Ben Locwin chats with Tom Fox about COVID-19 and the risk management issues associated with the disease in this week’s Innovation In Compliance show.
What is Coronavirus?
Ben says that coronaviruses have been around for a long time. During flu season, about 10% of patients with upper respiratory symptoms test positive for a type of coronavirus. The epicenter of the outbreak of this particular strain of the coronavirus is Wuhan, China, and there seems to be some correlation with the open air markets there. Though it’s suspected that the virus may have crossed from animals to humans, the nexus of the disease is unknown. He goes on to explain how the virus got its name and how it affects human cells.
Symptoms and Spread
Tom asks about the symptoms of the coronavirus (officially called COVID-19) and how it spreads. Symptoms, Ben says, include respiratory symptoms similar to a chest cold, such as coughing, having trouble breathing, and fever in more severe cases. In a relatively few cases, patients experience organ failure and septic shock and other serious issues, including death. Ben explains that this particular coronavirus spreads through aerosolized droplet infection: when an infected person coughs or sneezes in a public place, fine particulates of saliva and mucus are introduced into the air. Anyone there can inhale these particles and contract the disease. They can start experiencing symptoms within 2 to 14 days.
Common Sense Prevention
Ben comments on the stigma associated with COVID-19. While travel restrictions and other such responses make good sense, he points out that the outbreak of the virus is not yet a pandemic. If you’re experiencing upper respiratory symptoms, see your healthcare provider right away to have a test done. Your sample will be sent to the CDC for testing to determine if you have COVID-19. He advocates common sense prevention measures, the most important of which is hand hygiene: wash your hands regularly. When you’re in a public place try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth and don’t touch food without washing your hands first. Face masks may also be useful. If you feel ill, stay at home, he advises.
Smart Risk Management Practices
Tom comments that many businesses are struggling with how to manage the risk associated with the disease. He asks Ben to give some advice in this regard. Ben responds that companies should take a smart approach. While you shouldn’t start panic buying and selling, and cease all travel, you should certainly limit non-essential travel whenever possible. “That’s just essentially limiting our exposure to risk,” he says. Tom adds that there are a number of modern communication tools that can be used instead of traveling to meetings. It’s sad that it takes situations like this to force companies to examine their business operations, Ben comments. However, by cutting out non-critical practices, businesses not only limit their risk exposure, but it also allows them to employ operational excellence.
Resources
CDC.gov/Coronavirus
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In this chapter, we will consider innovation in compliance from a variety of angles including artificial intelligence (AI) and computer technology (ComTech), structural innovations, tools and tactics and innovation in leadership. This will provide you a number of solid ideas you can use to move your compliance program forward. Begin by considering the starting point, which is an innovation strategy. In the most recent DPAs and NPAs issued by the DOJ they all include an element along the following strictures:
The Company will conduct periodic reviews and testing of its anti-corruption compliance code, policies, and procedures designed to evaluate and improve their effectiveness in preventing and detecting violations of anti-corruption laws and the Company’s anti-corruption code, policies, and procedures, taking into account relevant developments in the field and evolving international and industry standards.
This means that the DOJ expects innovation in your compliance program to keep up with evolving international and industry standards. This requires you to implement an innovation strategy.
Three key takeaways:
- Both the DOJ and SEC expect innovation in your compliance program.
- Innovation in compliance should have a strategy going forward.
- The key is to demonstrate how the compliance innovation will benefit the business going forward.
For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit this month’s sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.
In the Episode, I visit with Erica Salmon Byrne, EVP at Ethisphere, Governance and Compliance and Chair of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance. In this podcast we discuss Ethisphere’s 2020 World’s Most Ethical company honorees. Some of the highlights include:
- What was the Ethical Premium for 2020 honorees?
- The number of companies and the number of countries represented on this year’s list of honorees.
- What is the Ethisphere’s Ethics Quotient and how does it help assess companies?
- Why is the application process so rigorous?
- Join Ethisphere to celebrate the 2020 WME companies at the Gala Dinner on March 31.
Resources
2020 World’s Most Ethical Companies® Honoree List
Ethisphere Press Release on 2020 WME awards
Letter from Ethisphere President Tim Erblich on 2020 WME awards
The Ethics Premium for 2020
Information on Ethisphere’s Gala Dinner celebrating 2020 WME honorees
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- Will another Rana Plaza collapse occur? (NYT)
- Cardinal Health settles FCPA enforcement action. (FCPA Blog)
- Did AMEX defraud small business owners? (WSJ)
- Companies, coronavirus and travel bans. (Washington Post)
In today’s edition of Sunday Book Review:
Welcome to a special series of Trekking Through Compliance, the podcast series inspired by my review of Star Trek, the Original Series. In this special series I am joined by another uber Star Trek maven, Megan Dougherty, co-founder of One Stone Creative. In this series we will review the new television show Picard which is currently streaming on CBS.In this episode we consider Episode 4-Absolute Candor.
SPOILER ALERT-Although we will review each episode after it appears, we will discuss each episode in depth.
Episode 4, Absolute Candor. Picard asked Rios to make a detour to the planet Vashti, where he helped relocate Romulan refugees before the attack on Mars. He calls on the Qowat Milat, Romulan warrior nuns who took in a boy named Elnor, whom Picard grew close to. Picard asks Elnor, now an adult, to join him on his quest; Elnor initially refuses but changes his mind when Picard is attacked by Romulans who resent Starfleet abandoning the evacuation effort. Picard and Elnor beam up to La Sirena, where Rios and Raffi are fighting a battle with a local warlord. A strange ship helps La Sirena win the battle but is damaged in the process, forcing the pilot, former Borg drone Seven of Nine, to be beamed over to La Sirena. Meanwhile, aboard the Borg cube, Soji is trying to find out more about the Romulan ship that was assimilated by that cube and about “the Destroyer”. Narek offers to get her information on the ship, but they have a falling out when he expresses doubt about her past. Rizzo tells Narek that he has a week to get the location of other synthetics from Soji before she switches to her own methods.
