Posts by Matt Kelly
More Activision CCO Drama
We return today to the saga surrounding Activision Blizzard and its chief compliance officer Frances Townsend — because, much to my astonishment, this story is getting even stranger. Townsend is doubling down on her statements about whistleblowers and, apparently, blocking employees on Twitter who disagree with her. Townsend made headlines last week for an ill-phrased…
Read MoreCompliance Jobs Report: July 30
No summer doldrums for the Compliance Jobs Report this week. We have new hires at Credit Suisse, FirstEnergy, Schneider Electric, among others; promotions at Freddie Mac and Allianz; and a telling personnel move at a key banking regulator. Job leads this week in healthcare, pharma, and banking; and our Meme of the Week goes out…
Read MoreOn Requiring Covid Vaccination
We interrupt our regular schedule of ethics and compliance programming for fresh news about the Covid-19 pandemic: some statistics showing under what circumstances the public would or would not support vaccination requirements to participate in daily life. The statistics come from research firm Gartner, which polled 346 U.S. consumers last month. The headline is that…
Read MoreGensler: Climate Risk Proposal by Year-End
SEC chairman Gary Gensler said today that he wants a draft proposal for mandatory climate risk disclosures by the end of this year, and dropped more hints than ever before about what that proposal might entail. Gensler made his remarks on a webinar hosted by Principles for Responsible Investment, a think tank that supports more…
Read MoreActivision CCO Steps Into a Mess
Looks like Frances Townsend, the chief compliance officer for Activision Blizzard, is going through some things this week. The state of California just sued the video game giant for allowing a sexually harassing culture, Townsend then circulated an email to employees calling the allegations false, and now employees are furious at her statement. This is…
Read MoreFirstEnergy and Domestic Corruption Woes
Compliance professionals are already well-acquainted with the seedy mechanics of overseas bribery. Now FirstEnergy Corp. in Ohio has given us a full frontal view of how domestic corruption happens right here in the United States, too. You might recall the case from last year. Larry Householder, the now-former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives,…
Read MoreCompliance Jobs Report: July 23
The Compliance Jobs Report is robust again this week! We have new hires at TransUnion, Dapper Labs, PharmScript, Encore Capital, and elsewhere; job leads in higher ed, supply chain management, and toys — and a CCO landing at the Justice Department to head up corporate misconduct enforcement. Our Meme of the Week goes out to…
Read MoreSEC Straps Leather Company on Control Failures
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Texas leather goods company with failing to maintain an effective inventory accounting system, which ultimately led the firm to restate two years’ worth of financial results and send its CEO packing. It’s a cautionary tale for the rest of us about how a poor control environment can…
Read MoreAn Update on the Job Market
Today we circle back to the state of the compliance job market now that the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic is receding in the United States. Our post today includes an interview with one of more notable compliance recruiters out there, who says that hiring these days has never been higher. That recruiter is Steve…
Read MoreThe Second Act of SPACs Enforcement
Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission took its first enforcement action against a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a case involving poor due diligence and misleading disclosures to investors. We should expect more such cases in the future, but there’s also another realm of compliance risk for SPACs that needs more attention. The…
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