Fraud Tip Friday: Lessons From Recent FCPA Enforcement Actions

The United States government’s fiscal year ended on September 30, 2019. Just as in the business world, where many companies try and clear out any unexecuted deals or open contracts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cleared out three outstanding Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions. The three enforcement actions involved Quad/Graphics Inc., a Wisconsin-based digital and print marketing provider, and its Peruvian subsidiary, Quad/Graphics Peru S.A.; Barclays PLC; and a Canadian clean fuel company Westport Fuels Systems, Inc. and its former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nancy Gougarty of Leesville, South Carolina. The terms of each settlement agreement provide a different lesson for compliance practitioners.

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ACFE, Analytics, Anti-fraud, Audit, Audit Committee, Automation, Baker Tilly, Board of Directors, Books and records, Bribery, Caremark, Cash, Chief Audit Executive, Chief Compliance Officer, Colleges and Universities, Collusion, Compliance, Compliance Coordinator, Conflict of Interest, Continuous Monitoring, Control Environment, Corporate Fraud, Corruption, COSO, Court, Crisis Management, Critical Audit Matters, Cross Border Investiga..., Culture, Culture Assessment, Cyber, Damages, Data, Data Analytics, Data Integrity, Directors, Dodd Frank, Dodd-Frank, DOJ, Due Diligence, ERM, Ethics, Evidence, False Claims Act, FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practi..., Forensic Accounting, Four eyes approval, Fraud, Fraud and Forensic, Fraud Investigations, Fraud Pentagon, Fraud Risk Management, Fraud Triangle, GDPR, General Counsel, Global, Governance, GRC, Hidden Assets, Hotline, IIA, IIA Philadelphia, IIOT, Internal Audit, Internal Control Defic..., Internal Controls, Interview, Investigations, Jonathan T- Marks, Management Override, Materiality, Money Laundering, Monitor, Monitoring, Monitorship, NACD, Nonprofit, Not for Profit, Phishing, Podcast, Policies and Procedures, Process Improvement, Proxy, Qui Tam, Red Flag, RegTech, Regulatory, Related Party, Remediation, Reputation, Restatement, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Robotic, Root Cause, Sampling, Sarbanes-Oxley, Seaboard, SEC, Shell Company, Skepticism, Slush Fund, Supreme Court, Tax, Tax Fraud, Technology, Theft, Third Party, Thought Leadership, Tips, Tone from the Top, Training, Treasury, Triage, Uncategorized, Values, Whistleblower, White Collar Crime, Yellow Flag Jonathan T. Marks ACFE, Analytics, Anti-fraud, Audit, Audit Committee, Automation, Baker Tilly, Board of Directors, Books and records, Bribery, Caremark, Cash, Chief Audit Executive, Chief Compliance Officer, Colleges and Universities, Collusion, Compliance, Compliance Coordinator, Conflict of Interest, Continuous Monitoring, Control Environment, Corporate Fraud, Corruption, COSO, Court, Crisis Management, Critical Audit Matters, Cross Border Investiga..., Culture, Culture Assessment, Cyber, Damages, Data, Data Analytics, Data Integrity, Directors, Dodd Frank, Dodd-Frank, DOJ, Due Diligence, ERM, Ethics, Evidence, False Claims Act, FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practi..., Forensic Accounting, Four eyes approval, Fraud, Fraud and Forensic, Fraud Investigations, Fraud Pentagon, Fraud Risk Management, Fraud Triangle, GDPR, General Counsel, Global, Governance, GRC, Hidden Assets, Hotline, IIA, IIA Philadelphia, IIOT, Internal Audit, Internal Control Defic..., Internal Controls, Interview, Investigations, Jonathan T- Marks, Management Override, Materiality, Money Laundering, Monitor, Monitoring, Monitorship, NACD, Nonprofit, Not for Profit, Phishing, Podcast, Policies and Procedures, Process Improvement, Proxy, Qui Tam, Red Flag, RegTech, Regulatory, Related Party, Remediation, Reputation, Restatement, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Robotic, Root Cause, Sampling, Sarbanes-Oxley, Seaboard, SEC, Shell Company, Skepticism, Slush Fund, Supreme Court, Tax, Tax Fraud, Technology, Theft, Third Party, Thought Leadership, Tips, Tone from the Top, Training, Treasury, Triage, Uncategorized, Values, Whistleblower, White Collar Crime, Yellow Flag Jonathan T. Marks

Speaking and Training on Fraud, Compliance, Ethics, and More...

