Podcast

 

Why a Duck?

Categories
Why a Duck

Coconuts and the OFAC Compliance Framework

From Vaudeville to the Silver Screen to the Small Screen, the Marx Brothers made an impact wherever people found them. Now Tom Fox and Mike Volkov have wedded their love of the Marx Brothers with their passion for compliance and bring them into the boardroom to help explain and explore the sometimes-chaotic world of governance, risk-management, ethics and compliance. In this episode they discuss the movie Coconuts and how it informs the OFAC Compliance Framework.  Highlights from the podcast include:

  1. Why has Mike Volkov called the OFAC Compliance Framework a ‘game-changer’?
  2. How does the OFAC Framework illustrate regulatory convergence?
  3. What are some of the highlights of the OFAC Framework?
  4. What are some of the key lessons learned for the ABC compliance professional?
  5. How does data analytics as mandated in the OFAC Framework inform ABC compliance programs going forward?
  6. What are the mandates built into the OFAC Framework?
  7. How can an ABC compliance practitioner use the OFAC Framework if their company is under FCPA scrutiny?

Resources

  1. From Tom Fox-see articles on the OFAC Compliance Framework.
  2. Introduction
  3. Management Commitment
  4. Risk Assessment
  5. Internal Controls
  6. Testing, Training and Auditing
  7. From Mike Volkov-See article on the OFAC Compliance Framework.
  8. Introduction
  9. Risk Assessments and Internal Controls
  10. Testing and Auditing and Training
  11. Review of Lessons Learned
  12. Download a copy of the OFAC Compliance Framework, here.

Marx Brothers
Coconuts-the full movie on YouTube.

Categories
Why a Duck

Horsefeathers and the Juniper Networks FCPA Enforcement Action

From Vaudeville to the Silver Screen to the Small Screen, the Marx Brothers made an impact wherever people found them. Now Tom Fox and Mike Volkov have wedded their love of the Marx Brothers with their passion for compliance and bring them into the boardroom to help explain and explore the sometimes-chaotic world of governance, risk-management, ethics and compliance. In this episode they discuss the movie Horsefeathers and how it informs the recent Juniper Networks FCPA enforcement action.  Highlights from the podcast include:
  1. Why was this enforcement action so significant (or not)?
  2. Why does third-party management continue to bedevil so many companies?
  3. Why AP is a key gatekeeper for a best practices compliance program?
  4. What are some of the key lessons learned for the compliance professional?
  5. How does data analytics from this enforcement action inform compliance programs going forward?
  6. Why is GTE such a low hanging fruit for compliance programs?
  7. Why are slush funds so problematic under the FCPA?
Resources
  1. From Tom Fox-see article Juniper Networks FCPA Enforcement Action: Speak Sternly and Enhance Controls, click here.
  2. From Mike Volkov-See article Juniper Networks Settles FCPA Violations with SEC or $11.7 Million, click here.
  3. Download a copy of the SEC Cease and Desist Order, here.
Marx Brothers
Horsefeathers-the full movie on YouTube.
Categories
Why a Duck

Horsefeathers and the DOJ Antitrust Compliance Program Guidance

From Vaudeville to the Silver Screen to the Small Screen, the Marx Brothers made an impact wherever people found them. Now Tom Fox and Mike Volkov have wedded their love of the Marx Brothers with their passion for compliance and bring them into the boardroom to help explain and explore the sometimes chaotic world of governance, risk-management, ethics and compliance. In this episode they discuss the movie Horsefeathers and the recently released DOJ Antitrust Division compliance guidance.  Highlights from the podcast include:
  1. Why is this document so significant?
  2. How will the Evaluation be used at the Charging Phase? At the Sentencing Phase?
  3. What is different in this Guidance from the ABC Guidance issued in April by the Criminal Division?
  4. What are some of the key lessons learned for the ABC compliance professional?
  5. How does data analytics from the Antitrust Division Guidance inform ABC compliance programs going forward?
  6. How does the Antitrust Guidance, working in conjunction with OFAC’s Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines and the Criminal Division’s 2019 Compliance Guidance demonstrate the need to break down the silos around compliance?
  7. Where does compliance go from here?
Resources
New Antitrust Compliance Guidance
  1. From Tom Fox-eBook on The Antitrust Division Guidance on an Effective Compliance Program, available on CCI, hereat no cost.
  2. From Mike Volkov-Two-part series on DOJ’s Antitrust Division Announces New Policy for Crediting Corporate Compliance Programs. Part Iand Part 2.
  3. Download a copy of the new Antitrust Division Guidance, here.
Marx Brothers
Horsefeathers-the full movie on YouTube.
Categories
Why a Duck

Why a Duck-A Day at the Races and OFAC Compliance Program

Mike’s favorite Marx Brothers movie Day at the Races is a fitting analogy for the race to effective compliance. Mike shares his favorite lines from the movie after which the discussion focuses on 3 Best Practices Compliance programs from the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice and OFAC.
Tom points out that each guidance document has a different focus depending on who released it. The Antitrust Guidance for example, is focused on criminal antitrust behavior: that is, the intention to defraud the market based on market fixing, cartel behavior or other intentional acts by more than one group or person. Each one of the documents gives greater insight to anti-corruption practitioners to incorporate into their compliance program.
There are elements that are common to all three documents. Mike says this emphasizes the importance of operationalizing your program to cut through the silos that exist in compliance. Compliance now has a reason to bring together all these elements into one comprehensive training program.
The Criminal Division of the Department of Justice asks for continuous monitoring of the compliance program. We need to take the data and loop it back into the compliance program to continually improve. Antitrust monitoring takes a statistical look at contract data over long periods of time to discover indications of cartel or price-fixing behavior. Anti-corruption monitoring shows the need for overall transaction monitoring from a compliance perspective so that red flags or anomalies are detected early on.
Once you have a database of contracts you can now have effective business analysis. You can analyze discounts given to customers over time and compare and contrast profit margins of contracts by geographical area or business unit. This is going to put the Compliance at the table for business discussions going forward. Compliance now becomes part of the business plan.
Resources OFAC Compliance documentCriminal Division Compliance documentAntitrust Division Compliance document

Categories
Why a Duck

Why a Duck-Tom Fox and Mike Volkov Introduce Their New Podcast

Hosts Tom Fox and Mike Volkov launch their new podcast series by talking about their favorite Marx Brothers movies and how it leads to a broader description of compliance. The title Why a Duck comes from a line in the famous 1929 Marx Brothers film Coconuts: “ Why a duck? Why no chicken? Why no horse?”
Duck Soup is Tom’s favorite Marx Brothers movie. The film depicts a series of farcical efforts where rivals try to overthrow Rufus T. Firefly. It is political chaos at its finest. Tom especially enjoys the mirror scene.
Mike’s favorite Marx Brothers movie is Day at the Races. Hugo Hackenbush is a vet posing at a doctor at Standish Sanatorium to take care of his wealthy patient Emily Upjohn. The sanatorium is in financial trouble. The film shows his hilarious schemes to get a horse to win a race so that he can pay off the sanatorium debts.
Mike shares a funny story of how the Marx brothers cornered Irving Thalberg into a meeting.
Resources Duck Soup – The Mirror Scene