Compliance Perspectives

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

At the 2022 SCCE European Compliance & Ethics Institute Dr. Jan Sprafke, Head of Compliance, Europe and Latin America and Jad Mhanna, Regional Compliance Officer at Ericsson will be leading a session entitled Cultural Divide and Compliance. The session, and this podcast, will examine some of the challenges in implementing compliance programs in non-Western countries.

There are three common issues that they find when implementing a program, especially in the anti-corruption area. First is the belief that it is a foreign law being imposed upon the local community. Second, there are different perceptions of what constitutes a bribe. Third, many believe that this is another Western way to mingle in local affairs. Some may also see anti-corruption laws as weaponized: designed to penalize economic competitiveness.

When considering how to overcome these barriers they caution to remember that not all of the workforce shares the same perspective when it comes to compliance. Some don’t really care and will do what they are asked to. Others will be smiling and saying “yes” but thinking about how to get around the rules to do what they want.

The third is a small minority who will speak up and share their concerns. This group needs to be handled carefully. It is easy to see them as opposition when, in fact, they are not.

So what should a compliance team do when faced with these challenges? Jan and Jad recommend avoiding the temptation to force compliance and instead take the time to understand the culture. In some places simply sharing the rules will be enough. In others it may mean taking the time to explain your goals and build a deeper understanding of why this initiative is important.

Other advice they provide:

* Don’t make this a headquarters initiative, partner locally

* Leave room for discretion and flexibility

* Understand what the local definition of corruption is and what is considered a bribe

* Run frequent risk assessments and compliance audits

* Help the local business team understand their risk exposure

Finally, take the time to put yourself in the shoes of others. It will help you better understand your colleagues’ thinking and help make compliance more of a two-way street.

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

Anyone who works in healthcare knows that the regulations are complex, subject to change and hard to keep up with, especially if you don’t have a software solution tracking it all.

Jerry Shafran, CEO and Founder of YouCompli recommends identifying and focusing on the highly-regulated portions of your organizations first. For hospitals, he explains, those tend to be revenue cycle, lab, physician services and pharmacy. They represent about 70% of the regulations that come out.

Next, he advises nurturing relationships with the people in these parts of the enterprise. The keys to success include modifying how regulatory changes are perceived in the organization and making regulatory change management foundational to the compliance program.

Unfortunately, that can be trickier than it seems. Training needs to be checked regularly to ensure it is up to date. And, with the changes being so highly clinical and entering the organization in a disorganized fashion, there are ample opportunities for error.

To succeed, he suggests making things as simple as possible by creating repeatable processes, such as following the steps of know, decide, manage and verify:

* Know that you are tracking all the regulator you need to and who in the organization is responsible.

* Decide if it applies to your organization and what needs to be done.

* Manage by ensuring all stakeholders are aware of what they are supposed to do and the deadlines

* Verify that the required changes have been put into effect, behavior changed and policies have been modified.

The verify step is especially important since that is what regulators will be looking for if they knock on your door.

Finally, as with so much else in compliance, communication is key. Every regulatory communication the compliance team shares with the organization has to be simple and simple to follow.  Write it for businesspeople and avoid legalese. Look to methods of communication other than email so the communication doesn’t get lost. And include in your communications plan a process for calling people to make sure that they have done what the regulation requires. That helps increase compliance and provides a record of the steps taken to comply.

Together this should make the process of keeping up with healthcare regulations more than a bit easier.

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

What does your organization have in common with a well-inflated basketball? Maybe not enough.

As Vanessa Mathews, Founder and Chief Resilience Officer at Asfalis Advisors explains, business resilience is like the air in the basketball: It’s what makes the ball bounce. And, we all want a business with the resilience to bounce back from a crisis.

Building resiliency depends on having the right capabilities, processes and people. It starts with understanding that a crisis is an incident that can impact your organization’s reputation, profitability, operations or all three.

Once you determine if you are in a crisis, the next step is assessment. This includes asking questions such as:

* What is the scope?

* What are the likely consequences?

* How long will this be in the news?

* What risks are we willing to take?

Once you have those answers it is time to determine if you need to activate the crisis management team.

Surviving a crisis depends on preparedness, which includes leadership support, training and development, the resources to investigate, ongoing risk assessments, workforce tracking, and, of course, a culture of compliance.

Resilience in a crisis also requires a strong commitment to communications with regulators, third-party stakeholders, leadership, the board, employees, and in the case of healthcare providers, their patients, visitors and the community.

It’s not something that comes overnight, but it’s an investment well worth making to ensure that your business has the bounce it needs.

