Posts by Matt Kelly
Dissecting the Alexion FCPA Case
We can all use a refresher course in FCPA compliance issues from time to time, and the Securities and Exchange Commission served up precisely that last week with its $21.4 million enforcement action against Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Alexion is a mid-sized pharmaceutical firm based in Boston, primarily selling Soliris, a drug used to treat several rare…
Read MoreRandom Thoughts on Corporate Compliance
Radical Compliance has been taking a few days off for vacation over the July 4th weekend. As we recover from yelling ourselves hoarse at those kids setting off fireworks all over town for weeks, it’s time for another round of random thoughts on ethics, compliance, audit, and whatever else comes to mind. First, I welcome…
Read MoreCompliance Jobs Report: July 2
The Compliance Jobs Report arrives early this week, as we are taking a long weekend for the July 4th holiday. We have promotions at Amgen, Astellas Pharma, Coloplast, Otis Elevator, and elsewhere; plus new hires at Tricolor, RTL Group, Orbia, Ipsen, and more. CBRE is looking for a head of investigations, and our Meme of…
Read MoreReport on Compliance Functions and Covid
A survey of more than 300 compliance officers finds that roughly half of you have been exclusively working from home since the Covid-19 crisis started four months ago — and while that transition hasn’t been as bad as you’d feared, concerns about compliance failures and budget cuts are rising swiftly. So says a report from…
Read MoreLeadership Disaster at Holyoke Home
Last week Massachusetts officials published a report about one of the worst failures of our state’s Covid-19 response so far: the deaths of dozens of elderly veterans at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Mass. in late March and early April, at the height of our coronavirus outbreak here. The report is worth compliance and audit…
Read MoreCompliance Jobs Report: June 26
The Compliance Jobs Report this week has personnel moves at Cushman & Wakefield, Coloplast, Westpac, Credit Suisse, and a bundle of other businesses. Facebook is looking for a chief compliance officer, and our Meme of the Week goes out to everyone struggling with tight budgets, which is everyone. As always, thank you to all the…
Read MoreNovartis Settles FCPA Case for $345M
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis is paying $345 million to settle civil and criminal FCPA charges for misconduct in Greece, Korea, and Vietnam. As usual, compliance professionals have an abundance of lessons to learn about internal controls, policies and procedures, and effective compliance programs. The breakdown is $233 million to the Justice Department for the criminal…
Read MoreSEC Talks Covid Disclosures
Just in time for the end of second quarter, the Securities and Exchange Commission has published another dollop of guidance about financial disclosures companies should keep in mind as they navigate Covid-19. The statement came Tuesday from chief accountant Sagar Teotia. It’s the latest in a series of pronouncements SEC officials have made since early…
Read MoreA Security Threat That Evades Internal Control
Well this is sobering stuff for internal auditors and SOX compliance professionals: a cybersecurity firm is raising alarms about flaws in the Oracle business software that countless companies use to manage their finances, which lets hackers steal or alter financial data — all undetectable by standard internal controls or GRC technology. Be warned, this is…
Read MoreTurmoil for SEC, SDNY Leadership
Compliance professionals awoke this weekend to news that two of the country’s most important corporate prosecutors — the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York — are mired in confusion and uncertainty about who’s going to be in charge. While you were Netflix and chillin’ on Friday…
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