In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- Two RoboCallers hit with proposed $225MM fine? (Houston Chronicle)
- Retired judge skewers DOJ for Flynn switch. (WSJ)
- FinTechs helping small businesses. (NYT)
- What will Bubba do? (ESPN)
Welcome to the newest addition to the Compliance Podcast Network, Compliance and Coronavirus. In this episode, I am joined by Sepideh Rowland, Vice President at K2 Intelligence FIN and head of managed services. She has over 20 years of regulatory compliance experience, including leadership positions at money services businesses, large financial institutions, and community banks. She is also Co-Chair of the U.S. Capital Chapter Advisory Board for ACAMS; as Co-Chair of the Advisory Board for the ABA/ABA Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference; and as an Advisory Board Member (former Chair) for the American Bankers Association Certified AML and Fraud Professional certification program.
In this episode, we consider the impact of the Payroll Protection Program on a bank’s Financial Crime Compliance Program; how has COVID-19 and PPP has impacted money laundering and fraud typologies; and conclude with how should banks think about their staffing models and resources.
In this podcast, I visit with Vin DiCianni, founder of Affiliated Monitors, Inc. In it, we explore corporation culture and its relationship to ethics and compliance. We began with senior leadership. A company does not have an ethical culture unless the top management commits to it going forward. Employees not only listen to what they say but they watch how they act. Employees look for signals about what really counts in an organization. But you must then move down to implementation of this goal. Employees want to know if senior leadership is committed to the company’s core values. But equally important is a sense of organizational justice and fairness. Employees want to not only see they will be treated fairly but there is not a delineation of favorites and non-favorites in an organization. DiCianni emphasized that it is the senior leadership who really drives the alignment between incentives and performance.
The key is that there be an alignment between what top management says, coupled with the company’s core values and what the organization says together with what they do. This all comes from senior management getting out of their office and talking to employees in the field to see not only what they think but how they feel. No company aspires to be unethical and most assuredly employees do not want to engage in unethical behavior but if senior management does not talk to employees they will not know how their messages are being received. It does not take long when there is a disconnect between what senior management says and what the employees take away. It is a bit disconcerting how little top management really understand their employees. Because of this, senior leaders do not know what messages they are receiving, both verbal and non-verbal.
Under Part 1, Section D. Confidential Reporting Structure and Investigation Process, it stated in part, Properly Scoped Investigation by Qualified Personnel –What steps does the company take to ensure investigations are independent, objective, appropriately conducted, and properly documented? Your company should have a detailed written procedure for handling any complaint or allegation of bribery or corruption, regardless of the means through which it is communicated. The mechanism could include the internal company hotline, anonymous tips, or a report directly from the business unit involved.
You can make the decision on whether or not to investigate with consultation with other groups such as the Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors or the Legal Department. The head of the business unit in which the claim arose may also be notified that an allegation has been made and that the Compliance Department will be handling the matter on a go-forward basis. Through the use of such a detailed written procedure, you can work to ensure there is complete transparency on the rights and obligations of all parties once an allegation is made. This allows compliance to have not only the flexibility but also the responsibility to deal with such matters, from which it can best assess and then decide on how to manage the matter.
Three key takeaways:
- A written protocol, created before an investigation, is a key starting point.
- Create specific steps to follow so there will be full transparency and documentation going forward.
- Consistency in approach is critical.
Categories
Ham-fisted Leadership
Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode Matt Kelly and Tom Fox take a look at two examples of ham-fisted leadership; one by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the second by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Both also had to respond to employee near revolts over their poor leadership. For Zuckerberg it was his refusal to stop President Trump’s incendiary and race-bait tweeting. For Goodell, it was lack of acknowledge of the racist murder of George Floyd.