Welcome to my site. I have spoken and been the keynote speaker for many conferences, including the ABA, ACC, ACFE, IIA, and IMA to name a few. I have designed customized training for the board, senior leadership, legal, compliance, internal audit, and others for some of the world's largest organizations.

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Fraud: Department of Justice (DOJ) Announces Procurement Collusion Strike Force

On November 5th, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the new Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) “focusing on deterring, detecting, investigating and prosecuting antitrust crimes, such as bid-rigging conspiracies and related fraudulent schemes, which undermine competition in government procurement, grant and program funding”.The Strike Force is an inter-agency partnership comprised of prosecutors from the Antitrust Division, and prosecutors from thirteen (13) U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.  Aiding in the prosecutors’ efforts are investigation partners such as the Offices of Inspector Generals from the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Service, and General Services Administration Office. The Department of Justice’s announcement proclaimed that investigating and prosecuting those who “cheat, collude and seek to undermine the integrity of government procurement” will have more to concern themselves with when executing their crimes. Prosecutors and investigators alike expressed enthusiasm to be working as a part of this new team.

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Reputation Risk Management Doesn’t Have a Start or End Date!

How can we protect our brand? What are we doing to protect our brand? Questions all board members should be constantly asking.  Reputational risks can damage the most well-crafted business strategies and is a growing challenge that companies around the world are still learning how to manage.By definition, reputational risk refers to the potential for negative publicity, public perception, or uncontrollable events to adversely impact a company's reputation, thereby affecting its revenue.Board directors covet their company’s reputation because it’s their most valuable asset. A study by Deloitte and Forbes affirmed this conviction, but should not surprise anyone.  Senior-level executives also agreed that their company’s reputation presented the greatest risk to the company’s ability to achieve business strategies.

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FCPA: CEO Overriding/Circumventing and Exploiting Internal Controls, and Issuing False Certifications

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Skepticism - A Key Tool in the Fight Against Fraud

“Trust but verify” could be a downright dangerous approach when applied to audit procedures in particular. A much better slogan for fraud deterrence would be, “Trust is a professional hazard.”The implication is that because financial management plays a leading role in detecting financial fraud, it is incumbent on executives – not just auditors – to exercise appropriate levels of professional skepticism. Board members and particularly audit committee members also must take care to exercise a skeptical approach to financial reports and supporting information.

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Slush Funds and the Juniper Networks FCPA Settlement

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ACFE, Anti-fraud, Audit, Audit Committee, Board of Directors, Books and records, Bribery, Chief Audit Executive, Chief Compliance Officer, Collusion, Compliance, Compliance Coordinator, Control Environment, Corporate Fraud, Crisis Management, Cross Border Investiga..., Damages, Directors, Dodd Frank, DOJ, ERM, Ethics, False Claims Act, FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practi..., Forensic Accounting, Fraud, Fraud and Forensic, Fraud Investigations, Fraud Pentagon, Fraud Risk Management, General Counsel, Governance, Hotline, IIA, IIA Philadelphia, Internal Audit, Internal Controls, Investigations, Money Laundering, Monitoring, Process Improvement, Red Flag, Regulatory, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Root Cause, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, Shell Company, Thought Leadership, Tone from the Top, Training, Triage, Values, Whistleblower, White Collar Crime Jonathan T. Marks ACFE, Anti-fraud, Audit, Audit Committee, Board of Directors, Books and records, Bribery, Chief Audit Executive, Chief Compliance Officer, Collusion, Compliance, Compliance Coordinator, Control Environment, Corporate Fraud, Crisis Management, Cross Border Investiga..., Damages, Directors, Dodd Frank, DOJ, ERM, Ethics, False Claims Act, FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practi..., Forensic Accounting, Fraud, Fraud and Forensic, Fraud Investigations, Fraud Pentagon, Fraud Risk Management, General Counsel, Governance, Hotline, IIA, IIA Philadelphia, Internal Audit, Internal Controls, Investigations, Money Laundering, Monitoring, Process Improvement, Red Flag, Regulatory, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Root Cause, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, Shell Company, Thought Leadership, Tone from the Top, Training, Triage, Values, Whistleblower, White Collar Crime Jonathan T. Marks

Niki A. den Nieuwenboer will be kicking off the 2020 IIA Philly Fraud Symposium sponsored by Baker Tilly - Mark your calendars for March 20th!

