In today’s edition of Sunday Book Review, I pay tribute to Roger Kahn:
Author: admin
In the Episode, I visit with James Koukios, partner at Morrison & Foerster, Editor-in-Chief of the firm’s Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments. We visit about the firm’s Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for December 2019.
Some of the highlights include:
- South Korea Passes Bill to Establish New Anti-Corruption Agency.
- Four of the top 6 FCPA enforcement actions of all-time are telecom companies? Why is telecom so susceptible to corruption?
- You were involved in one of the earliest telecom trials. Do you see much difference in the corruption from the Haitian Teleco cases and the much larger ones like Ericsson?
- What lessons do you seen in this enforcement action for the compliance professional?
- Will we see more teleco FCPA enforcement actions in 2020 or 2021?
- SNC-Lavalin resolves corruption charges in Canada.
Resources
To a copy of the Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for December 2019 Newsletter click here.
Reports are that Airbus would settle corruption allegations for nearly $4bn in England were correct. Jay and Tom are back to consider some of the top compliance articles and stories which caught our eye this week.
- Airbus commentary is out. Dick Cassin on the FCPA Blog, Mike Volkov on Corruption Crime and Compliance, Tom Fox on the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog and Jonathan Armstrong on Cordery Compliance all lead the discussion.
- COSO warns of siloed compliance. Kristin Broughton in the WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal.
- Odebretch extends monitorship 9 months. Will that be enough? Mengqi Sun explores in the WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal.
- What about small annual changes in the TI-CPI? Matthew Stephenson goes diadic in the Global Anti-Corruption Blog.
- Is new DOJ Guidance a sword or shield or both? Jay continues his series in CCI.
- How to grow your compliance program as your company scales. Gio Gallo explains in CCI.
- Worried about CCO liability? Matt Kelly explores on Radical Compliance.
- Bernie Ebbers passes. A moment of silence for his role in compliance. Jim Zarolli in NPR.
- Speaker programs and big pharma. WilmerHale lawyers opine in NYU’s Compliance and Enforcement Blog.
- On the Compliance Podcast Network, Tom begins a one month look at the role of HR in compliance.This week saw the following offerings: Monday-introduction to the role of HR in compliance; Tuesday-the role of HR in creating an ethical culture; Wednesday-the hiring process; Thursday-the reference check. Friday-incentivizing compliance. 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 for the webinar, The Houston Astros: Ethics, Compliance and Sign Stealing onThursday February 13, at 2 PM CST. Registration and information 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.
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- Another Airbus casualty. (FreeMalaysiaToday)
- Undercover informant in NCAA scandal avoids jail time. (Bloomberg)
- Ex-Pimco CEO gets 9-month jail term. (Reuters)
- DOJ drops anti-trust inquiry into automakers. (NYT)
One of the key points that representatives of the DOJ and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have continually raised when discussing any best practices compliance program. The 2012 FCPA Guidance is clear that there should be incentives for not only following your own company’s internal Code of Conduct but also doing business the right way, i.e., not engaging in bribery and corruption. On incentives, the 2012 FCPA Guidance said, “DOJ and SEC recognize that positive incentives can also drive compliant behavior. incentives can take many forms such as personnel evaluations and promotions, rewards for improving and developing a company’s compliance program, and rewards for ethics and compliance leadership. Some organizations, for example, have made adherence to compliance a significant metric for management’s bonuses so that compliance becomes an integral part of management’s everyday concern.” But it also recognizes that incentives need not only be limited to financial rewards as sometimes simply acknowledging employees for doing the right thing can be a powerful tool as well
Incentives can be integrated into the DNA of a company through the hiring and promotion processes. There should be a compliance component to all senior management hires and promotions up to those august ranks within a company. Your HR function can be a great aid to your cause in driving the right type of behavior through the design and implementation of such structures. Employees know who gets promoted and why. If someone who is only known for hitting their numbers continually is promoted, however they accomplished this feat will certainly be observed by his or her co-workers.
Three key takeaways:
- The DOJ 2019 Guidance specifically calls out incentives for doing business ethically and in compliance.
- HR can lead the efforts around incentives.
- Incentives go beyond financial rewards.
