Tag: Microsoft

How Corruption Happens in Tech

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Post date July 26, 2022
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Thomas Fox and Michael DeBernardis discuss the inner workings of bribery in the tech industry, specifically cases involving HP, Microsoft, and Panasonic, the DOJ and SEC driving home the benefits of voluntary disclosure and their response to future cases, and how companies can practice due diligence even within internal controls.

Key points discussed in the episode:

✔️ Thomas Fox gives a brief background on the cases involving HP, Microsoft, and Panasonic.

✔️ Michael DeBernardis lays out the DOJ and SEC’s investigative process, with a focus on the benefits of voluntary disclosure. Data analytics has also been tossed in the forefront as Microsoft pioneered the transparency of looking into their distributor models and has now been added to compliance guidelines.

✔️ Petty cash has been proven to be an aspect worth examining as HP’s bribery case revolved around the lack of controls. HP’s schemes in Germany and Mexico also emphasized why training your team – whether contractual or full-time – should be trained to handle high-risk situations.

✔️ Internal and compliance controls must be interconnected. Otherwise, wrongdoers will find loopholes and take advantage of them. Making sales to a foreign government also means putting a target on your back.

✔️ Thomas Fox goes into detail about Panasonic’s case regarding corrupt agents, Microsoft’s move towards transaction monitoring, and HP’s suspicious commission discounts coinciding with the Parker Drilling case.

✔️ The DOJ has now provided clear guidance for compliance. Companies are now encouraged to fully disclose their transactions to benefit them in terms of credibility and reduced total penalties.

✔️ Greatly improving their responses, the DOJ has understood the value of cooperation and voluntary disclosure and widened its body of FCPA cases, making it easier for lawyers to counsel companies in preventing future issues from happening.

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Do you have a podcast (or do you want to)? Join the only network dedicated to compliance, risk management, and business ethics, the Compliance Podcast Network. For more information, contact Tom Fox at tfox@tfoxlaw.com.

Tags bribery, corruption, DOJ, FCPA, HP, Microsoft, Panasonic

Compliance Into the Weeds

Mike Volkov on Antitrust Issues in Microsoft Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

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Post date February 2, 2022
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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. This week, Matt and Tom are pleased to host Mike Volkov, host of the Corruption Crime and Compliance podcast on the Compliance Podcast Network. Mike formerly worked in the DOJ, Antitrust Division. We consider the current evolution of antitrust enforcement by the DOJ and FTC and how it might impact the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Some of the issues we consider include:

· Is the focus of antitrust enforcement changing from consumers to others?

· What is a Section 2 Sherman Act claim?

· What are structural v. behavioral remedies?

· Have partial divestitures fallen out of favor?

· How might all this play out in the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard?

· What is the role of compliance going forward?

Resources
Matt in Radical Compliance
Mike Volkov in Corruption Crime and Compliance

Tags Activision Blizzard, antitrust, DOJ, FTC, Jonathan Kanter, Microsoft, Mike Volkov

Everything Compliance

Episode 93, the Activision Blizzard Edition

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Post date January 27, 2022
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Welcome to the only roundtable podcast in compliance. The entire gang was also thrilled to be honored by W3 as a top talk show in podcasting. In this episode, we have the quintet of Karen Woody, Jonathan Armstrong, Tom Fox, Matt Kelly and Jay Rosen. We discuss some of the key issues from the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft in the context of the BeeGees. We also have a special tribute section to Meatloaf as well as Shout Outs and Rants.

1. Karen Woody used Staying Alive to look at the SEC angle on the acquisition. Karen shouts out to workers in the travel industry for getting travelers home during the holidays. Woody paid tribute to Meatloaf’s acting career, the Rocky Horror movie and the song Hot Potootie Bless My Soul which her father still loves and is played annually at his birthday.

2. Jay Rosen reviewed To Love Somebody in asking what role can a monitor play in this matter? Rosen ranted about longtime Boston sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy who voted against David Ortiz for the HOF and shouted out to Big Papi’s response. Jay paid tribute to You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth, Meatloaf’s acting and SNL performances.