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Audit Committee, Board of Directors, Chief Compliance Officer, Compliance, Corporate Fraud, Corruption, Crisis Management, Cross Border Investiga..., Directors, Dodd Frank, Dodd-Frank, DOJ, ERM, Ethics, False Claims Act, FCPA, Food Safety, Foreign Corrupt Practi..., Forensic Accounting, Fraud, Fraud and Forensic, Fraud Investigations, Fraud Risk Management, GDPR, General Counsel, Governance, Hotline, IIA, Internal Audit, Internal Control Defic..., Internal Controls, Interview, Investigations, Money Laundering, NACD, Nonprofit, Process Improvement, Qui Tam, Red Flag, Regulatory, Restatement, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Root Cause, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, Skepticism, Tone from the Top, Training, Triage, Whistleblower, White Collar Crime, Yellow Flag Jonathan T. Marks Audit Committee, Board of Directors, Chief Compliance Officer, Compliance, Corporate Fraud, Corruption, Crisis Management, Cross Border Investiga..., Directors, Dodd Frank, Dodd-Frank, DOJ, ERM, Ethics, False Claims Act, FCPA, Food Safety, Foreign Corrupt Practi..., Forensic Accounting, Fraud, Fraud and Forensic, Fraud Investigations, Fraud Risk Management, GDPR, General Counsel, Governance, Hotline, IIA, Internal Audit, Internal Control Defic..., Internal Controls, Interview, Investigations, Money Laundering, NACD, Nonprofit, Process Improvement, Qui Tam, Red Flag, Regulatory, Restatement, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Root Cause, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, Skepticism, Tone from the Top, Training, Triage, Whistleblower, White Collar Crime, Yellow Flag Jonathan T. Marks

Jonathan T. Marks, Baker Tilly Partner, is Speaking Today at the First Chair Event in Chicago on Triaging Whistleblower Allegations

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e-Guide for Chief Compliance Officers

This e-book is intended as a guide for Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) and those responsible for developing and implementing compliance policies and procedures for an organization. Compliance, when done properly and embraced fully, should be seen as a necessary business process. It is our vision that companies have more than a best-in-class compliance program going forward.
The time is now for companies to take the next step up to make compliance a part of the business process of the organization. This would not only allow companies to meet the Department of Justice’s requirement that compliance programs be more fully operationalized, but it is our firm belief that a more effective compliance program will make the company’s internal controls operate more efficiently and enable it to operate more profitably. With the increased efficiencies for compliance offered by data analytics and AI, a robust compliance program can demonstrate internal commercial inefficiencies which can be remediated for greater return from assets.

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Foreign Bribery “Nips” Another for About $300 Million

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Tone From the Top, the Next Level

As a result of COVID-19, the Board of Directors and Senior Management are challenged to monitor the cultural shifts of their organization and adjust their sensitivity and the frequency of communications as appropriate.Leaders should always try to find ways to talk and engage with their people to motivate them, especially during these uncertain and trying times. If done correctly, talking can be incredibly powerful. It can help relieve anxiety (defined as "a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome") and help people find the strength they didn't know was in them. Studies have shown that talking shuts down the brain's fear center.

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New DOJ Guidance Addresses ‘Effectiveness’ of Compliance Programs

DOJ Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs

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SEC Challenged Over Delay on Whistleblower Award Decision

Tipsters have grown frustrated with the length of time it has taken the the SEC ("Commission") to determine whether a tip warrants a reward. 