Listen in to learn more about how to build in resiliency, including what you will need from leadership, who needs to be on the crisis support team, and the role of organizational values.

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

When you think of online compliance and ethics training, you likely imagine courseware developed by a vendor and used by hundreds of other organizations.

USBank broke that mold, creating online training in house. It did so for a number of reasons, not the least of which is cost. While there were a lot of options out there from vendors, the expense of customizing and integrating it with their system was too high.

The training they created ranges from a humorous video showing people using chat to discuss a challenging (not in a good way) manager to a series of videos featuring Katie Lawler, SVP, Global Chief Ethics Officer, talking with various leaders of the bank while driving in her own car.

Jon Ackman, VP, Global Ethics Office at USBank explains that the chat exchange was designed to reflect the current time, in which so much communication is written rather than face to face. It delves into behavior that is culturally destructive while also showing the risks in this means of communication.  When people start writing there is more room for interpretation, and misinterpretation. Showing how to communicate more carefully was essential.

It also reflected the ethics team’s commitment to being authentic and empathetic to employee life, including the need to self-edit.

The driving videos drew their inspiration from both Carpool Karaoke and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. The team was thinking about ways to get people engaged and motivated while bringing important topics to life. They considered how people consume information these days and recognized that short videos are extremely popular and can be useful for sharing a more human story.

The result was a series of engaging conversations that the workforce could relate to.

Producing the videos was remarkably affordable, relying on a pair of GoPros, a microphone pack and some editing software.

For any organization thinking of pursuing something similar he recommends giving it a try, and not worrying about the small gaps, bugs and errors. They tend to make things more personal. Also, look at your communication plan and try a more targeted approach to communications.

Listen in, and be sure to watch the chat and driving videos.

By Adam Turteltaub

What if the face of your compliance and ethics program was a four-year old? It is at Ivy Rehab. Well, actually, several small children recently starred in a series of videos that the compliance team produced to support their annual compliance week. You can see an absolutely charming sample here.

In this podcast the company’s Director of Compliance Margarita Derelanko and Compliance Specialist Maria Campbell explain that they were inspired by other compliance-related videos that they had seen featuring kids. They had thought doing something of their own would be fun and attention getting. And, since the company was expanding its pediatric services, it made sense from a strategic perspective as well.

Working with the kids proved to be fun, and Margarita and Maria did their best to make it as easy as possible, including giving the flexibility to allow for some improvisation. Little kids aren’t always good at following a script.

Producing the videos took approximately two and a half months, and they recommend budgeting plenty of time since there are many steps involved. They brainstormed ideas, created a structure and brought in marketing. In the end they created a communications plan and a suite of tools to focus on a different topic each day: documentation, phishing, revenue cycle, social media and COVID-19.

In addition to the kids there was a trivia content, with badges for those who answered correctly, and raffles of a gift card.

What was the reaction of the workforce to the videos? Very positive. The videos engaged them and helped them see compliance people in a new light.

Be sure to watch a video and then listen to their podcast. If you don’t, we may send you to your room.

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

Due diligence during a merger or acquisition is difficult even in the best of circumstances. There is only so much you can see and so much time to see it before the deal closes. Add the complexities of a pandemic and business in emerging markets, and the challenge increases exponentially.

To determine how to conduct due diligence most effectively we turned to Krista Muszak, Global Services SOX Controls and Compliance Supervisor, Johnson & Johnson and Louis Perold, Principal, Citadel Compliance and a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics & Health Care Compliance Association board. The two of them will be addressing the topic at the 2022 SCCE European Compliance & Ethics Institute.

To ensure that compliance due diligence is conducted effectively they recommended becoming activity engaged with the business and M&A team. This will help ensure you get sufficient information on the upcoming transaction and the business rationale behind it. Be sure also to understand the transaction itself and the various stakeholders. Together these can help provide guidance on how to conduct your due diligence.

From there it’s important to get a handle on the ownership of the target company and key staff. Meet with them, if possible, to learn about the compliance program.

When assessing the program, be sure to put data analytics to use. Helpline data is very worth reviewing: What is the volume? What issues are coming up? Are inquiries and allegations being responded to in a timely way?

Take a look, too, at the risk assessment and audits to see if there is any data that indicates trends of fraud, policy violations or other misconduct.

Try and make up for the lack of in-person meetings by increasing your number of touchpoints at the target company. Also, see if there are resources locally that you can turn to who can be your local arms and legs.

Finally, make sure you have a handle on the range of legal and regulatory issues that you will have to manage. Anti-corruption gets a lot of attention in emerging markets, but data protection and privacy, money-laundering, human trafficking, modern slavery and a host of other risk areas are present as well.

