Board Member Composition: Participants, Passengers, and Prisoners?
As the organization's ultimate decision-making body, the board of directors plays two critical roles: overseeing management on behalf of shareholders and other constituencies; and advising management, albeit with limited involvement in everyday company operations - nose in, hands off! The board should not attempt to run the organization's operations; it should oversee how management runs the company. I am amazed at how many members are disengaged, which reminded me that one of the traits of an effective leader, or Pilot, is being a good team builder. But how can you build a good team if you don't understand the players? I'm not speaking about understanding their skills; I am speaking about understanding their level of engagement. That is an amorphous concept most ignore.
Corporate Governance - Commonsense Principles 2.0
Corporate governance is the collection of systems and processes that an organization has in place to prevent or dissuade potentially self-interested persons from engaging in activities detrimental to the welfare of shareholders and stakeholders and helps to promote better overall decision making.
Compliance Thought Leaders You Should Be Following
Compiling a list of thought leaders in ethics and compliance is fun, but so challenging. There are simply too many thoughtful people in this field — which is itself enormous and wide-ranging — to call out everyone worth following. So below is a small slice of the thinkers in corporate ethics and compliance that I try to follow.
Today’s General Counsel: White Collar Crooks Share Certain Characteristics
DOJ Refines Monitorship Policies
Ultimately, a monitor should benefit the company, its employees, shareholders, and the public by effectively furthering the goal of preventing and detecting future misconduct.
How Tight is Your Grip on Cash?
FCPA - Cash, Bribes, and the “Four Eyes Principle”
Registration is Now Open - Class Size is Limited! Doing Compliance Master Class Training with Tom Fox will be held in New York City on November 12-13 (Two Days), 2018.
News Release: Baker Tilly Strengthens Growing Forensic Litigation Valuation Services Practice with Addition of Industry Leader Jonathan T. Marks
FCPA Settlement - Petrobras Board Involved
Perfect Place Syndrome and the 10-80-10 Rule to Ethics
At some point it appears there was a human behavior theory that was possibly applied to fraud risk management and the 10-80-10 Rule to Ethics was born.This theory is based on the assumption that 10 percent of the people are ethical all of the time, 80 percent could behave unethically depending on the situation or the pressure(s) being applied, and 10 percent have no or a severely broken moral compass and will pounce on opportunities to commit fraud.
Putting the Freud in Fraud - Part Two
While we can't get into the mind of the white collar criminal, we can take a closer look at high-profile individuals who have perpetrated massive fraud at corporations and instances of fraud identified in practice, as well as some research, to help is identify a pattern of similar behavioral elements common to white-collar crooks and cultural elements common to their environments.
2019 IIA Philadelphia Fraud Symposium - Update
Enterprise Risk Management - A Practical Plan
Many companies have an idea, albeit vague, about ERM or enterprise risk management. But few have made real progress in planning or actual implementation. What is the holdup? A practical five-step approach can help companies get their arms around ERM ... and begin to realize the benefits of integrated risk management, including escalating the right risks to the right people in a timely manner, and as a result, drive meaningful conversations with leaders to inform decision-making.
FCPA - “A Better Life, a Better World” Well Maybe Not Yet for Panasonic Avionics
Internal Control Defined and Some Guidance
Compliance officers talk about controls constantly. Effective controls are the lifeblood of what makes a compliance program work. Most of us can rattle off examples of controls, or recognize a control when we see one. So my fellow speaker asked the audience: What is a control? Nobody dared answer. We all, me included, were suddenly uncertain that we could define a control correctly. The speaker who posed this question is Jonathan T. Marks, partner at Baker Tilly and a prolific thinker on all things forensics, audit, and internal control. Lately Marks has been asking audit and compliance audiences to define a control — and to his dismay, most people can’t.Read Marks’ definition of internal control.
How GDPR Could Impact Whistleblowers and the Ethics Hotline
It's a Hit! Third Party Due Diligence
Why do due diligence? The “knowing” standard of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) makes a company equally liable whether an improper payment is made to a “Foreign Official”¹ directly or through a third-party, such as an agent, distributor, reseller, or sub-contractor. To minimize their exposure to potential sanction under anti-bribery and corruption regulations such as the FCPA, companies need to apply appropriate due diligence, taking a proportionate and risk-based approach. Potential due diligence efforts include direct requests for details on the background, expertise, and business experience, of relevant individuals. It is also important to know whether you are dealing with a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) or a State Owned Enterprise (SOE).