Corruption Crime & Compliance

Dr. Pat Harned is the CEO of the Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI).  The mission of the ECI is to empower organizations to build and sustain high quality ethics & compliance programs.  Dr. Harned is a leading compliance advocate and strategist.  The ECI has been at the forefront of developing compliance standards and best practices.   In this episode, Michael Volkov interviews Dr. Harned about the ECI's activities and her view of the compliance profession.  

Investing in cryptocurrency is fraught with challenges and inefficiencies. Jason Davis is seeking to solve these problems with Hoard Invest - with a mission to empower anyone, anywhere in the world to hold, track, transfer, and transact with any tokenized asset from their mobile device, privately & instantly. The task in doing so is nothing short of monumental, especially considering the regulatory ambiguity around the industry. In this episode, Jason Davis, CEO of Hoard, talks with Matt Stankiewicz about his company, the cryptocurrency industry in general, and what he would like to see from regulators going forward. Episode 50 is sponsored by Dark Horse Intelligence, a global investigation and security consulting firm offering comprehensive domestic and foreign intelligence services to the legal, corporate and financial communities. Dark Horse Intell -- https://darkhorseintel.com/    

Global Companies face a complex set of data breach notification requirements.  In the absence of a uniform federal standard, companies have to tailor their data breach notification procedures to meet the requirements of 50 U.S. states.  With respect to European Union residents, global companies have to meet stringent requirements established by the General Data Protection Regulations. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the data breach notification requirements for US person data and for EU residents.

FCPA enforcement in the first half of 2018 continued at a steady pace.  The first half of 2018 included several significant corporate and individual prosecutions for FCPA violations.  Tom Fox and Michael Volkov review FCPA enforcement and identify significant trends and enforcement actions. Tom Fox has released his new compliance book -- The Compliance Handbook, which is available at: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Compliance-Handbook-Operationalizing-Program/dp/1783583304  

Companies face evolving and significant cyber risks. The FBI estimates that ransomware will generate at least $1 billion for criminals.  Businesses stand to lose at least $400 billion each year from hacks.  The cyber defense, forensics and insurance industry will be worth nearly $200 billion by the end of this decade.  Each year there is an average of 1.5 million cyber attacks, or approximately 4000 per day. In this episode Michael Volkov discusses cybersecurity threats and compliance strategies to mitigate such risks.

Companies have to implement a robust policy management program.  In today's risky environment, companies should automate a robust policy management program that requires regular review, assessment and updating of policies and procedures.  A policy management program should be created consisting of key constituencies to ensure that policies and procedures are current, effective, and appropriately tailored to the company's risk profile. In this episode, Michael Volkov outlines considerations in establishing and implementing a robust policy and procedures management program.

In a special podcast episode, I take time out from the legal and compliance world to discuss the wonderful island of Sicily, Italy.  To explain and provide an introduction to Sicily, and in particular the western region, I interview my wife, Rosetta Sciacca, about Sicily, its people, its culture and its cuisine. Happy Fourth of July!!!

The Justice Department has released two important documents that provide guidance to compliance practitioners as to compliance program best practices: (1) The FCPA Guidance; and (2) The Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.  In combination, these two documents provide important compliance program guidance. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses various issues related to ethics and compliance program best practices.

Global companies face serious challenges in the design and implementation of compliance programs to meet increasing risks in emerging markets.  As global companies grow, so do compliance programs. The specific design and structure of a global compliance programs presents numerous challenges requiring balancing of various factors, including consistency across the organization, economies of scale and scope, and flexibility to meet local needs and concerns.  In carrying out this process, a compliance program has to maintain the support of its primary audience -- the business. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses the issues that have to be addressed, and the balancing of competing interests in the delicate design of a global compliance program.

An increasing number of chief compliance officers report directly on a monthly basis to the Chief Executive Officer.  As the compliance profession has earned independence and empowerment, CCOs are now part of the C-Suite and need to develop a positive relationship with the CEO to support the company's ethics and compliance program. In doing so, CCOs need to ask themselves two important questions: (1) what type of CEO does the company have?; and (2) how should the CCO position the ethics and compliance program to gain the maximum support from the CEO? In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses strategies for a CCO to maximize the CEO's support of the company's ethics and compliance program.