Here are some recent stories that I found interesting: When Compliance and Legal Functions Collide by Matt Kelly in Compliance Week‘s Big Picture The general counsel is still the boss. Yes, I know, the revised U.S. Sentencing Guidelines say companies should have an independent compliance function, with a chief compliance officer who answers to the [...]
Archive | July, 2010
That’s a $h!#ty Policy
On the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal is story about one of the fallouts from Goldman Sachs’ recent problems with the SEC: George Carlin Never Would’ve Cut It at the New Goldman Sachs. One of the most sensational bits of Goldman Sachs fiasco was an email from a Goldman executive “[B]oy that, timberwolf [...]
What Do You Get For Cooperation with the SEC?
More likely to get sanctioned. Reduction of $30.3 million in penalties when you initiate your own investigation. Reduction of $609,000 in company penalties for each week earlier the statement is announced the public. Reduction of $112,000 in personal penalties for each week earlier the statement is announced the public. We in the compliance field have [...]
Fund Manager Fraud for Exceeding Leverage Limits
It turns out that failing to adhere to your investment guidelines can not only get you sued by your investor, it can get you sent to jail. Mark D. Lay ran a hedge fund whose sole investor was the Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation. The fund agreement had a non-binding 150% leverage guideline. Lay apparently [...]
FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 10-02
A continuing quirk of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is the ability to ask the Department of Justice whether a particular set of facts would be a violation of the Act. Given all of the recent FCPA activity I expected there to be an uptick in Opinion Procedure Releases under the FCPA. So far that [...]
Sisyphus and the Corporate Ladder
What do you do you when you finally get that rock to stay at the top of the mountain? Courtesy of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. More: The Myth of Sisyphus and Camus
My Encounter with a Black Swan
I had my first encounter with a black swan. Not Taleb’s Black Swan. A real black swan. From 2010 Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines Iowa The encounter was unexpected, but there was no significant loss or gain.
Compliance Bits & Pieces for July 23
Here are some recent stories that I found interesting: Dodd-Frank Forum: What would Brandeis think? by Mike Guttentag in The Conglomerate Louis Brandeis famously coined the metaphor (“sunlight is the best policeman”) that provided the philosophy underpinning the first federal securities acts (disclosure, disclosure, and more disclosure). I thought it might be fun to run [...]
SEC is Changing Form ADV
The SEC is trying to improve Form ADV. I wonder if it takes into account the new registration standards under the Dodd-Frank Act or whether they will need to make another to recognize the new law. From the SEC press Release SEC Approves Disclosure Form Changes to Provide Investors Greater Information About Their Investment Advisers: [...]
Now It’s the Law
President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act at the Ronald Reagan Building today. The clock starts ticking on the compliance and rule-making deadlines. “The fact is, the financial industry is central to our nation’s ability to grow, prosper, compete, and innovate. There are a lot of banks that understand and [...]