Resources
See Matt Kelly blog post, Two Tales of Ham-Fisted Leadership
In this podcast with Jerry Coyne, the Managing Director of State Monitoring Services at Affiliated Monitors, Inc. and we consider the role of state AGs as enforcers of civil law and in bringing litigation to enforce consumer protect and related statutes.Every US state and territory has an AG, whose role is to serve as the chief legal advisor for that state. State AGs are empowered to prosecute violations of state law, represent the state and its employees when sued, and usually to provide legal advice to state agencies and to the state legislature. But its most important and most challenging role may be the right to bring litigation – to file suit – in the name of the state. Due to the massive amounts of money flowing to the states, most states took on this responsibility by adding staff not just to their AGs, but to other agencies with tobacco enforcement responsibilities, such as taxation and revenue departments, and state police organizations. The entry of the MSA in 1998 brought unprecedented amounts of new revenue to the states, but also resulted in the states agreeing to take on the responsibility for new and unprecedented enforcement activities to enforce the settlement’s terms, lest the anticipated flow of monies be reduced or even eliminated.
In a slightly more-somber-than-usual episode of EMBARGOED!, we start with a few thoughts on the widespread protests in the U.S. and addressing racial injustice before pivoting to the White House announcement that Hong Kong is about to lose its special status and what that may mean for Hong Kong, China, and beyond. We then revisit one of our favorite topics, Huawei, to discuss the company’s effort to weather the latest U.S. export control restrictions and check in on the Canadian extradition proceedings for Huawei’s CFO. We also share our thoughts on a recently unsealed indictment alleging a massive sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme to benefit North Korea (aided by China). Finally, in the Lightning Round we start on the open seas to provide quick takes on the latest Venezuela-related maritime designations and a recent Iranian enforcement case, and then wrap up with theories about some recent Entity List additions.
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EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts.
EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike, hosted by Miller & Chevalier Members Brian Fleming and Tim O’Toole. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe for new bi-weekly episodes so you don’t miss out!
Timestamps:
0:11 Introduction
3:06 Prelude: A few thoughts on George Floyd, the protests, and racial injustice
The Rundown
13:40 Hong Kong + China Sanctions
33:50 Huawei
51:05 Unsealing of DPRK Indictment
1:01:50 Lightning Round
1:02:12 Latest Venezuela Designations Focused on Shipping
1:05:22 Iranian Tanker Purchase
1:09:19 Phantom Entity List Additions from May 22 Announcements
1:17:02 Final Thoughts
***Stay sanctions free.***
The Compliance Life details the journey to and in the role of a Chief Compliance Officer. How does one come to sit in the CCO chair? What are some of the skills a CCO needs to success navigate the compliance waters in any company? What are some of the top challenges CCOs have faced and how did they meet them? These questions and many others will be explored in this new podcast series. Over four episodes each month on The Compliance Life, I visit with one current or former CCO to explore their journey to the CCO chair. This month, my guest is Ryan Rabalais, currently an Ethics and Compliance Officer at Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals. Rabalais has been Vice President and CCO at both Rowan Companies and Paragon Offshore.
Ryan Rabalais has over two decades of legal and compliance experience in the oil and gas sector, including being a Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer for two different companies with global operations. Ryan has a history of providing practical solutions to the business and managing overall corporate and regulatory compliance programs. His compliance experience includes a particular focus on anti-corruption, sanctions, trade controls and US anti-boycott, with reporting responsibilities to senior management and the Board of Directors of large, publicly traded companies.
In this Episode 2, we discuss the evolution of the compliance role from that of a legal solution written by lawyers for lawyers to the CCO being seen as a part of the business solution. It began with employees seeing the compliance function as The Land of No, populated by Dr. No to something very different today. We also consider the Black Box problem of compliance.
Categories
RESPECT For Internal Audit
I hear some Chief Audit Executives complaining they “don’t get no respect” like a Rodney Dangerfield comedy skit. When Dangerfield said it, it was funny. Not so if you find your self saying that in real life.
In this week’s #jammingwithjason #internalauditpodcast I discuss RESPECT for internal audit. You see, respect is a two way street. There are some things we need to do as individuals and as a profession to get the respect we want. I dig into some questions to ask yourself and practical steps you can start taking today.
And … an episode about RESPECT wouldn’t be complete unless I sang a little Aretha Franklin, and told a few Rodney Dangerfield jokes too.
Please share this episode with your friends and colleagues.
If you are a CAE, book your call to join a community of like-minded CAEs in the CAE Forum. When you join the CAE Forum you will get much more clarity on exactly how you can get the RESPECT you deserve and elevate the status of internal audit in your organization. https://jasonmefford.mykajabi.com/caeforum