! In this episode, Lisa and Ellen have as guests Haydee Olinger and Avril Ussery Sisk to discuss the Board and Compliance.

The Chief Ethics &Compliance Officer should be reporting regularly to the Board, but how do you know what the Board expects, especially if there are layers between you and the Board?  In this #GWIC episode, Lisa Fine and Ellen Hunt talk with Haydee Olinger and Avril Ussery Sisk, both current board members and ethics experts, about what they expect from the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer.

You can hear this episode on Corporate Compliance Insights or wherever you hear podcasts. https://lnkd.in/d9VGcfw

Listen in for how these Board members want the Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer to provide pre-reads, meaningful metrics, and focus on the “high hard risks.” Learn about how to build relationships with the Board and ask for resources, as well as how to gain financial knowledge and business acumen. If you are thinking about getting on a board, Haydee and Avril share their journey and thoughts about how you can get started on your journey.  

Resources:

Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn here.