According to Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, in a Forbes Article [The SEC in 2008: A Very Good Year?], the SEC filed 15 FCPA cases in 2008. Since January 2006, the SEC has brought 38 FCPA enforcement actions. That number is more than were brought in all prior years combined … Read more »
Thinking About Training
Jeffrey M. Kaplan and Rebecca Walker, partners in the law firm of Kaplan & Walker LLP wrote an article Thinking About Training in the March/April 2008 edition of Ethikos. The goals of training—to enhance employees’ understanding of the law and company policy and promote ethical business conduct—will not be achieved if training is not comprehensible … Read more »
Email Etiquette and Compliance
Lots of hallway conversations have turned into email and instant messaging conversations. There are lots of problems with that. First, is just the lack of human interaction. Humans are social and need to meet face-to-face. Along with that is the limited ability to add tone, sarcasm and other elements of conversation into the written word. … Read more »
Compliance and Ethics Training – How Much is Enough
In this podcast panel discussion, OCEG’s Carole Switzer moderates a discussion with ELT’s Shanti Atkins and SAI Global’s Mark Rowe to answer the question of how much is enough when it comes to compliance and ethics training. You can listen to a webcast and read a transcript (.pdf). Ms. Atkins talks about a three layers … Read more »
Cadwalader’s FCPA Advisor
The Fall 2006 Issue of Cadwalader’s FCPA Advisor provides a great background and overview of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Read more »
International Standards for the Bribery of Public Officials
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is the U.S. standard for bribery of public officials by U.S. concerns or international concerns with a presence in the U.S. The international standard is the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions promulgated by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. The convention sets … Read more »
Evaluation of the Chief Compliance Officer
Thompson Hine put together a paper: Evaluation of the Chief Compliance Officer: While Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act requires a Board of Directors to approve the appointment, removal and compensation of a fund’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”), the rule is silent as to any requirement to annually review the performance of the CCO. … Read more »
An Effective Compliance Program under the U.S. Sentencing Commission Guidelines
Section 8B2.1 of the 2007 version of the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines define and “effective compliance and ethics program” for purposes of section (f) of § 8C2.5 for the Culpability Score and section (c)(1) of §8D1.4 for Recommended Conditions of Probation – Organizations: (a) To have an effective compliance and ethics program, for purposes … Read more »
Some Reasons Why Compliance Programs Still Matter
Sharie A. Brown of Foley & Lardner LLP, wrote U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for the August 2008 of Compliance Week and put forth five very good reasons why your anti-corruption compliance program still matters a lot. Effective programs mitigate fines and penalties Early detection allows early company solutions Trust is valuable Good controls help … Read more »
FCPA Review Procedure Release 81-02
FCPA Review Procedure Release 81-02 came from the Iowa Beef Packers, Inc. who wanted to send promotional samples to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Soviet government agency responsible for procurement of such products. The total amount of the samples which the company intends to furnish to these officials is approximately 700 pounds of … Read more »