3. Matt Kelly considered Massachusetts to consider the anti-trust angles and whether Microsoft can turn the corruption culture at Activision around. Kelly laments the missing child Heather Montgomery and all the officials who did not take her mother’s report of her disappearance seriously. Matt paid tribute to those listeners who are too young to remember Meatloaf.

4. Jonathan Armstrong used How Can You Mend a Broken Heart to look at EU and UK anti-trust issues as well as data privacy concerns under GDPR. Armstrong shouts out artist Tracy Emin for demanding No. 10 pull her artwork due to the corruption of BoJo. Jonathan paid tribute to Meatloaf’s financial support of Jonathan’s local football club Hartlepool United.

5. Tom Fox considered the role of the Microsoft Board of Directors in the acquisition. He shouted out to the Joel Coen movie Macbeth and started Oscar buzz by further shouting out to Kathryn Hunter for her portrayal of the 3 sisters. Tom paid tribute to Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.

The members of the Everything Compliance are:
•       Jay Rosen– Jay is Vice President, Business Development Corporate Monitoring at Affiliated Monitors. Rosen can be reached at JRosen@affiliatedmonitors.com
•       Karen Woody – One of the top academic experts on the SEC. Woody can be reached at kwoody@wlu.edu
•       Matt Kelly – Founder and CEO of Radical Compliance. Kelly can be reached at mkelly@radicalcompliance.com
•       Jonathan Armstrong –is our UK colleague, who is an experienced data privacy/data protection lawyer with Cordery in London. Armstrong can be reached at jonathan.armstrong@corderycompliance.com
•       Jonathan Marks is Partner, Firm Practice Leader – Global Forensic, Compliance & Integrity Services at Baker Tilly. Marks can be reached at jonathan.marks@bakertilly.com
The host and producer, ranter (and sometime panelist) of Everything Compliance is Tom Fox the Voice of Compliance. He can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Everything Compliance is a part of the Compliance Podcast Network.

Tags Activision Blizzard, anti-trust, culture, GDPA, Meatloaf, Microsoft, monitors

Daily Compliance News

January 25, 2022 the Kuwait ABC Edition

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Post date January 25, 2022
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In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

Kuwait pursues corruption charges. (Defense News)
Activision bad ESG bet? (WSJ)
Engage in a hate crime, lose your job. (NYT)
Latham Watkins hires partners for its ESG practice. (Retuers)

Tags ESG, Hate Crimes, Kuwait, Microsoft

Innovation in Compliance

The Future of InfoGovernance and Records Management with Erica Toelle

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Post date June 24, 2021
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Tom Fox’s guest on this episode of the Innovation in Compliance podcast is Erica Toelle. Erica is the Senior Product Marketing Manager for Records Management and InfoGov at Microsoft. As a long-time member of the Microsoft community, she has been dedicated to growing the information governance and records management business and listening to customers and partners to make solutions better. Erica joins Tom to talk about her role at Microsoft, and how the info governance and record management space will evolve in the near future.

Improving Operations
Erica loves to help companies improve their operations using technology. It’s interesting to work with an organization’s compliance experts and help to translate their requirements into Microsoft technology, she tells Tom. “The pace of change in technology has been fast the last 20 years and there are often better ways of doing things, but you have to balance doing things the best way with disrupting productivity and business through change,” she remarks. She argues that it’s better to use a solution that everyone finds easy to use but only has 80% of the desired features, than one that has 100% of the desired functionality but which no one wants to use. “As the compliance person, if you make a solution that’s too hard to use because it’s your ultimate compliance dream, people are going to use their company credit card to buy a different cloud subscription….or figure out how to share files with people outside the company,” she says.

