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From the Editor's Desk

April and May in Compliance Week

Welcome to From the Editor’s Desk, a podcast where co-hosts Tom Fox and Kyle Brasseur, EIC at Compliance Week unpack some of the top stories which have appeared in Compliance Week over the past month, look at top compliance stories upcoming for the next month, talk some sports and generally try to solve the world’s problems.

In this month’s episode, we look back at top stories in CW from April around the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic sanctions imposed by the West, including simply keeping up with the ever changing sanctions. Kyle previews the a case study on how FedEx is executing an ESG program. We discuss the Compliance Week 2022 Conference scheduled for May in DC. We conclude with a look at some of the top sports stories including a look at the NBA playoffs and the Celtics, find out that Kyle is as big a homer as his predecessor, Tom pays tribute to long-time Houston Chronicle Sports Columnist John McClain, the General and are shocked to find out that the Yankees cheated but still lost to the Astros.

Listeners to this podcast can receive a $200 discount to Compliance Week 2022 by going here and using the Code FOX200.

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From the Editor's Desk

March and April in Compliance Week


Welcome to From the Editor’s Desk, a podcast where co-hosts Tom Fox and Dave Lefort, Managing Director at Compliance Week unpack some of the top stories which have appeared in Compliance Week over the past month, look at top compliance stories upcoming for the next month, talk some sports and generally try to solve the world’s problems.
In this month’s episode, we look back at top stories in CW from March around the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic sanctions imposed by the West, including simply keeping up with the ever changing sanctions, the public pressures on companies to model their values and the ever-growing importance of due diligence. Dave previews the a case study on how FedEx is executing an ESG program. We discuss the Compliance Week 2022 Conference scheduled for May in DC. We conclude with a look at some of the top sports stories including Dave’ tribute to Jackie McMullan, who has finally started a podcast, a preview of the Celtics in the NBA playoffs and the labor settlement in baseball.
If you are a CW subscriber, you can check out Aly McDevitt’s series, starting here. If you are not a subscriber, you can preview her series, by clicking here.
Listeners to this podcast can receive a $200 discount to Compliance Week 2022 by going here and using the Code FOX200.
Jackie McMullan’s podcast Icons Club.

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Greetings and Felicitations

Aly McDevitt on Ransomware Case Study, Part 2

Welcome to the Greetings and Felicitations, a podcast where I explore topics which might not seem to be directly related to compliance but clearly influence our profession. In this episode, we conclude a two-part series with Aly McDevitt, Data & Research Journalist at Compliance Week. We take a deep dive into her recent series case study on a ransomware attack on a fictional company. Highlights include:

·      Who are hackers? What is a cyber incident response playbook and how does each person handle their roles in the event of a ransomware attack?
·      How and when should stakeholders be notified? Who and what type of notification should be made?
·      What goes into the decision to pay? What are the pros and cons of each path?
·      What are some key lessons for companies from the story?
·      A hint of what Aly may have in store for future articles and series.
Resources
Ransomware case study in Compliance Week
Aly McDevitt

Categories
Greetings and Felicitations

Aly McDevitt on Ransomware Case Study, Part 1

Welcome to the Greetings and Felicitations, a podcast where I explore topics which might not seem to be directly related to compliance but clearly influence our profession. In this episode, we begin a two-part series with Aly McDevitt, Data & Research Journalist at Compliance Week. We take a deep dive into her series case study on a ransomware attack on a fictional company. Highlights include:

·      Why this subject matter for a deep dive?
·      The research that went into the piece. How many people interviewed and how long was the research process?
·      Writing style. Locked yourself in a room and not come out until its done or more collaborative process with an editor?
·      Story Synopsis- how common is Betty’s mistake?
·      What is the role of the CIRT and MSSP? How critical was VE’s preparation to its ability to respond?
Resources
Ransomware case study in Compliance Week
Aly McDevitt

Categories
From the Editor's Desk

January and February in Compliance Week

Welcome to From the Editor’s Desk, a podcast where co-hosts Tom Fox and Dave Lefort, Managing Director at Compliance Week unpack some of the top stories which have appeared in Compliance Week over the past month, look at top compliance stories upcoming for the next month, talk some sports and generally try to solve the world’s problems.

