The Most Important Compliance Best Practices You Need to Know

In this article, James Bone, a leading expert on GRC, analyzes the recent speech Mary Jo White, Chair of the S.E.C, gave at the the Council of Institutional Investors in Chicago this fall.

James Bone, a leading expert on GRC, explains why risk management programs at most companies are failing, why the organizations are not aware of this phenomenon and how to rectify the situation.

In this paper, Frederick D. Lipman, Partner - Blank Rome LLP and President, Association of Audit Committee Members, Inc., discusses methods of improving the flow of information to audit committees so that they are better able to perform their oversight function.

About the Author:

Frederick D. Lipman is Partner - Blank Rome LLP and President, Association of Audit Committee Members, Inc. Mr. Lipman is an internationally known authority on business law and has authored 14 books, including Whistleblowers, Incentives, Disincentives and Protection Strategies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2012), The Family Business Guide (Palgrave Macmillan 2010), International and U.S. IPO Planning (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2009), Valuing Your Business: Strategies to Maximize the Sale Price (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2005), Executive Compensation Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2008), Corporate Governance Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2006), Audit Committees (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. 2008), and International Strategic Alliances:  Joint Ventures Between Asian and U.S. Companies (Daniel Publishing LLC 2012). For more information, please go here: www.blankrome.com/index.cfm

The Dodd-Frank Act requires publicly traded companies to take steps to verify and to publicly report their use of so-called “conflict minerals.” The SEC has now passed a final rule implementing the Act's requirements. In this article, Gregory Husisian, an expert on export control issues and trade compliance, explains the various steps companies have to take in order to ensure compliance with the SEC regulations.

About the Author

Gregory Husisian is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and has extensive experience in export controls and economic sanctions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), corporate risk management and compliance, and issues arising from international trade. Mr. Husisian is a member of the firm’s Government Enforcement, Compliance & White Collar Defense, Securities Enforcement & Litigation, Automotive, Appellate, and International Practices and the Insurance & Reinsurance Industry Team. For more information, please visit: www.foley.com/gregory-husisian/

Do you really know who you are doing business with in your supply chain? How much due diligence is enough? Should you update your due diligence on a regular basis? How about on a continuous basis? What ethical considerations come into play in the manufacturing sector, in the supply chain? These questions, and perhaps more, came to me as I was reading about the recent tragedy in Bangladesh involving the collapse of Rana Plaza. At this time, there are 433 confirmed dead and police report that 149 people are still missing in what has become the worst disaster for Bangladesh’s $20 billion-a-year garment industry. The collapsed building was built and owned by Mohammed Sohel Rana, he was not the owner of the factories that operated in Rana Plaza; he was simply the building owner and landlord and, therefore, is legally required to provide a safe structure.

Republished from FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog with kind permission of the author.

The debate on whether the use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) and Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs) has become lively again over the past couple of weeks. Last week, there was a panel hosted by the Corporate Crime Reporter conference at the National Press Club. The panel was moderated by Steven Fagell, a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, and the panelists included Denis McInerney, the Criminal Division’s Deputy Assistant Attorney General, David Uhlmann, the former chief of the Environmental Crimes Section at the Department of Justice (DOJ), and currently a Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, the FCPA Professor, Michael Koehler, Kathleen Harris, a partner at Arnold & Porter LLP in London, and Anthony Barkow, a partner at Jenner & Block in New York.

Republished from FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog with kind permission of the author.

In the two most recent corporate Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to communicate not only what they believe constitutes a best practices compliance program but equally importantly what actions a company can engage in which will significantly reduce a company’s overall fine and penalty. These matters involved Parker Drilling Company (Parker Drilling) and the Ralph Lauren Corporation. Parker Drilling received a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) and Ralph Lauren sustained a Non-Prosecution Agreement (NPA).

Republished from FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog with kind permission of the author.

Yesterday the EU announced its plan to limit bonuses for bankers – the union said that bankers’ annual bonuses should not exceed their annual salaries. The limited bonus plan is a further requirement for banks to follow in order to comply with Basel III and aims at curbing the kinds of risks that bankers have taken in the past to further profit (and led to the recent financial crisis).

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) accused the parent company (Smith & Nephew PLC, a global medical devices and products company headquartered in London) and its US and German subsidiaries of violating the provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The largest retailer in the world, the US multinational company (MNC) Walmart operates in 15 countries around the world with 8,500 stores. An article that appeared in April 2012 in New York Times has accused the largest private employer in the world of indulging in acts of bribery in Mexico.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Biomet Inc violated the provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The violation occurred in the form of bribes that Biomet’s subsidiaries and their agents paid to public doctors in Argentina, Brazil and China for almost a decade in order to bag business.

This article details the allegations against Biomet and the compliance best practices that have to be followed to avoid similar charges.

The Olympus accounting fraud was one of the biggest incidents of corporate governance failure in 2011. This article looks at how the event came to be, suggests measures that could have prevented it and summarizes the lessons learned in the wake of the scandal.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is the prudential regulator of credit unions. Some companies regulated by APRA also attract the provisions of the Corporations Act and the ASX listing rules. However, many, including credit unions, are not listed. Those that have issued debentures attract the provisions of the Corporations Act.

This article details the best practices credit unions can follow in order to ensure compliance.

Risk appetite is a key element in the successful execution of risk management programs. This article explains how companies can develop, monitor and communicate risk appetite.

Australia’s legal framework to detect and deter money-laundering and terrorism, namely, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act) lays down the obligations that are supervised and regulated by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).

This article gives the best practices to be followed in order to comply with these regulations.

The Bribery Act 2010 (UK) makes bribery a criminal offense and follows the benchmark set by the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The Act makes bribery of foreign public officials an offense. It extends beyond company employees to include third parties acting on behalf of a company.

This article gives the best practices that multi-national companies can follow in order to achieve compliance.

The FCPA requires companies whose securities are listed in the United States to meet certain accounting provisions. Global multinationals and financial institutions are at the greatest risk of violating FCPA provisions. The US administration maintains that strict FCPA enforcement is consistent with the goals of promoting transparency, democracy, sustainable development, and good governance.

This article details the best practices that financial institutions can follow in order to achieve FCPA compliance.

The largest corporate bankruptcy in US history (Enron) shook the very foundation upon which the securities exchange system was founded. The report card that investors and lenders used to make their decisions, the audited financial statement, could no longer be trusted. Investors and lenders lost confidence in public company senior management to tell them the truth.

In this article, Mike Morley, a Certified Public Accountant and author of several books including “IFRS Simplified" and "Sarbanes-Oxley Simplified", discusses what led to the collapse of investor confidence in Enron.

Prevention is better than the cure when it comes to fraud as organizations around the world lose around 5% of their annual revenues to corporate malpractices. So how can a financial services organization create an effective anti-fraud policy to prevent such losses? What are the factors to be taken into consideration when drafting such a policy?

This article gives the best practices to follow when drafting an anti-fraud policy for financial institutions.

According to an estimate, the amount of money laundered annually ranges from USD 500 billion to about USD 3 trillion. How can organizations estimate the risk that money laundering poses to their operations and comply with anti-money laundering regulations?

This article discusses the best practices to follow in preventing money laundering.