Tag: SEC

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Quad/Graphics FCPA Enforcement Action

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. Today we have a special live and in person podcast recording from Converge19. In this episode, Matt Kelly and I go into the weeds to explore the recent SEC enforcement action against Quad/Graphics and its Peruvian subsidiary. Matt comes in smoking on the egregious conduct of the company and the lack of criminal sanctions against the company.
Some of the highlights include:

  • How did the company garner credit for prompt disclosure when it knew about the conduct for 3 years?
  • Why have there been no criminal indictments against individuals?
  • How many sham vendors, invoices and payments does a company need to take notice?
  • Where was compliance?
  • Why is it the sham-ness of it all?

For additional reading see the following:
Matt’s blog post, Graphics Firm Draws $10 FCPA Settlement, on Radical Compliance.
Tom’s blog post, Quad/Graphics-the Sham-ness of it all, on the FCPA Compliance Report.

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Compliance Into the Weeds

PwC Spanked Edition

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 and I go into the weeds to explore the recent SEC enforcement action against PwC and its partner Brandon Sprankle for  violating audit firm independence rules,  including PwC implementing a GRC software system for one of its audit clients.
Some of the highlights include:

  • What was the conduct which led to the $8.9MM fine against PwC?
  • Why do audit firm independence rules exist?
  • Why ethical norms did PwC partner Brandon Sprankle violate?
  • Should an audit partner who engages in material misrepresentations be trusted to perform an audit?
  • What internal controls at PwC were violated by Sprankle’s actions?
  • What does a CCO need to pay attention to audit firm independence rules?

For additional reading see the following:
Matt’s blog post, SEC Dings PwC on GRC Deal, on Radical Compliance.
For more information on Converge19, click here.

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This Week in FCPA

Episode 171 – the Jay Clayton Speaks (or not) edition

As SEC Chair Jay Clayton scolds the rest of the world for its lack of anti-corruption enforcement and does say why he wants to dump a PCAOB Member, Tom and Jay are back  to discuss some of this week’s top compliance and ethics stories which caught their collective eyes.

  1. SEC Chair scolds weak overseas anti-corruption enforcement. Dave Micheal reports in the WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal.
  2. Why does SEC Chairman want to get rid of PCAOB member, Kathleen Hamm? Francine McKenna explores in MarketWatch.
  3. Fair Pay to Play? California pass law allowing college athletes to be compensated. Michael McCann reports in com.
  4. Did the SFO put in a ‘self-certification’ requirement in its recent Guidance on Cooperation? Aziz Rahman says yes in the FCPA Blog.
  5. How can independent integrity monitors help to limit adverse consequences in health care? Jay concludes his series on monitors in the health care industry in CCI.
  6. NYU PCCE gets new Executive Director as Alycin Cooley joins the group. NYU Compliance and Enforcement Blog.
  7. How can you process personal employee data under GDPR? Laura Wright, Sarah Greenwood and Andrew Reeves opine in the FCPA Blog.
  8. What happens when employees ethical values are greater than those shown by their employer? Michael Toebee explores in an interesting post on CCI.
  9. One commentator suggests we hold back on international enforcement against bribe-takers. Anton Moiseeineko writes in theFCPA Blog.
  10. Tom continues his preview of the Converge19 speakers in a special bonus series of podcasts on the Compliance Podcast Network. Check out the following: Monday-Ricardo Pellafone and Ashley Lewis on Building Your Brand; Tuesday-Michael Williamson on moving to a values based culture; Wednesday-Mike Volkov on the Nuts and Bolts of Sanctions Compliance; Thursday-Nicole Pitts on Increasing Employee Engagement and Friday- Eric Feldman on the CCO’s role in performance management. The podcast is available on multiple sites: the FCPA Compliance Report, iTunes, JDSupra, Megaphone,YouTube,  Spotifyand theCompliance Podcast Network.
  11. The Everything Compliance gang will be doing its first live podcast at Converge19. You should be there! Listeners to this podcast can obtain a complimentary ticket by using the promotion code foxvip, for registration and information, 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.

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: August 20, 2019-the dog years edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Former SEC Chair Arthur Levitt says the SEC plan to gut internal controls reporting is misplaced. (WSJ)
  • The Business Roundtable redefines “the purpose of a corporation.” (NYT)
  • BVI lawyer skewers ABA for opposing AML legislation. (FCPA Blog)
  • When employment years count as dog years. (WSJ)
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Compliance Into the Weeds

Compliance into the Weeds: Episode 133-Facebook Settlement

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 Facebook settlement with the SEC and the FTC. We also explore what the new DOJ antitrust investigation may portend going forward.
Some of the highlights include:

  • This is now the second SEC settlement under this fact pattern.
  • The SEC settlement was three times the amount of the Yahoo settlement.
  • Did the FTC settle too low (or too high)?
  • Is Facebook prevented from doing anything going forward?
  • What is the impact if any on the stock price? Does the market even care?
  • Is the DOJ antitrust investigation simply a politically motivated attack?
  • Has the administration thought through the implications of its antitrust investigations?