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ACFE, Anti-fraud, Audit, Audit Committee, Automation, Board of Directors, Books and records, Bribery, Cash, Chief Audit Executive, Chief Compliance Officer, Colleges and Universities, Collusion, Compliance, Compliance Coordinator, Conflict of Interest, Continuous Auditing, Continuous Monitoring, Control Environment, Corporate Fraud, Corruption, Crisis Management, Cross Border Investiga..., Culture, Cyber, Damages, Data, Data Analytics, Data Integrity, Directors, Dodd-Frank, DOJ, Due Diligence, ERM, Ethics, Evidence, False Claims Act, FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practi..., Forensic Accounting, Four eyes approval, Fraud, Fraud and Forensic, Fraud Investigations, Fraud Pentagon, Fraud Risk Management, GDPR, General Counsel, Global, Governance, GRC, Hidden Assets, Hotline, IIA, Internal Audit, Internal Control Defic..., Internal Controls, Interview, Investigations, Materiality, Money Laundering, Monitor, Monitoring, Monitorship, NACD, Nonprofit, Not for Profit, Podcast, Process Improvement, Qui Tam, Red Flag, RegTech, Regulatory, Related Party, Remediation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Robotic, Root Cause, Sampling, Sarbanes-Oxley, Seaboard, SEC, Shell Company, Skepticism, Supreme Court, Tax Fraud, Technology, Theft, Third Party, Thought Leadership, Tone from the Top, Training, Triage, Values, Whistleblower, White Collar Crime Jonathan T. Marks ACFE, Anti-fraud, Audit, Audit Committee, Automation, Board of Directors, Books and records, Bribery, Cash, Chief Audit Executive, Chief Compliance Officer, Colleges and Universities, Collusion, Compliance, Compliance Coordinator, Conflict of Interest, Continuous Auditing, Continuous Monitoring, Control Environment, Corporate Fraud, Corruption, Crisis Management, Cross Border Investiga..., Culture, Cyber, Damages, Data, Data Analytics, Data Integrity, Directors, Dodd-Frank, DOJ, Due Diligence, ERM, Ethics, Evidence, False Claims Act, FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practi..., Forensic Accounting, Four eyes approval, Fraud, Fraud and Forensic, Fraud Investigations, Fraud Pentagon, Fraud Risk Management, GDPR, General Counsel, Global, Governance, GRC, Hidden Assets, Hotline, IIA, Internal Audit, Internal Control Defic..., Internal Controls, Interview, Investigations, Materiality, Money Laundering, Monitor, Monitoring, Monitorship, NACD, Nonprofit, Not for Profit, Podcast, Process Improvement, Qui Tam, Red Flag, RegTech, Regulatory, Related Party, Remediation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Robotic, Root Cause, Sampling, Sarbanes-Oxley, Seaboard, SEC, Shell Company, Skepticism, Supreme Court, Tax Fraud, Technology, Theft, Third Party, Thought Leadership, Tone from the Top, Training, Triage, Values, Whistleblower, White Collar Crime Jonathan T. Marks

PHorensically Speaking Podcast Feed is Live!

With the help from a true friend, Tom Fox, I am entering the world of Podcasting. I will be developing at least three Podcasts per

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Baker Tilly’s 2019 Effective Governance and Compliance Roundtable Series - May 1, 2019 - CPE Event in Philadelphia -Using Continuous Auditing and Monitoring in the Fight Against Fraud

Organizations are under increasing scrutiny regarding ethical lapses and allegations of fraud. Fiscal year 2018 was a record-breaking year for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower program, as more and more individuals have been coming forward with allegations of impropriety. Come learn how to use continuous auditing and monitoring in the fight against fraud - or help improve your compliance program!

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Baker Tilly is proudly is Speaking at 2 Presentations during the 14th Annual Fraud Summit on campus at the University of Texas at Dallas on March 29th, 2019

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Hidden Assets and Illegal Payments

Stuffed animals, loose bricks in basement walls, mattresses, caves, hollow tree trunks, holes in the ground, and safe deposit boxes have provided hiding spots.Today, hiding assets may be a much more sophisticated endeavor, often involving investments, banks, and overseas financial transactions.Investigators should consider using a defined process to pursue matters that involve a search for hidden assets and illegal payments.

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Fraud Tip Friday: Investigation Planning - Preserving Evidence

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Fraud Training - The Investigative Interview: Assessing Subject Credibility

This one day Fraud Symposium, hosted by the Institute of Internal Auditors - Philadelphia Chapter, will include other topics such as: Fraud hotlines, Current trends in white-collar crime (FCPA, FCA, etc.), Investigation pitfalls, Third-party risk management, and Compliance and Internal Audit issues.

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