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The Affiliated Monitors Expert Podcast

Compliance Strategies Under the Benczkowski Memo: Part I – Introduction

In this podcast series, I visit with Vincent DiCianni, founder and President of AMI, and Eric Feldman, Senior Vice President of AMI. We look at the Department of Justice announcements over the past few years and back to the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, to consider what strategies companies can use based upon these documents. Over this series, we will explore what companies can do both internally and externally to incorporate the Benczkowski Memo and other DOJ guidance into their organizations, show how to use the Memo as both a sword and a shield and the benefits of using a third-party to fulfill the compliance mandate. In this episode, we introduce the Benczkowski Memo and DOJ announcements detailing what they mean for the compliance practitioner.

For more information on Affiliated Monitors, visit their website at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

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31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

Innovation in Compliance Leadership


Given the paucity of leadership coming out of Washington during this crisis, I thought it would be a ripe time to consider some innovations in compliance leadership. While many compliance departments may have begun more as a command and control function, set up by lawyers to comply with anti-bribery laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), this type of leadership model is now becoming outmoded in today’s world. It is not that employees are interested in the ‘why’ they should do business ethically and in compliance with such laws but it is more that power is shifting inside corporations. As the compliance profession matures, it will become more a component of a company’s business function. This means less of a lawyer’s top down mentality of do it because I said to do it, to more collaboration.
Three key takeaways:

  1. The lawyer-driven command and control method for compliance is outmoded and outdated.
  2. Innovation in compliance leadership is recognizing the bi-lateral nature of power and communications in an organization.
  3. A feedback loop can be used in the leadership function as well.

For more information on our sponsor, Affiliated Monitors Inc. check out their website, by clicking here.

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Daily Compliance News

March 30, 2020-the Tone Deaf edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • How will coronavirus impact insurance premiums? (NYT)
  • When your ads become tone deaf. (WSJ)
  • Boeing as case study in keeping Wall Street happy while destroying your company. (Washington Post)
  • Trump wants no oversight. (Washington Post)
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FCPA Compliance Report

James Koukios on the MoFo Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for January 2020


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 January 2020. Some of the highlights include:

  1. Airbus-in this massive and sprawling case, Koukios details what are the 3 key takeaways you would advise a company on from the matter.
  2. The French PNF involvement and what it might mean from French anti-corruption enforcement going forward.
  3. SFO Wins First Conviction for Withholding Documents Requested in Bribery Investigation.
  4. Isabel dos Santos, Sonangol and Angola-what does it mean and what should companies do now?

 Resources
To a copy of the Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for January 2020 Newsletter click here.

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Sunday Book Review

March 29, 2020, the Back to Business edition


In today’s edition of Sunday Book Review:

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Daily Compliance News

March 28, 2020-the Will Lloyd’s Pay Out edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Dutch bank loses 10% of value on one trader. (FT)
  • SEC gives more time to filers. (WSJ)
  • BP to draft shareholder resolution on climate change. (WSJ)
  • Will Lloyd’s pay out? (FT)
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The Ethics Movement

The Compliance Podcast Network Welcomes The Ethics Movement-Episode 1, Trust in the Age of Coronavirus


The Compliance Podcast Network welcomes The Ethics Movement podcast, co-hosted by Tom Fox, the Compliance evangelist and the Voice of Compliance and Philip Winterburn, Chief Strategy Officer at Convercent. In Season One of this podcast series we will focus on coronavirus and how it’s going to impact the world of ethics and compliance. That impact continues to unfold daily, with the long-term implications shrouded in fog. One podcast season may not even last long enough to see where we end up—but it gives us some time to map out the possibilities.
Trust: what is it, how do you build it, how does it flow downward and upward? What does it say to your workforce when you don’t trust them? While companies deal with the fallout of coronavirus and COVID-19, these questions have become more pertinent than ever.
The Ethics Movement is a Convercent Podcast.