For further reading on Conn’s see Matt’s blog posts: Facebook, Power and Antitrust Issues

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Great Women in Compliance

Promoting Public Trust-Amy Mertz Brown, Chief Compliance Officer of the SEC

For a long time, compliance was perceived as a part of the larger legal world. Today, compliance is its own profession — a place where people work tirelessly to make the world a better place, one where doing the right thing is the standard for everyone. There are a lot of amazing and inspirational women who have helped the compliance field develop into what it is today and women who are joining this field every day. They are leading the work on cutting-edge issues and breaking barriers for women. Join Mary Shirley and Lisa Fine as they talk with women in compliance who are making a difference. In today’s episode Mary visits with Amy Mertz Brown, Chief Compliance Officer of the SEC. They discussed her role and how it feels to have the responsibility of the head of the Compliance function for one of the most significant Compliance regulators in the world, her tips for success in technology implementations and her takeaways from spearheading the creation of a compliance function in a start-up federal agency. With her extensive managerial experience in legal and compliance departments, Amy also shared various approaches for addressing difficult stakeholders inside an inherited staff and how she prizes diversity as an important goal when building out her teams.

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Compliance into the Weeds: Episode 132-Internal Control Palooza

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:

  • The SEC recently had an “Internal Controls Palooza” of enforcement actions.
  • Microsoft demonstrated poor controls over third parties.
  • Why do does units need a ‘second set of eyes’ for non-standard discounts?
  • What is earnings management and why is it so risky?
  • Why do you need robust internal controls when engaging in earnings management?
  • Why must internal controls have an auditable trail?

For further reading on Conn’s see Matt’s blog posts:
Conn’s Lessons on Management Estimatesand
More on Embedding, Automating Controls
For further reading on Microsoft see Matt’s blog post:
FCPA Issues Nick Microsoft $25 Million
Finally see Tom’s blog posts
Part 1-Microsoft FCPA Enforcement Actionand
Part 2-the Bribery Schemes

Categories
Everything Compliance

Episode 48-Trump Administration and Compliance, Half-Year Report, Part 1

Welcome to the only roundtable podcast in compliance. In this episode, we begin a two-part episode where we consider the Trump Administration and Compliance, Part 1. This episode includes Sarah Hadden, Mike Volkov and Matt Kelly. Our next episode will feature Jay Rosen, Jonathan Armstrong and your host, Tom Fox.

  1. Sarah Hadden bemoans the death of privacy and explains how the Number 7 has come to haunt her in the modern world of advertising algorithms. Sarah shouts out to the resistance to the Surveillance State and Surveillance Capitalism.
  2. Matt Kelly considers both where the SEC has been and is headed in its rollback of SEC 404 protections and the SEC changes to its whistleblower provisions under Dodd-Frank. Matt treats us to a double shot of rants today as he cannot control himself on the subject of the Trump Administration calling sub-regulatory guidance from the DOJ worthless “paper” while continuing to issue Guidance such as the 2019 Guidance for Compliance Programs. He also rants about the Dutch Data Protection Authority who violated GDPR in a recent release of data and then failed to timely report said breach (to themselves).
  3. Mike Volkov goes hyperbolic in his discusses of the new OFAC compliance program and the current state of OFAC sanctions. Mike rants about the petty criticism of the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.

The members of the Everything Compliance are:

The host and producer (and sometime panelist) of Everything Compliance is Tom Fox the Compliance Evangelist. Everything Compliance is a part of the Compliance Podcast Network.

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: June 7, 2019-the Bring out your Dead edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • OSI announces both DOJ and SEC have dropped their FCPA investigations of the company? (YaHooFinance)
  • Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. Sales Chief Files Whistleblower Lawsuit. (WSJ)
  • Will JPMorgan settlement lead to increase in Dad-leave? (Washington Post)
  • SEC investigating Siemens AG, Philips NV and General Electric Co for FCPA violations. (Reuters)
Categories
This Week in FCPA

This Week in FCPA-Episode 157 – We’re on iTunes edition

As the enjoy the Astros continue their decimation of their AL West opponents and the lads celebrate finally getting their own iTunes show, they return to discuss both events some of this week’s top compliance and ethics stories which caught their collective eyes.
1.    Complexity and compliance, how do you deal with this in your compliance program?
2.    The SEC gives two whistleblowers a premium for reporting internally before disclosing to regulators.
3.    Wither CITGO? Tom predicts things will go downhill quickly in a FCPA kind of way.The next day the government announces a subpoena to CITGO for potential FCPA violations.
4.     The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on extending the commitment of management to do business in compliance and ethically.
5.     Managing Anticorruption Compliance Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. An article by Ruta Mrazauskaite.
6.     Is Exxon evil? Jaclyn Jaeger thinks so and explains why in an Op-Ed.
7.    Mike Volvok follows his 3-part series on auditing your investigative protocol with a 4-part series on a sanctions compliance program.
8.    Why is compliance is critical in the daily changing Trump trade wars against everyone. Paul Ziobro reports on FedEx.
9.    Why a ‘necessary evil’ does not constitute effective compliance. Mary Bennett explains.
10. ESG Screening Underscores Challenges in Third-Party Risk Management. Brian Alster considers.
11. This week Tom had a special 5-part podcast series sponsored by AMI on the new Justice 2019 Guidance featuring Eric Feldman. Check out the following: Part 1-Introduction;Part 2-Well-designed;Part 3– Effectively Implemented; Part 4-Working in Practice; Part 5-Final Thoughts.  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.
12.  Join Tom in Boston for his industry leading Compliance Master Class on June 11 & 12. Listeners who attend will receive a complimentary copy of The Compliance Handbook. Registration and Information is here. Join Tom, Eric Feldman, Vin DiCianni and Jay at the AMI Roundtable in Boston on June 13 for a deep dive into the DOJ’s new Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs-2019 Guidance. Information and registration is 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.