In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- More Wells Fargo culture issues. (WSJ)
- Homeland Security to study cyber-attacks. (Bloomberg)
- KPMG sued for $1.8bn over Carillion debacle. (Reuters)
- WFT gets sued yet again. (WaPo)
Tag: KPMG
As both of their teams are unceremoniously knocked out of the playoffs, Tom and Jay are back looking at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories this week in the Activision Blizzard Sold edition.
Stories
- Activision Blizzard was sold to Microsoft. Check out articles on how the NYT happened, the parameters of the deal in the WSJ, the compliance mess in Bloomberg, and legal issues in Reuters.
- Did the pandemic undo corruption risk models? Dick Cassin explores in the FCPA Blog.
- KPMG spanked yet again in the UK. Jaclyn Jaeger in Compliance Week (sub req’d).
- Person of the Year in Compliance? ESG. Mike Volkov in Corruption Crime and Compliance.
- Is Abby Normal next? Banks using behavioral science. Vera Cherepanova in FCPA Blog.
- Businesses and Strategy on Countering Corruption. Sara Paul, Andrea Gordon, and Dane Sowers in the CCI.
- Climate change compliance. Jeff Kaplan in Conflicts of Interest Blog.
- Trust has its moment. Stewart Levine in Forbes.com.
- Institutional investors on ESG voting. Lawrence Heim in PracticalESG.
- The virtual Board Room. Jeffrey Karpf and Fernando Martinez in Compliance and Enforcement.
Podcasts and More
- Tom and Matt Kelly conclude a 2-part podcast series on issues they are following in 2022. On Compliance into the Weeds, Part 1 and Part 2.
- In January on The Compliance Life, I visited Valerie Charles, a partner at StoneTurn. Val has one of the most interesting journeys in compliance. In Part 1, she discussed her academic background and early professional career. In Part 2, she discusses her move to ComTech. In Part 3, Valerie moves into the consulting world.
- What is the intersection of Joel Coen’s Macbeth and organizational issues in compliance? Tom explores in a 4-part blog series on the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog.
- CCI releases a new e-book from Tom, “FCPA 2021 Year in Review”. Available free from CCI.
- Trial of the Century-the Enron Trial. On Monday, January 4, Tom premiers a 5-part podcast series on the Enron Trial with Loren Steffy, who covered the trial for the Houston Chronicle. You can check out the preview here. It will be available on the Compliance Podcast Network, Megaphone, iTunes, and other top podcast platforms.
- Check out 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program returns, which runs from January 1 to January 31. Available on the Compliance Podcast Network, Megaphone, iTunes, and other top podcast platforms.
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.
In this episode I visit with one of my favorite people, Francine McKenna, a reporter at MarketWatch. We check in on the current developments in the KPMG-PCAOB scandal including recent guilty pleas, sentencing and where the matter might finally be headed. Some of the highlights include:
· A review of the Indictment and underlying facts.
· A review of the horrendous facts about KPMG that came out during the March trial.
· What does it say about the PCAOB that two of its former Board members were witnesses for the defense in the trial?
· What did all this mean for KPMG head Lynne Doughtie? What does all this mean for audit independence, particularly in the Jay Clayton era at the SEC?
· Where can listeners go for more information?
Resources
Francine McKenna on MarketWatch
MarketWatch website
Re: The Auditors blogsite
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 (the coolest guy in compliance) and I take things in a different direction as we welcome Francine McKenna, reporter at MarketWatch. And blogger extraordinaire at Re: The Auditors. After one full week of writing, thinking and talking about the SEC enforcement action against KPMG, we provide our initial reflections.
McKenna discusses:
- Is the total fine only Starbucks money for KPMG?
- Why no one had an inkling of this cheating scandal in addition to the PCAOB scandal.
- Why will the SEC will go out of its way not to put KPMG out of business?
- What are the federal government audit assignments KPMG currently holds?
- How should recalcitrant KPMG employees be disciplined?
- Can the KPMG culture be turned around?
Kelly discusses:
- Who will be the monitor and what will be their scope? What will they do?
- How do you hold accounting firms accountable?
- Channeling his inner Dean Wormer, Kelly asks if KPMG is now on a double Cease and Desist Order?
