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FCPA Compliance Report

FCPA Compliance Report – Celebrating the 2025 World’s Most Ethical Companies: Highlights with Erica Salmon Byrne

Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running podcast in compliance. In this episode, Tom welcomes Erica Salmon Byrne, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chair at Ethisphere, on an exciting launch day for the 2025 World’s Most Ethical Companies honoree list.

The World’s Most Ethical Companies list features 136 companies from 44 industries across 19 countries; the episode delves into the significance, process, and celebration behind this prestigious designation. Erica discusses the impressive Ethics Premium, revealing that publicly traded honorees have outperformed a comparable index by 7.8%, underscoring the profitability of ethical business practices. Listeners will gain insights into the rigorous application process, the importance of cross-functional relationships, and the global nature of the honoree list. Erica also previews the upcoming Global Ethics Summit and emphasizes the critical role of talent acquisition and retention in corporate success.

Key highlights:

  • What is Launch Day?
  • Ethics Premium Highlights
  • Overview of Honoree Companies
  • Global Ethics Summit Preview
  • Deep Dive into the Ethics Premium

Resources:

Erica Salmon Bryne on LinkedIn

Ethisphere

World’ Most Ethical Awards for 2025

Tom Fox

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LinkedIn

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Blog

Upping Your Compliance Game, Part 1 – The Business Case for Compliance: How Ethics and Compliance Drive Profitability

The Trump Administration has suspended FCPA enforcement for the foreseeable future. What does that mean for compliance professionals? Hui Chen has suggested this should be seen as an opportunity for compliance, but to do so, “It’s time to up your game . . . Instead of selling insurance for FCPA enforcement, become leaders that help your organizations perform.” Based on this challenge by the most imminent compliance commentator, I will devote this week’s blog posts to ways compliance professionals can up their collective game. Today, I demonstrate that effective compliance equates to more efficient business processes and great Return on Investment (ROI).

We are now at a point where sufficient data, academic research, and real-world case studies make one thing abundantly clear: a strong ethics and compliance program is not just good for business; it can now be seen as a driver of profitability. While compliance has long been seen as a necessary cost of doing business, organizations that take compliance seriously have discovered a competitive advantage hidden in plain sight.

The Ethics Premium: Data-Driven Proof of Compliance ROI

For the past 15 years, Ethisphere has collected data on its World’s Most Ethical Companies awards, and the results are telling. Companies that earn this designation consistently outperform their peers in stock market performance. Ethisphere refers to this as the “Ethics Premium.” Ethisphere Executive Vice President Erica Salmon Byrne has stated, “In tracking how the stock prices of publicly traded honorees compare to the U.S. Large Cap Index, we found that listed World’s Most Ethical Companies outperformed the large cap sector.”

In 2010, that performance gap was 4.5%. By 2020, the number had surged to 13.5%. Ethical businesses are not only surviving but thriving in competitive markets. The message is simple: investors, customers, and stakeholders place greater value on companies with strong ethical foundations, and the market rewards those companies accordingly.

Academic Research Supports Compliance as a Profit Driver

Beyond market trends, academic research backs up the claim that compliance is a value generator. George Serafeim and Paul M. Healy, in their paper An Analysis of Firms’ Self-Reported Anti-Corruption Efforts, found that companies with robust compliance programs perform better financially in high-risk, corruption-prone countries than those with weaker programs.

One of their key findings was that companies without strong compliance frameworks, despite high sales in these markets, experienced a negative Return on Equity (ROE) of between 24% and 30%. In contrast, companies that invested in compliance infrastructure were better equipped to navigate challenging business environments, sustain long-term growth, and protect shareholder value.

This research reinforces that compliance isn’t just about avoiding fines or regulatory scrutiny—it’s about building a business model that can weather uncertainty and thrive in complex global markets.

Real-World Example: How Compliance Data Drove Profitability

Numbers and research are compelling, but nothing drives the point home like real-world success stories. One such example comes from a company operating in a high-risk FCPA jurisdiction. As part of its compliance initiatives, the company conducted a fraud risk analysis on business development spending related to gifts and entertainment to identify patterns of improper spending and mitigate corruption risks.

Unexpected Findings and a New Compliance Strategy

Without prior approval, the company had a strict $75.00 cap on gifts and entertainment spending. The analysis examined traditional fraud indicators, such as:

  • Split receipts are designed to circumvent the spending limit.
  • Transactions clustered just below the approval threshold.
  • Aggregate spending on individual government officials by multiple salespeople.

However, the results yielded an unexpected insight: spending patterns revealed two distinct thresholds:

  • Data Point A: The minimum spend required to close a deal successfully.
  • Data Point Z: A limit beyond which no additional spending would influence a sale.

Armed with this insight, the company implemented a new policy. Sales teams were required to meet the threshold of Data Point A but were prohibited from exceeding Data Point Z. This simple compliance-driven adjustment had a massive impact:

  1. Immediate Cost Savings: Sales teams stopped wasting money on futile attempts to win business past a certain spending level.
  2. Operational Efficiency Gains: By recognizing when a sale was unlikely to close, sales professionals could pivot more quickly, reducing the overall sales cycle time and improving productivity.

The result? The company eliminated unnecessary expenses and increased overall business unit profitability—all thanks to insights derived from a compliance analysis.

