Joanne Wallen of Complinet writes about the reaction of the U.K.’s Financial Service Authority: FSA Berates Compliance Officers in Crackdown on Data Security Breaches (.pdf). The FSA focused on compliance officers for not putting enough focus on data security. Examples of good practice at firms that the FSA visited included encrypting laptops and using secure … Read more »
No Laughing Matter; National Lampoon Subject to SEC Complaint
See a copy of the complaint at JD supra: SEC v. National Lampoon. The Commission’s complaint alleges that, from at least March 2008 through June 2008, Laikin, Barsky, Rodriguez and Dougherty engaged in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the market for the common stock of National Lampoon. Specifically, Laikin, along with Barsky, paid kickbacks in … Read more »
Video Inviting You To Help Fight Against Corruption
To mark the World Economic Forum’s International Anti-Corruption Day on Dec. 9, 2008, executives from companies in the Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative appear in this video inviting ideas on how to fight corruption. Speaking in the the video are (in order of appearance) Peter Bakker, Chief Executive Officer, TNT, Netherlands; Alan L. Boeckmann, President … Read more »
A Triumph Of Sports Ethics
With all of the fraud and corruption stories in the news, how about a feel-good story: J.P. Hayes. Mr. Hayes disqualified himself from a PGA Tour qualifying event when he realized he had accidentally used an unapproved golf ball for two shots. Not two rounds; Not two holes; two shots. By disqualifying himself he became … Read more »
How To Keep The Corporate Website In Compliance With Securities Laws
Timothy Hearn of Dorsey and Whitney, penned SEC Provides Guidance On Use Of Company Web Sites in Cyberspace Lawyer Vol. 13, No. 9, Pgs. 8-12. Bowne’s Digest of Compliance professionals abstracted some of the highlights: Tips On How To Keep The Corporate Website In Compliance With Securities Laws. The SEC has issued an interpretive release … Read more »
A History of Codes of Ethics
Robert Baker, currently a professor of Bioethics at Union College and Director of the Bioethics Program, compiled a 1999 Codes of Ethics: Some History. Read more »
Writing a Company’s Code of Ethics
W. Michael Hoffman of the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley College penned a 1999 Writing a Company’s Code of Ethics for Perspectives on the Professions. If employees are not brought into the process in some such way as I have suggested, they will be turned off. The code will seem something “they” have imposed … Read more »
Software License Compliance
Mike Sisco of Cutter Consortium wrote a case study on what to do about a softwre license problem in the context of an M&A transaction: Compliance Problems? Address All Issues Quickly. If you encounter software license compliance problems in an M&A transaction, there are two ways to resolve the problem: Point out the problem to … Read more »
Resources for Writing a Code of Ethics
The Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at the Illinois Instiute of Technology has published a great set of Resources for Writing a Code of Ethics. Read more »
Business Ethics Organizations
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University published an annotated list of business ethics resources. Read more »