This week I have a special five-part podcast series where I am joined by Amii Barnard-Bahn to review some of the top business leadership failures of 2019. Today, we conclude our series by considering some of the leadership failures of the Swedish telecom company Ericsson in connection with its stunning FCPA enforcement action of over $1bn in fines and penalties. Some of the issues we explore in this podcast include:
- Ericsson is the second largest FCPA settlement of all time.
- Why is telecom such a riskiest industry for FCPA violations?
- This matter had shockingly simple bribe schemes together with an appallingly weak control system and compliance culture.
- Thus far, the communications from leadership thus far seem to be driven by legal, lack depth and have a defensive tone. They recently brought in a new CCO and revamped their compliance team.
- The company will have a monitor for 3 years.
About Amii
Amii Barnard-Bahn, JD, PCC, CCEP, CCEP-I is an executive coach who specializes in accelerating the success of legal and compliance executives and their teams. A leadership columnist for Compliance Week and Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Coaching, Amii previously shaped company culture and strategic initiatives as an executive (CAO, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief Human Resources Officer) at companies such as McKesson and Allianz. Forbes has recognized Amii as “one of the top coaches for legal and compliance executives.”
Contact Amii
Executive Coach and Strategic Advisor
Barnard-Bahn Coaching & Consulting
Office: (510) 301-0400 | Email: amii@barnardbahn.com |website: www.barnardbahn.com
Resources
For helpful insights and actionable tips on accelerating your career, sign up for Amii’s bi-monthly newsletter at bit.ly/amiibbnews
We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode Sam and I continue our three-part series to consider the current disaster Boeing finds itself in from the accountability perspective and what it might do to crawl out of the deep hole it finds itself in. In this Part 2, we consider accountability by management to the employees and other stakeholders. Some of the highlights include:
· What is the Leader’s Commitment to Accountability?
· Why should the new Boeing CEO rent out CenturyLink Field?
· How did Boeing fail in the commitment to create a safe space for employees? How can that trust be regained?
· What is an employee’s commitment to a good reputation? Why is this a long-term commitment? What can Boeing leadership do to commit to accountability in the long term?
For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.
I was recently interviewed on the Refinitiv Sustainability Perspectives Podcast, hosted by Keesa Schreane. I was joined by Charmian Simmons – Performance Director at Refinitiv, Business Development Risk Expert. We discuss ESG in 2020 and beyond together the California Consumer Privacy Act and its impact going forward.
It is always great to move to the other side of the mic. Keesa is a great host (I made her promise to come on one of my podcasts) and Charmian was excellent. We discussed a wide range of topics which every compliance practitioner needs to be cognizant of going forward. Three highlights were what’s coming in the nearest future, what are the best tools for compliance officers and which are the 3 key items to set the game in 2020?
The Refinitiv Sustainability Perspectives (RSP) is a thought-provoking podcast series where we explore the role of responsible leadership and innovation across diverse industries. From ESG investing, to sustainable finance and social impact in our communities, we’re on a journey to leverage data and intelligence to make better business decisions. Get to know the latest trends, discover best practices, and learn from industry leaders. The future is open. Join us as we move forward together to shape it.
I hope you will check it out. I am now a subscriber and you should be as well. To check it out, click here.
As far back as 2004, in Opinion Release 04-02, the DOJ realized this was an important part of an overall compliance program when it approved a proposed compliance program that had the following requirement, “Clearly articulated procedures which ensure that discretionary authority is not delegated to persons who the company knows have a propensity to engage in illegal or improper activities.” One tool that is often overlooked in the hiring process is the reference check. Many practitioners feel that a reference is not of value because prospective candidates will only list references that they believe will provide glowing recommendations of character. This leads to a pro forma reference check.
The hiring of someone who will perform business activities in compliance with anti-corruption laws such as the FCPA will continue to be as much art as science because the hiring of quality employees for senior management positions is similarly situated. But that does not mean a company cannot work to not hire those persons who might have a propensity to engage in bribery and corruption if the situation presented itself. The hiring process is just one more tool that can be utilized to build an effective and operationalized compliance program.
Three key takeaways:
- The hiring process is the first step in operationalizing your compliance program.
- The DOJ spoke to hiring as part of a best practices compliance program as far back as 2004.
- Reference checks are an underutilized part of the hiring process and a key internal HR control.