Highlights, speculations and questions include:
- Where did Rios garner his piloting skills?
- Why did Picard drop his distaste of children for Elnor?
- Should Picard still be apologizing for Star Fleet’s betrayal of the Romulans?
- Did Picard basically challenge all Romulans by going into the Bar for ‘Romulans Only’?
- Is Soji finally seeing through Narek?
- How cool is it to see 7/9?
As President Trump says coronavirus is no big deal and cuts CDC funding because ‘who needs scientists or facts’, Jay and Tom suspend their breathing masks shopping to consider some of the top compliance articles and stories which caught their eye this week.
- The Wells Fargo DOJ/SEC settlement. Tom has a 4 part series on the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog. Matt Kelly has 2 parts on Radical Compliance. Mike Volkov on Corruption Crime and Compliance. Lawyers from Paul Weiss in NYU’s Compliance and Enforcement Blog.
- Lawrence Hoskins FCPA verdicts overturned by trial court. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog.
- The Ethisphere 2020 WME awards are out. Even better news this year. See Ethisphere Press Release and List of 2020 WME companies.
- Compliance Week takes a deep dive into coronavirus and its impacts. Aaron Nicodemus on disruptions of supply chains, Jaclyn Jaeger on coronavirus impact on audits and how tech, medical and retail and are all responding. All of these articles are behind the CW firewall however you can register for a free trial on Compliance Week and read all these articles at no cost. Simply go to Compliance Week site and register for a free account to view four articles at no charge.
- NY state Shield Act coming into effect shortly. Is your company ready? Matthew Levin in CCI.
- Wow moments in compliance, Part 2. Geert Vermeulen continues his 5-part series in Risk and Compliance Platform Europe.
- What is cognitive diversity and why does it matter? Vera Cherepanova reports in the FCPA Blog.
- Will corruption cost Equatorial Guinea its IMF bailout? Rick Messick in the Global Anti-Corruption Blog.
- On the Compliance Podcast Network, Tom concludes his one month look at the role of HR in compliance on 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program.This week saw the following offerings: Monday-using promotion to encourage compliance; Tuesday-tone in the middle of an organization; Wednesday-tone at the bottom of an organization; Thursday-Gap Analysis for HR;Friday-10 questions to pose to HR. Note 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program now has its own iTunes channel. If you want to binge out and listen to only these episodes, click here.
- Join Tom in Houston on March 10 as Convercent is hosting a Roundtable, from 12-2 at Steak 48. Our featured speaker will be Philip Winterburn and featured guest is Terri Springer from HP. We will focus on key KPIs for compliance. Information and Registration here.
- Join Tom in NYC on Thursday, March 12 as Convercent is hosting an Innovation Forum from 3:30-7 PM at Satina. This event will allow you to network with like-minded individuals within the ethics and compliance space and hear from Thomas Fox and Philip Winterburn as well. For more information and registration click here.
- If not Houston or NYC, how about joining Tom in Philly? Join Baker Tilly and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors for the 2020 Fraud and Ethics Symposium. Information here and registration here.
Tom Fox is the Compliance Evangelist and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.
Where does creativity fit into compliance? In more places than you think. Problem-solving, accountability, communication, and connection – they all take creativity. Join Tom Fox and Ronnie Feldman on Creativity and Compliance, part of the Compliance Podcast Network to explore these issues. Today’s episode is about the Fun Theory and using it to improve your compliance communications.
Some of the highlights include:
- The Fun Theory – the easiest way to change things for the better is to make it fun to do.
- Some Examples
- Volkswagen – Piano Staircase, bottle arcade, Speed Camera Lottery.
- Airplane Safety Videos.
- Why does fun work?
- When you do an activity that’s fun, it feels good and it is intrinsically rewarding.
- It has a positive effect on motivation levels.
- It has a longer lasting effect. You want to do it again. In a way, it’s addictive.
- Learning requires repetition
- Maintain Fun – Variety and Surprise. Novelty breads engagement. Need to constantly switch it up. Try lots of little things.
- Why are we talking about this?
- Scare tactics drive bad behavior underground.
- John Cleese – humor is the easiest way to get people from the closed to the open mode.
- Need to get people to talk about these important issues – create a social environment where people are more likely to speak up.
Resources:
The Piano Staircase, which you can view here.
Ronnie Feldman
Ronnie Feldman (LinkedIn)
Learnings & Entertainments (LinkedIn)
Ronnie Feldman (Twitter)
Learnings & Entertainments (Website)
60-Second Communication & Awareness Shorts – A variety of short, customizable, quick-hitter “commercials” including songs & jingles, video shorts, newsletter graphics & Gifs, and more. Promote integrity, compliance, the Code, the helpline and the E&C team as helpful advisors and coaches.
Workplace Tonight Show! Micro-learning – a library of 1-10-minute trainings and communications wrapped in the style of a late-night variety show, that explains corporate risk topics and why employees should care.
Custom Live & Digital Programing – We’ll develop programming that fits your culture and balances the seriousness of the subject matter with a more engaging delivery.