In this podcast, I am joined by AMI Managing Director Rod Grandon. We engage in an in-depth discussion what the government expects from contractors. The heart of the business ethics and compliance program distils to three basic elements: PREVENT misconduct from occurring. DETECT misconduct when it occurs. CORRECT by taking appropriate steps to remediate the consequences of the discovered misconduct (internally, with customers, and with other stakeholders), to understand the root cause of the misconduct, and, based on the findings of the root cause analysis, to revise policies, practices, and controls to prevent similar acts in the future. Many of these same considerations are addressed in the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual (Guidelines) (as amended November 1, 2016), offering additional guidance for contractors to consider in developing and maintaining effective ethics and compliance programs. The Guidelines make clear that courts will assess effectiveness, at least for the purposes of federal sentencing, by determining whether an organization’s ethics and compliance program has been “reasonably designed, implemented, and enforced so that the program is generally effective in preventing and detecting criminal conduct.” To do so, the program must achieve two fundamental outcomes: (1) it must require the contractor to exercise due diligence to prevent and detect criminal conduct, and (2) otherwise promote an organizational culture that encourages ethical conduct and a commitment to compliance with the law.