- Can KPMG keep public confidence going forward?
- Did Jay Clayton’s summer 2018 comments include any knowledge of the cheating scandal?
Fox discusses:
- Was it negligent or intentional conduct involved?
- How heavy is the shadow of Arthur Anderson in this matter?
- Why the government will use all means possible not to put KPMG out of business?
- KPMG in currently involved in multiple scandals, in at least 3 separate continents. Where and when will it end?
- Is it time to break up the Big 4?
- Is this fine really even a meaningful sanction?
For additional reading, check out the following resources:
You should start with McKenna’s great piece on the scandal in MarketWatch, “The KPMG cheating scandal was much more widespread than originally thought”
Matt’s blog post-Questions on the KPMG Ethics Fiasco
Tom’s blog post-Day of Reckoning for KPMG-Failures in Ethics
With KPMG in the news for one of the biggest ethical trainwrecks in recent memory (or since the last biggest ethical trainwreck-Walmart) Tom and Jay return to discuss both events some of this week’s top compliance and ethics stories which caught their collective eyes.
- Wal-Mart settles. Harry Cassin breaks the story for the compliance community in the FCPA Blog.
- The KPMG ethical trainwreck catapults off the tracks with a SEC enforcement action. Francine McKenna with the most comprehensive reporting. Tom and Matt Kelly explore in separate blog posts.
- What is the role of the WTO in global anti-corruption enforcement? Luciana Silveira explores.
- Banks behaving badly (Part 1,304,555). Swedebank suspends execs from its Estonia branch. Dominic Chopping reports in WSJ. Deutsche Bank under criminal investigation for AML violation. David Enrich, Ben Protess and William K. Rashbaum report.
- NAVEX Global published a first-of-its-kind ethics and compliance benchmark report. Jaclyn Jaeger reviews.
- What are the data security/data privacy issues from using Slack? Jim Murphy explains.
- Designing an ethical company is easy. So says Jeff Kaplan.
- Why are negligence and willfulness different standards? Greg Morvillo and Christine Handley explore.
- Dylan Tokar joins the WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal. See his twitter You can reach him at dylan.tokar@wsj.com.
- Why does one size not fit all? Jay continues his series on working with monitors.
- This week Tom had a special 5-part podcast series sponsored by Assent Compliance on the emerging regulatory challenges in Supply Chain management. Check out the following: Part 1-Ithe HTS Landscape; Part 2-instituting a broader Risk Management Program; Part 3– CSR value proposition; Part 4-Conflict Minerals/Responsible Minerals; Part 5-scaling up to meet challenges. The podcast is available on multiple sites: the FCPA Compliance Report, iTunes, JDSupra, Megaphone,YouTube, Spotifyand Corporate Compliance Insights. The Compliance Podcast Networkjoins C-Suite Radio.
- Tom is keynoting next week (June 28) at the University of Miami conference “Compliance Across Borders”. For information and registration click here. In Europe and want to attend a great compliance conference? Tom will be keynoting at Circle of Compliance forum on July 3 and 4 in Paris. For more information and registration, click here.
Tom Fox is the Compliance Evangelist and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.
For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- The commentary continues on the SEC enforcement action against KPMG. (MarketWatch)
- If doctors would not send their children to a hospital, should you? (New York Times)
- FIFA on the lookout for match-fixing. (NYT)
- Michael Platani detained in Qatar corruption probe. (NYT)
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- Day of Reckoning for KPMG. (WSJ)
- Huawei says ban will cost it $30bn? (Washington Post)
- Fallout continues for UBS over sick pig comment.(FT)
- Is piling on back? (WSJ)
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- KPMG to pay $50MM fine. (MarketWatch)
- Corruption in China? Who knew? (NYT)
- Don’t talk about sick pigs and China. (FT)
- What is your corporate battle rhythm? (WSJ)
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- Guyana Investigating Leases Controlled by Exxon & Tullow (Bloomberg)
- In EU 75% of those who observe illegal corp activity afraid to report it. (FT)
- KPMG to be hit by massive fine in UK. (Reuters)
- What is risk management (as in when its life or death)? (Wall Street Journal)