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31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

Innovation in Investigative Due Diligence


Candice Tal is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Infortal Worldwide, and one of the top experts around on due diligence. In an interview, I asked Tal about the use of AI in investigative due diligence and specifically how AI has led innovation in investigative due diligence. Tal believes that AI will be a “game changer” in compliance. Massive data sets require some type of AI to sort through and analyze the information. This is particularly important for internal controls and accounting books and records provisions to identify massive fraud. This is yet another area which is still developing. Tal stated, “I’ll frame that by saying at least in the next few years, there will still be a need for the traditional investigative approach that the boots on the ground, one where an investigator goes out and physically checks on facilities. Artificial intelligence is going to have limited ability to do that.” While drones may become part of an investigators tool kit, Tal believes that AI will be used “in a similar way to most data aggregators today. They find about 80% of the information. Yet there will always be the remaining 20% which they cannot find and you will need human intervention on the investigative side.”
Looking down the road to the veiled land of the future, Tal sees continued innovation facilitating investigative due diligence. While AI is more than simply on the horizon, she said it “is a tried and tested methodology that has existed for many years, in terms of how you look for and locate shell companies.” It is also true about finding information about people who are trying to deliberately hide information. The bottom line is some of these investigative techniques involve old-fashioned shoe leather or simply hard diligent investigative work and “that’s not new”. Yet AI and other technological tools can make investigations more efficient and more cost effective, while giving better results. At the end of the day, AI can be used to sharpen and hone the due diligence process.
Three key takeaways:

  1. AI can help change the face of due diligence.
  2. AI will facilitate data aggregation in due diligence investigations.
  3. Always remember the human element.
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This Week in FCPA

Episode 198 – the Grandparents are at Risk edition


As the GOP calls for Grandparents to first sacrifice themselves for the stock market and then be sacrificed to push up the economy, self-distancing Tom and hunter-gatherer Jay are back to consider some of the top compliance articles and stories which caught their eye this week.

  1. Mike Volvok says ethical business decisions are even more important now. In Corruption Crime and Compliance.
  2. Matt Kelly has a trilogy of articles on coronavirus. What are missing; A Tale from Frank; and 8 Objectives to Manage Pandemic Risks.
  3. Testing Compliance. A new approach by Brandon Garrett and Gregory Mitchell. Download the paper here.
  4. Coronavirus could make ESG more important. Kristin Broughton and Maitane Sardon in the WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal.
  5. Allen Overy poaches Jonathan Lopez and Billy Jacobson from Orrick. Inex Kagubare in GIR.
  6. What is time and attendance fraud in the time of coronavirus? Sara Kropf explains on Grand Jury Target.
  7. Mike Volkov talks about sanctions compliance in the era of Trump and the int’l financial war. In Navex Global’s Risk and Compliance Matters.
  8. More WOW moments in compliance. Geert Vermeulen in Risk & Compliance Platform Europe.
  9. Looking at incentives and compliance. Jeff Walker and Rebecca Kaplan in CCI.
  10. The Affiliated Monitors Expert Podcast joins the Compliance Podcast Network.
  11. Tom premiers a new podcast series, Compliance and Coronavirus.
  12. On the Compliance Podcast Network, Tom opens a new month by looking at the role of innovation in compliance on 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program. This week saw the following offerings: Monday-Using innovation to break through silos; Tuesday-Originating a compliance ecosystem; Wednesday-Moving Data Science the last mile; Thursday-the Regional Compliance Committee; Friday-Innovation in investigative due diligence. 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. This month’s sponsor is Affiliated Monitors, Inc.

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.

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Daily Compliance News

March 27, 2020-the America First edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Spy on your subordinate, lost your bonus. (WSJ)
  • Boeing’s financial crisis was of its own making. (WashingtonPost)
  • State of Texas issues quarantine mandates for domestic travelers. (com)
  • America now first in number of coronavirus cases. (WSJ)