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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: June 30, 2019 Sunday Book Review edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

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Trekking Through Compliance

Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 29 – Amok Time

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Amok Time which aired on September 15, 1967, Star Date 3372.7.
 Compliance Takeaways:

  1. What is your investigation protocol?
  2. How do you account for different cultures within your organization?
  3. When is an internal control override appropriate?
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Trekking Through Compliance

Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 28, Operation Annihilate!

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Operation Annihilate! which aired on April 13, 1967, Star Date 3287.2.
Compliance Takeaways:

  1. Leadership can require difficult decisions.
  2. Data analytics will be key for compliance professionals going forward.
  3. What is your triage program for internal reporting?

Resources
Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein for Operation Annihilate!
MissionLogPodcast.com-Operation Annihilate!

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: June 29, 2019, the day of reckoning is set edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
  • Trial date set in Theranos criminal trial. (WSJ)
  • Deutsche Bank to lay of 20% of workforce. (NYT)
  • 86 pounds of drugs found on Brazilian gov plane headed to G20. (Washington Post)
  • Shareholders standing up to over-priced M&A deals. (FT)
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Trekking Through Compliance

Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 27, City on the Edge of Forever

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode City on the Edge of Forever which aired on April 6, 1967, Star Date 3134.
Compliance Takeaways:

  1. Small accidents and changes can lead to huge consequences.
  2. You can get a lot more done, if you don’t worry about who gets credit.
  3. How much can you do with the tools you have at hand?
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Across the Board

Across the Board – Episode 27: Henry Wolfe on Board Selection

In this episode of Across the Board, I visit with Henry Wolfe, Chairman of De La Vega, Activist Investor and Author of Governance Arbitrage. We take a deep dive into his recent article; Director Selection Criteria at Public Companies is Poor – Here’s How to Fix It. Some of the highlights from the podcast include:

  • The GE Board was classic for diversity and captains of industry. What was wrong with it?
  • Where did the requirement for Board independence come from? Why is it the wrong question to ask?
  • What is glaringly missing from Board selection today?
  • What 3 categories do you suggest (at a minimum) for Board selection?
  • What 2 characteristics do you believe every Board member should have?
  • Why is competence the key requirement for Board membership?

Check out a copy of Wolfe’s article Director Selection Criteria at Public Companies is Poor – Here’s How to Fix It by clicking here.

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This Week in FCPA

This Week in FCPA-Episode 160, the 6 Months to the Holidays edition

Tom and Jay are on opposite coasts yet again. But they are back together to consider Walmart, TechnipFMC and a host of other news from the world of compliance and ethics.  They are back  to discuss some of this week’s top compliance and ethics stories which caught their collective eyes.

  1. Last week Walmart, this week TechnipFMC. Harry Cassin breaks it down in the FCPA Blog. Dylan Tokar in the WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal.
  2. The pundits weigh on Walmart. Tom has a four part series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) Mike Volkov has a 3-part series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) Matt Kelly says it’s the end of an era in Radical Compliance.
  3. How did Walmart’s $900+ in presettlement expenditures impact its final penalty? Dylan Tokar explores in the WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal.
  4. Mike Lynch takes the stand in London, says Meg Whitman wasn’t up to the job. Richard Crump reports in Law360.
  5. After FBI skewered DOJ gets conviction in Boston FCPA sting trial. Department of Justice Press Release.
  6. Internal control airball in Sacramento? Matt Kelly explores in Radical Compliance.
  7. What is the state of cyber security in mid-2019? Jonathan Rusch explores on Dipping Through Geometries.
  8. Does the EU whistleblower initiative enhance corporate culture? Pauline Blondet in CCI.
  9. Can regulators leverage monitors? Jay Rosen explores on CCI.
  10. Tom has a special 5-part podcast series this week, looking the current state of compliance with Terry Orr, MD of Kroll, who was the sponsor of the series. Check out the following: Part 1-Orr’s Journey to compliance; Part 2-significant FCPA enforcement actions; Part 3– the new DOJ Guidance; Part 4-Private Equity and Compliance; and Part 5-new challenges in healthcare compliance.  The podcast is available on multiple sites: the FCPA Compliance Report, iTunes, JDSupra, Megaphone,YouTube,  Spotifyand Corporate Compliance Insights,  Compliance Podcast Networkand now on the C-Suite Radio Network.
  11. AP Capaldo-Aoun and Marcia Narine Weldon join the Compliance Podcast Network with their new podcast Integrity Factor. Check them out here.
  12. Tom and Hanzo combine for a new eBook THE 2019 GUIDE TO INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS FOR COMPLIANCE – An eBook on Planning, Protocols, Data Collection, Triage, and Remediation. It’s available for download at no charge 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.
For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

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Trekking Through Compliance

Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 26-The Alternative Factor

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Alternative Factor which aired on March 23, 1967, Star Date 3087.6.
Compliance Takeaways:

  1. How do you triage a whistleblower compliant?
  2. When expanding into new markets scale up your compliance program.
  3. What is the role of gatekeepers?
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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: June 27, 2019, the corruption is bad edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Trump wants to sue Google and Facebook but doesn’t know why. (Washington Post)
  • What if you business model is so bad your employees walk out? (NYT)
  • Allegations of corruption are bad for business. (FT)
  • Major corruption scandal in Hawaii. (Slate)
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Compliance Man Chooses the Target

Episode 4: Industrial & Consumer Goods

Welcome to Episode 4 of Compliance Man Chooses the Target with Tim Khasanov-Batirov. My goal is to highlight matters that should be on agenda of practitioners that deploy compliance programs in industries or countries of active FCPA enforcement. I target three specific matters that you might like to address in the course of implementation of your compliance program. Today we will focus on Industrial & Consumer Goods industry.
arget #1: Politically Exposed Persons
The interpretation of the term politically exposed personis a tricky thing. For instance, you want to engage a law firm, which is owned by a sibling of a governmental official, let say, in Kazakhstan.  If you do business in the country where culturally strong family ties extends beyond immediate family members it could be a challenge to define whether a person among many siblings of a particular PEP de-factocould act as a shadow representative so to say of that PEP.  How to decrease compliance risks in this situation? The best way would be to the following:

  • To find out if your company really needs offered legal services;
  • To conduct fair market value estimation of fees to be paid;
  • Talk to business people and folks in the professional community (or even better to do detailed background check in addition to due diligence) to find out if your potential business partner enjoys preferential regime before local state bodies being sibling of the governmental official.

 Target #2: Construction of Plants
If your company decides to expand, its business by constructing a plant overseas we would recommend accessing the following three areas, which might encompass corruptions risks:

  • Approvals of design of your plant by respective foreign regulators;
  • Permissions on land allocation and construction permits to be obtained overseas;
  • Taxation, which might vary subject to interpretation of the vague tax rules regarding construction works by overseas tax authority.

Target #3: Local Team
Bribes are paid by people. Thus, the most important assurance you want to get is adherence to ethical culture by your team in the fields. How to access whether your FCPA/Ethics program really works even on distance of thousands miles from the HQ? You may want to do self evaluation of your FCPA program using guidance called Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programsby DOJ: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/page/file/937501/download I will give you some practical insights regarding this tip in the next episode of the show.
Join us for the next episode of Compliance Man Chooses the Target with Tim Khasanov-Batirov. 
Learn more compliance tips from Tim Khasanov-Batirov at:
http://complianceinpostussr.com/& http://complianceinpostussr.com/blog/