The SEC has charged Daniel Bonventre, Madoff’s Director of Operations, with securities fraud. “According to the SEC’s complaint, Bonventre was responsible for the firm’s general ledger and financial statements that were materially misstated because they did not reflect the manner in which investor funds were maintained and used. Bonventure ensured that BMIS financial reports did … Read more »
SEC Decides to Think Further About IFRS
The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to issue a statement that lays out its position regarding global accounting standards. They want to make it clear that “the Commission continues to believe that a single set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards would benefit U.S investors.” By 2011, the SEC will decide whether to incorporate IFRS … Read more »
Keeping Your Colleagues Honest
Mary C. Gentile put together a great piece on how to challenge unethical behavior at work in the March issue of the Harvard Business Review: Keeping Your Colleagues Honest. She starts with four rationalizations for staying silent when encountering an ethical problem: It’s standard practice. It’s not a big deal. It’s not my responsibility. I … Read more »
SEC Commissioner is a Blog Commenter
So you write a blog post about the fiduciary duty of financial service providers to their clients. Actually, the real story is about the lack of fiduciary duty that brokers have to their customers. Then an SEC Commissioner chimes in. Tara Siegel Bernard writes for New York Times blog, Bucks: Making the Most of Your … Read more »
Wrap Up of the Global Ethics Summit 2010
Dow Jones and Ethisphere put on a great conference addressing ethics and compliance professionals. The Global Ethics Summit 2010 had a stellar line up of panels and presenters. As with most conference’s it lacked power and wifi access. Fortunately, my company’s sturdy laptop battery and AT&T wireless access card allowed me to live blog from … Read more »
Does Compliance Matter?
I am attending the Global Ethics Summit 2010, hosted by Dow Jones and Ethisphere. Here are my notes, live from this session: When trouble arises, one of the factors prosecutors consider during an investigation is the existence of a strong compliance program. Recently proposed amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines would formally lower the sentencing … Read more »
When the Government Comes Knocking
I am attending the Global Ethics Summit 2010, hosted by Dow Jones and Ethisphere. Here are my notes, live from this session: What’s the best course of action when addressing a regulatory inquiry? Many have suggested that having a better than average compliance program to showcase will certainly help your case. But what are some … Read more »
Transparency – What, How Much and When?
I am attending the Global Ethics Summit 2010, hosted by Dow Jones and Ethisphere. Here are my notes, live from this session: How much should a company be disclosing to shareholders, investing communities, regulatory authorities and customers about its compliance program and other ethics-related activities? What risks does a company shoulder when it takes a … Read more »
Don’t Be Evil: Imagination at Work with Google and GE’s Compliance Programs
I am attending the Global Ethics Summit 2010, hosted by Dow Jones and Ethisphere. Here are my notes from this session: General Electric and Google are two very different, yet equally substantial powerhouses with varying businesses to each company’s name. Ensuring compliance with U.S. and foreign regulations while maintaining Google and GE’s respective competitive edges … Read more »
Training a Diverse Workforce: Best Practices
I am attending the Global Ethics Summit 2010, hosted by Dow Jones and Ethisphere. Here are my notes, live from this session: Having a code of ethics is not enough to ensure compliance. Training is the vital step that brings these standards to life—effective training helps ensure that key tenets are retained and applied. While … Read more »