Translating Microsoft Offerings To Solve Compliance Needs
The main issue Erica sees with respect to translating Microsoft offerings to solve compliance needs is that there aren’t clearly defined roles and responsibilities in the organization. “In order to really create a good offering around any of the compliance tools, you have to get the business decision-makers and the business experts together with IT, and then figure out how you want to work together and divide those roles and responsibilities,” she comments.

What’s Next
The records management industry needs to shift its thinking to a more electronic approach. In the coming years, we’re going to see artificial intelligence be leveraged more to deal with the volume of electronic records.

Listen here to Microsoft Week episode 1, featuring Alan Gibson, Director of Legal and Compliance Innovation at Microsoft.

Listen here to Microsoft Week episode 2, featuring Abbas Kudrati, Chief Cybersecurity Advisor for Microsoft Asia’s Enterprise Cybersecurity Group.

Listen here to Microsoft Week episode 3, featuring Joseph Davis, Microsoft’s Chief Security Advisor for Health and Life Sciences.

Tune in tomorrow for episode 5 featuring Jesus Fernandez.

Resources
Erica Toelle | LinkedIn | Twitter
Microsoft 365 Compliance

Tags Erica Toelle, Microsoft

Innovation in Compliance

Reimagining Training with Rashelle Tanner

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Post date April 27, 2021
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Rashelle Tanner is the Director of Compliance Learning Program at the Office of Legal Compliance at Microsoft. A senior attorney, she is responsible for the trust and integrity learning program for Ethics and Compliance. Rashelle develops and delivers learner-centered anti-corruption and ethical decision-making courses that empower employees to do business the right way. Tom Fox welcomes her to this week’s show to discuss how compliance professionals can incorporate and promote integrity in training, and how to reimagine training in innovative ways for the organization’s ultimate benefit.

The Importance of Integrity
Tom asks Rashelle to explain why integrity is integral to compliance. She stresses that people have to follow rules not just because they’re there, but also because they feel motivated to do so. The focus on “doing the right thing” is becoming less on what you can and cannot do, and more on your day-to-day decisions. Focusing on integrity will help you make more ethical decisions.
Compliance and Integrity Through Storytelling
Rashelle tells Tom about incorporating integrity training through the use of storytelling. She describes how her team takes employees through compliance-related scenarios, and ethical issues, with characters based on workers at all levels of Microsoft. The episodes are based on what motivates people, and how it impacts their decisions. Rashelle remarks that this venture has helped build employee engagement and continues to encourage them to get involved with compliance training. She stresses the importance of keeping the content suspenseful to grab employees’ attention; however, it must also stand alone so that anyone can follow along. It also needs to have specific language in the given content in order to reach the target audience.
Diversity and Inclusion in Compliance
Tom switches to the topic of diversity and asks Rashelle her thoughts on the role of diversity and inclusion in compliance, and how compliance departments can drive that conversation forward. He adds that diversity is natural while inclusion is completely different. Diversity is getting one’s foot in the door while inclusion is being completely embraced and listened to. Rashelle stresses that inclusivity is a responsibility, and one she and her team emphasizes at Microsoft, and even within their serial training programs. She states that representing all walks of life in their episodes is a way of reaching not just their local employees but their international ones as well and making them feel seen and heard.

Resources
Rashelle Tanner on LinkedIn | Twitter
The Learning Guild

Tags Microsoft

Accountability: The Heart of Compliance

Microsoft and Accountability

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Post date July 31, 2020
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We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode Sam and I, talk about a recent example of accountability by Microsoft. Some of the highlights include:

Accountability can start with a written statement.
Accountability must be followed up with actions.
If you do not make decisions which align with your stated values, they are really not your stated values.

For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.
See Sam’s blog post, Corporate Culture: Accountability Means Acting on What You Stand For

Tags Microsoft

Compliance Into the Weeds

Compliance into the Weeds: Episode 132-Internal Control Palooza

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Post date July 24, 2019
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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 go into the weeds to explore recent SEC enforcement actions which Matt characterized as an “internal control Palooza”. We explore what went askance, how to learn from it and how to prevent it going forward.
Some of the highlights include: