Tag: Jonathan Marks

Categories
FCPA Compliance Report

Jonathan Marks on the Evolution of Compliance Through the Eyes of Internal Audit


The FCPA Compliance Report is the longest running podcast in compliance, premiering on July 31, 2015. This week begins a series of podcasts leading up to the 500th anniversary episode of the FCPA Compliance Report, which will post on Monday, August 31. Over the next five episodes, I will post podcasts of 5 top FCPA and compliance commentators. Over this week, I have been joined by Mike Volkov, Matt Kelly, Jonathan Armstrong, Jay Rosen and Jonathan Marks. Each will speak about the evolution of compliance from their own unique perspective. In this episode, I visit with Jonathan Marks, a partner at Baker Tilly who talks about the evolution of compliance through the lens of internal audit. We consider how some of the changes in compliance mirror those he saw and lived through in the world of internal audit.
Some of the highlights include:

  • Marks looks back at the changes and evolution of the internal audit profession since SOX.
  • Marks sees the FCPA Internal Control provisions as the precursor to SOX.
  • Marks sees professionalism in compliance in a similar arc as he observed in the audit profession.
  • Why was the COSO 2013 Internal Controls Framework a seminal moment for compliance professionals.
  • Why is the move to an overall integrated structure of Enterprise Risk Management so critical?
  • How the 2020 Update to the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs brought business intelligence to compliance.

Lineup 
I hope you will listen in to each episode over this week. The lineup will be:
Monday, August 24-Episode 495-Mike Volkov on changes in FCPA enforcement.
Tuesday, August 25- Episode 496-Matt Kelly in changes he has observed in compliance from the business journalist perspective.
Wednesday 26, August Episode 497-Jonathan Armstrong in changes in data protection/data privacy compliance.
Thursday August 27-August Episode 498-Jay Rosen in changes in compliance from the business development perspective.
Monday, August Episode 500-the Anniversary Episode.

Categories
PHorensically Speaking

Tone and Conduct from the Top

In this episode, Jonathan Marks considers both tone and conduct from the top of an organization. The nature of a corporate culture can be the difference between a thriving and a beleaguered organization, and it all starts at the top! The control environment – that is, the overall attitude, awareness, and actions of directors and management regarding the internal control system and its importance to the organization – is the key to setting the tone of the organization because it influences the “control consciousness of its people.” Factors that contribute to the control environment include, but are not limited to –
·      Integrity and ethical values communicated by executive management in speaking and writing and demonstrated by action;
·      Responses to incentives and temptations – clear policies and actions that prohibit the acceptance of inappropriate gifts, for example;
·      Moral guidance, as communicated through a code of business conduct and ethics;
·      A commitment to competence, as demonstrated by robust human resource policies and clear job descriptions for the purpose of hiring and retaining qualified people;
·      A board of directors and audit committee that are engaged, ask questions, and take appropriate action;
·      A management philosophy and operating style that place high value on risk assessment and internal control;
·      A well-defined organizational structure that is appropriate to the company’s size and complexity;
·      Appropriate assignment of authority and responsibility, with well-defined authority and duties that are appropriately segregated to prevent or detect error and fraud;
·      Human resource/capital recruiting and retention policies and practices to ensure that human capital is valued; and,
·      Ways to settle internal differences, such as a forum to discuss and settle differences of opinion between management and employees.
In any organization, the buck stops with the CEO: He or she has ultimate responsibility for the internal control system. For additional reading see the article Tone from the Top, It Dissipates!