 In this month’s episode, we look back at top stories in CW from January including stories on ESG disclosures and whether companies should divest or not based upon ESG concerns, the DOJ investigating short sellers. Dave previews the series by Aly McDevitt on the end to end story of a cyber attack and response and how FedEx is executing an ESG program. We discuss the Compliance Week 2022 Conference scheduled for May in DC. We conclude with a look at some of the top sports stories including the greatest weekend of pro football playoff ever, including the greatest playoff game ever, Tom Brady’s retirement and the MLB HOF election of David Ortiz and shunning of Barry Bonds and Roger Clements.

CW is running a membership special for full access to the Compliance Week site. This membership special is one year for only $199. Use Promo Code RNSM199. For information and details click here.

Register for CW 2022 Conference here.

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This Week in FCPA

Episode 289 – the Brady Retires edition

 
As the GOAT of pro football, Tom Brady retires, Brian Flores sues the NFL and the Bengals/Rams make the Super Bowl, Tom and Jay are back look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories this week in the Brady Retires edition. 
Stories

  1. DOJ issues first Opinion Release of 2022. DOJ website. Tom in FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog. Bill Steinman in the FCPA Blog.
  2. Do BODs have unrealistic expectations on compliance? Dick Cassin explores in the FCPA Blog.
  3. KPMG mislead FRC through forged docs. Risk and Compliance Platform Europe.
  4. LRN releases 2022 Program Effectiveness Report. Download report here. Matt Kelly in Radical Compliance.
  5. A ‘how-to’ on remediating. The HeadSpin enforcement action. Tom in FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog. Aaron Nicodemus in Compliance Week. (sub req’d)
  6. Learning to scale up ethically. Hemant Taneja in CCI.
  7. Why compliance should lead ESG. Carrie Penman in Ethics and Compliance Matters.
  8. The Boardroom agenda in 2022. Deloitte in Harvard Law School forum on Corporate Governance.
  9. Changes in antitrust enforcement and its impact on compliance. Mike Volkov, Matt Kelly and Tom in Compliance into the Weeds. Mike Volkov with a 3-part blog series in Corruption Crime and Compliance.
  10. Unclear values can lead to unethical behavior. Brett Beasley in Center for Ethical Leadership.

 Podcasts and More

  1. In February on The Compliance Life, I visit with Ellen Smith, a former Director of Trade Compliance who recently started her own consulting firm. In Part 1, she discussed her academic background and early professional career.
  2. Aly McDevitt with a multipart series in Compliance Week on the end-to-end story of a ransomware attack. Here more about the series on this month’s edition of From the Editor’s Desk, with Tom and Dave Lefort. A subscription is required but Compliance Week is running a membership special of $199 for the year. Use Promo Code RNSM199. For information and details click here.
  3. CCI releases new e-book from Tom “FCPA 2021 Year in Review”. Available free from CCI.
  4. Trial of the Century-the Enron Trial. This week, Tom premiered a 5-part podcast series on the Enron Trial with Loren Steffy, who covered the trial for the Houston Chronicle. In Part 1, run up to the trial. In Part 2, the trial begins. In Part 3, the star witnesses and key testimony. In Part 4, the Verdict comes in. In Part 5, what did it all mean. It is be available on the Compliance Podcast Network, Megaphone, iTunes, Spotify and all other top podcast platforms.
  5. Looking for a quick daily bite of trade compliance? Check out the Compliance Kitchen with Silvia Surman, who gives a short 3-5 minute update on one trade compliance topic each day. On the Compliance Podcast Network.

Tom Fox is the Voice of Compliance and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.

Categories
The ESG Report

Compliance Must Carve Out Role in Company ESG Efforts with Aaron Nicodemus

 
Aaron Nicodemus has been a reporter for over 30 years in the US and South Africa, having written for various notable publications including Bloomberg. He has been a writer/reporter at Compliance Week for the last 18 months. He is Tom Fox’s guest this week on the ESG Report. They discuss his recent article about the intersection of ESG and compliance, entitled “Compliance Must Carve Out Role in Company ESG Efforts.”
 

 
Inside the Mind of the CCO Survey
“Every year for the past three years Compliance Week has conducted an Inside the Mind of the CCO survey,” Aaron tells Tom. This year the focus was on ESG since it has been a hot topic, and they wanted to gauge what ESG initiatives looked like across industries and organizations. “Almost all of the compliance officers who took the survey felt that compliance should be involved in ESG initiatives at their company,” Aaron reveals. CCOs believe that compliance is best positioned to lead ESG since it intersects with so many of their core functions. “Putting [compliance] in charge of the ESG initiatives would help make sure that [the company] meets all the regulations that they should, and also that they are reporting on data that is both accurate and informative,” he comments. Now that the SEC is poised to issue new mandates regarding climate change disclosures, compliance will most likely have to be front and center for ESG going forward. “When regulators get involved that tends to push compliance to the fore,” Aaron remarks.
 
