General
Compliance One Year Into Trump 2.0
As 2025 draws to a close, I’ve been pondering this first year of the Trump 2.0 Administration and what its arrival has meant for corporate ethics, compliance, and governance. That’s not easy to do. Over the last 12 months we’ve seen an endless stream of tweets, policy pronouncements, lawsuits, and threats from the Administration —…
Read MoreWait, Does Bribery Pay Off After All?
Fresh research suggests that the Trump Administration’s freeze on FCPA enforcement earlier this year led to a jump in the share price of corruption-prone businesses — which, in turn, raises some unsettling questions about how to make a culture of ethics and compliance truly stick in an era of diminished enforcement. The research comes from…
Read MoreTrump’s Feckless AI Order
You might have seen news the other week that President Trump proudly proclaimed an executive order that purported to bar states from enforcing their own laws and regulations for artificial intelligence. Corporate compliance teams should probably respond to Trump’s order the same way that U.S. states are: by ignoring it. Just this weekend, New York…
Read MoreComing Soon: The AI Webinar Series
2026 promises to be a pivotal year for corporate compliance teams and artificial intelligence, so Radical Compliance is pleased to announce that we’re launching a six-part webinar series in January to explore how compliance teams can think about AI and where this technology does or doesn’t make sense in your compliance program. We’ve joined forces…
Read MoreCompliance Amid ‘Aggravating Circumstances’
Today let’s return to some issues raised during last week’s ACI conference about FCPA enforcement. Speakers offered a few examples of when the Justice Department might still press for vigorous prosecution (rather than a straightforward declination), and compliance officers have much to consider here. For starters, let’s remember that the Justice Department announced new, more…
Read MoreTips for Successful Compliance Audits
Compliance audits are part of life for corporate compliance professionals: planning the audit, making sure it stays on schedule, working well with business units undergoing the audit to be sure nothing goes haywire. Last week I had the good fortune to moderate a webinar on compliance audits and took lots of notes. Let’s review. First,…
Read MoreOn Corruption Risk and Lucrative Deals
Compliance professionals have one more issue to consider from that FCPA enforcement action last month against Millicom for corruption in Guatemala. Let’s look at what the case can tell us about the tug of war between lucrative business potential and corruption risk. This has been on my mind since the Justice Department reached the settlement…
Read MoreMore Frustrations on Finding a Job
Today we return to the state of the job market for compliance professionals. Searching for a job these days is typically a long and frustrating experience, and I wanted to pass along another tale from a job-seeker that I think speaks volumes about why that is. This comes from an accomplished mid-career compliance officer who…
Read MoreInternal Audit in Tumultuous Times
Good news for internal auditors who feel overwhelmed, under-resourced, and frustrated that not enough people at your organization value your opinion — you’re not alone. GRC software vendor AuditBoard published a report last week that surveyed more than 200 internal audit leaders around the world, and apparently those feelings of existential dislocation are par for…
Read MoreCorporate Compliance and ‘Cartel Risk’
Last week I moderated a webinar on Latin American drug cartels, and where “cartel risk” is or isn’t similar to the corruption risks that compliance teams have worried about for years. Perfect timing! That same week, the Justice Department settled an FCPA case where drug trafficking was one element of the story. Let’s review the…
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