Domestic Corrupt Practices & Compliance

corruption

Compliance professionals got a lucky break this week. Twice in a matter of days, we saw major scandals break involving corporate misconduct and corrupt domestic government officials here in the United States — demonstrating, yet again, that tying corporate compliance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act alone is tremendously short-sighted.  First we had a case…

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New Zealand Tops TRACE Anti-Bribery List

rankings

TRACE International has posted its latest annual ranking of bribery risk in countries around the world, and good news if you’re working in New Zealand — Kiwi Country poses the lowest risk that government officials there will hit your company with a shakedown. Every year TRACE publishes the TRACE Bribery Matrix, a ranking of 200…

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Report: 2016 Was Good Year for Anti-Corruption

corruption

TRACE International has published its latest review of global anti-corruption enforcement, touting a dramatic increase in enforcement last year, led by U.S. authorities. Enforcement activity essentially doubled last year, according to the organization’s annual Global Enforcement Report. There were 255 investigations into bribery of foreign officials conducted by 29 countries as of Dec. 31, 2016.…

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Six Compliance Events to Watch in 2017

compliance 2017

Welcome back to the grind, everyone! Before we all go back to audit committee meetings, anti-corruption training, and committing your travel budget before the CFO implements a freeze, let’s take a look at what events in 2017 will carry big consequences for the compliance community. The arrival of the Trump Administration in particular sets up…

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French Anti-Corruption Legislation Hits Obstacles

Sapin

I am hearing multiple reports this week that Sapin II, the proposed French anti-corruption law meant to drag that country up to modern compliance standards, has run into political trouble. The sticking points seem to include the powers of a proposed new French anti-corruption agency, as well as requirements for companies to perform due diligence…

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Compliance Tech Challenges: The T&E Example

There we were last week, 14 of us, sitting around a large restaurant table to enjoy lunch and talk about data analytics tools to help compliance officers do their jobs. One participant vented about his company’s software to track travel and entertainment expenses. “I don’t like it,” the person said. “You get training on how…

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More on Compliance, Audit, and Supply Chain Fraud

Deloitte today published some fresh research confirming what many compliance officers probably already suspect: supply chain fraud continues to be a serious problem for many companies, and one that most organizations aren’t terribly adept at fighting. The fundamental problem is how to fit modern anti-fraud procedures into global corporations’ convoluted payment approval process. We have…

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Three Lessons From Qualcomm FCPA Settlement

rankings

Nothing beats a good “princeling” case under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for tough, teachable moments that a compliance officer should study. We have that example today, since Qualcomm just paid $7.5 million in fines and penalties to the SEC for its princeling offenses. So let’s take a look. The facts are straightforward. Qualcomm makes…

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Anti-Bribery Compliance: Don’t Forget ISO 37001

rankings

Corporate compliance enthusiasts have one more item on their To Do list this winter: be sure to review and comment on ISO 37001, the draft standard for anti-bribery management systems. The International Standards Organization has been working on ISO 37001 since 2013, and the goal is a final standard approved and available by the end…

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More From the DoJ Compliance Counsel

Anyone looking for the latest about Hui Chen, hired by the Justice Department last fall to be its first-ever compliance counsel, look no further—she appears in a lengthy interview published by Ethics & Compliance Initiative this week, talking about what she wants to see from effective compliance programs. The Justice Department’s Fraud Section hired Chen…

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