Compliance as a Business Efficiency Tool

This case study is the perfect example of how compliance, when approached strategically, can improve efficiency and profitability. The same principles can be applied across other business functions:

  • Quote-to-Cash (QTC) Sales Cycle: Compliance insights can optimize contract approvals and improve revenue recognition.
  • Procure-to-Pay (P2P) Procurement Cycle: Compliance controls can prevent fraud and enhance supplier negotiation strategies.
  • Third-Party Risk Management: Effective compliance due diligence can reduce supply chain disruptions and improve vendor relationships.

When compliance is embedded within key business processes, it ceases to be a regulatory checkbox and instead becomes a powerful tool for operational excellence.

Reframing the Compliance Conversation: From Cost Center to Profit Generator

Compliance has been considered an overhead expense for years—necessary but not necessarily value-generating. The data, research, and case studies tell a different story. Compliance is not just about avoiding legal trouble; it’s about making smarter business decisions that enhance long-term sustainability.

To reframe the conversation, compliance professionals should:

  1. Leverage Data: Use metrics and research to quantify the financial benefits of ethical business practices.
  2. Tell Compelling Stories: Highlight real-world examples of how compliance has improved profitability and efficiency.
  3. Engage Business Leaders: Collaborate with finance, operations, and sales teams to position compliance as a business enabler rather than a regulatory burden.

The Bottom Line

Ethical companies perform better. Research proves it, and real-world success stories validate it. Businesses that invest in compliance don’t just protect themselves from regulatory risk—they position themselves for sustained profitability and competitive advantage.

It is time for compliance leaders to own this narrative. Compliance is not simply about avoiding penalties; it’s a strategic asset that drives business success. The next time you’re asked to justify your compliance budget, do not just talk about risk; talk about ROI. In today’s world, ethics and profitability go hand in hand.

Categories
10 For 10

10 For 10: Top Compliance Stories For The Week Ending March 9, 2024

Welcome to 10 For 10, the podcast that brings you the week’s Top 10 compliance stories in one podcast each week. Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings to you, the compliance professional, the compliance stories you need to be aware of to end your busy week. Sit back, and in 10 minutes, hear about the stories every compliance professional should be aware of from the prior week.

Every Saturday, 10 For 10 highlights the most important news, insights, and analysis for the compliance professional, all curated by the Voice of Compliance, Tom Fox. Get your weekly filling of compliance stories with 10 for 10, a podcast produced by the Compliance Podcast Network.

  1. The DOJ announces a whistleblower program.  (WSJ)
  2. More from DAG Monaco. Changes to ECCP regarding AI. (Compliance Week)
  3. The NYT asks for Boeing whistleblowers. (NYT)
  4. Forced labor and Porsches.  (WSJ)
  5. The SEC approves weakened climate change rules. (NYT)
  6. Bribery acquittal in London. (F T)
  7. The CTA ruled it unconstitutional. (NYT)
  8. Senator Menendez, a co-defendant, pleads guilty. (CNBC)
  9. Ethisphere announces the World’s Most Ethical Company Awards. (Press Release)
  10. Gunvor is to pay $661 million for FCPA violations. (WSJ)

For more information on the Ethico ROI Calculator and a free White Paper on the ROI of Compliance, click here.

You can check out the Daily Compliance News for four curated compliance and ethics-related stories each day here.

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FCPA Compliance Report

Erica Salmon Byrne on 2022 World’s Most Ethical Companies


In this episode of the FCPA Compliance Report, I am joined by Erica Salmon Byrne, President of Ethisphere. We discuss the announcement of Ethisphere’s 2022 World Most Ethical Companies awards. This year’s most stunning announcement is a 5-year Ethics Premium of 24.6%. Other highlights in include:

  • A deep dive into the Ethics Premium, including the reasons for the dramatic growth of the past 5 years.
  • 2022 had the highest number of new companies on the list. Who were some of these first-time honorees? The non-US centric number of honorees.
  • The Ethics Quotient-how is it calculated?
  • Why is the Ethics Quotient such a powerful tool for the compliance professional?
  • How to get your company involved in the World’s Most Ethical Companies process.

 
Resources
Ethisphere
2022 World’s Most Ethical Announcement

Categories
FCPA Compliance Report

FCPA Compliance Report-Episode 420, Erica Salmon Byrne on the 2019 WME-the Ethics Premium

In this episode I visit with podcast favorite Erica Salmon Byrne, the EVP and Executive Director of Business Ethics Leadership Alliance at Ethisphere on its 2019 World’s Most Ethical company awards. The companies will be honored at the upcoming Some of the highlights of the podcast include:

  • This year’s numbers include 128 companies honored. They were located in 21 countries and in 50 different industries;
  • Ethisphere now has 13 years of data, what does it show?
  • What is the ‘ethics premium’?
  • What are some of the characteristics of WME award winning companies?
  • What are the business benefits of transparency and open communications?
  • How does diversity benefit a corporation?
  • What can the compliance practitioner learn from these leading companies?

Additional Resources
LinkedIn Profile for Erica Salmon Byrne.
Byrne article: The Ethics Premium: Performance Founded in Purpose
For agenda and registration information on the 2019 Global Ethics Summit, click here.
For information on the Dinner honoring the 2019 World’s Most Ethical companies, click here.