Key Findings
Tom and Aaron discuss some key findings outlined in the article. These include:

  • The actual role of CCOs in ESG – 73% of CCOs have an active role in ESG, either as advisor, primary overseer, or advocate. 
  • Where they see their role – 23% of CCOs feel they should have more oversight over ESG than they currently have. Most persons surveyed feel that compliance should have a prominent role in ESG.
  • Whether compliance should lead all 3 aspects of ESG – Most CCOs see governance as their core function, while environmental and social concerns are secondary roles. 
  • Compliance is the conscience of the company.
  • Stakeholders are demanding more information on ESG to influence their investment decisions.

 
Growth of ESG
Tom sees ESG as the fastest moving corporate initiative. He asks Aaron if the survey confirms this view. “It’s been a gradual process that has come to a head in Europe and in the UK,” Aaron responds. Similar climate change disclosure mandates are likely to happen in the US in 2022. Companies have been pursuing sustainability and D&I initiatives for several years. “ESG collects up some of those things in a tight little bundle, and you can really pursue a lot of issues under the ESG umbrella,” he continues. He sees ESG accelerating over the next few years, starting with climate change. 
 
Resources
Aaron Nicodemus on LinkedIn | Twitter | Email
Compliance Week: Compliance Must Carve Out Role in Company ESG Efforts
 

Categories
FCPA Compliance Report

Kyle Brasseur, Editor in Chief at Compliance Week


In this episode of the FCPA Compliance Report, I visit with Kyle Brasseur, new appointed Editor in Chief at Compliance Week. We talk about Kyle’s professional career at ESPN, his move to Compliance Week, highlights of his work at CW and CW down the road. Highlights of this podcast include:

  1. Early professional career and roles at ESPN?
  2. What brought him to CW. What roles held at CW.
  3. Some favorite projects at CW.
  4. His move into the EIC Role
  5. What are some of his goals moving forward as EIC?
  6. Inside the Mind of the CCO Survey Report and long form reporting this year.
  7. Compliance Week 2022 Conference. How can listeners register? What is the Ambassador Program and how can listeners participate?

Resources
Compliance Week
Kyle Brasseur LinkedIn profile

Categories
From the Editor's Desk

November in Compliance Week

Welcome to From the Editor’s Desk, a podcast where co-hosts Tom Fox and Dave Lefort, Editor in Chief at Compliance Week unpack some of the top stories which have appeared in Compliance Week over the past month, look at top compliance stories, talk some sports and generally try to solve the world’s problems.

 In this month’s episode, we look back at top stories in CW from November including the final results from the CW survey ‘Inside the Mind of the CCO’. It includes a discussion of the gender gap in pay for compliance professionals, the role of compliance in ESG and the role of compliance in fighting cyber breaches. We discuss the Compliance Week 2022 Conference scheduled for May in DC and upcoming CW event on best practices to prevent a ransomware attack. We conclude with a look at some of the top sports stories including the MLB lock out by management, Michigan beating Ohio State and the storyline of a potential Brady v. Belichick Super Bowl.

Check out the CW articles on Inside the Mind of the CCO, herehere and here.

Early register for CW 2022 Conference here.

Categories
From the Editor's Desk

October in Compliance Week


Welcome to From the Editor’s Desk, a podcast where co-hosts Tom Fox and Dave Lefort, Editor in Chief at Compliance Week unpack some of the top stories which have appeared in Compliance Week over the past month, look at top compliance stories, talk some sports and generally try to solve the world’s problems.
In this month’s episode, we look back at top stories in CW from October including the academic research into whistleblowing that went awry and raised significant ethical issues.  Dave reports on some of the preliminary results from the CW survey ‘Inside the Mind of the CCO’. We discuss the Compliance Week 2022 Conference scheduled for May in DC. We conclude with a look at some of the highlights from the first few weeks of the 2021 NFL season, with a comparison of Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, the Astros and Red Sox series and the World Series.
Take the CW survey ‘Inside the Mind of the CCO’ by clicking here.
Early register for CW 2022 Conference here.