Listen in to learn more and then join us at the 2022 SCCE European Compliance & Ethics Institute.

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

When a crisis hits, what do leaders and the crisis team want from the compliance team? It’s a question that Jonathan Armstrong, Partner at Cordery, addresses in this podcast and will be speaking to at the 2022 SCCE European Compliance & Ethics Institute in Amsterdam.

For starters he points out an oft-cited admonition: during a crisis the compliance team can’t be the department of “no”. Focusing on what can’t be done or on what happened in the past, for that matter, is counterproductive. The post-mortem will come later.  For now, the emphasis has to be on moving forward. The team is looking for people who will be able to find constructive solutions and alternatives.

Be sure, he advises, also to focus on how compliance can reduce the chance and size of penalties. To that end, focus on remediation as early as possible. Prosecutors will, after all, be focused on what the company has done to undo the problem and keep it from reoccurring.

Some of the other advice he provides in this podcast includes:

* Rehearse a crisis before one occurs

* Be a single source of truth: these are the issues we have, this is what we will have to do, and this is where we are on the journey

* Bring crisis tools with you: crisis plans, templated press releases, specimen internal communications

* Be more directive than consultative

As importantly, take the time to understand the psychology and roles of leadership.  Leaders know stakeholders want to see action. Their predisposition will be to act and act quickly; if you’re too slow they may be ahead of you.

Recognize, too, that the board is sensitive to their own reputation as well. They will also be leaning to act quickly and decisively.

Listen in to learn more about how to prepare for a crisis, manage through one and come out the other end better than you might expect. Then plan on joining us for the 2022 SCCE European Compliance & Ethics Institute.

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

When Katie Ignatowski (LinkedIn) stepped into a compliance role for the first time at the University of Wisconsin, she had to learn quickly and on the job. She spent time studying and learning from others and identified what she saw as two distinct approaches to compliance programs.

The first approach, which is the most popular, is risk-based. The compliance team provides experts that understand how to comply with high-risk areas. In her case, Title IX was of particular concern. She brought in a Title IX expert who could support the university’s Title IX coordinators and serve as an ongoing resource. This expert also helped write policies and develop training.

The second approach is to follow more of a second line of a defense model. Management serves as the first line of defense. Internal audit is the third line, and compliance is in the middle. The compliance team may convene a working group to address all aspects of compliance and culture, and, of course, risks as well.

So what makes sense for you and your organization? There’s no simple answer. She advocates in this podcast taking the time to decide which is better fit based on where you are starting out and how well you understand the risk landscape.

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

With the increasing attention paid to Environmental Social and Governance (ESG), questions have arisen as to what should be the relationship between compliance and ESG efforts. Some have argued for compliance to oversee ESG, while others see them as distinctly different endeavors.

Robert Smith [LinkedIn], Director, Business Compliance and Ethics for Serco Group plc provides his first-hand experience and insights in this podcast and will be sharing additional thoughts at the 2022 SCCE European Compliance & Ethics Institute.

ESG is not new to Serco since it had long been tracking the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement, which was in many ways ESG’s predecessor.

The more structure approach of ESG, he believes, is a natural progression. There are accounting standards and a growing body of laws and regulations.

To meet the organization’s ESG goals, the company has developed a clear framework with individuals responsible for ownership of the various elements of the company’s ESG efforts.  Each of these owners has clear KPIs. There is a structured reporting process that pull together strands from across the organization.

Robert, and compliance’s role, is to ensure the integrity of the reporting, as well as to connect the dots between the various reports. They are all assessed for materiality and eventually make their way into annual reporting.

Compliance is well suited to this role, he believes, both at Serco and likely elsewhere.  Compliance professionals are adept at helping create transparent structures and turning external frameworks into internal processes. In addition, with increased regulation of ESG and more and more laws addressing ESG-related issues, involvement of compliance teams is more than inevitable.

Listen in to learn more about the role of compliance in ESG efforts, including how to work with other stakeholders. Then be sure to join us at the 2022 SCCE European Compliance & Ethics Institute.

Post By: Adam Turteltaub

The complexities of healthcare coding can be daunting, and they are all the more so now during the public health emergency.

To help clear things up are Bryan Beaudoin, Associate Director – Health Information Solution Lead at Protiviti and Kathy DeVault, Manager, HIM Consulting at USAI. In this podcast they explain:

* As the Public Health Emergency continues clinical documentation and coding audit functions face an evolving list of compliance risks and limited resources to address these risks going into 2022.

* Although governmental enforcement agencies had briefly relented in enforcement activities during the onset of the pandemic, they have resumed enforcement activities moving into 2022.

* Key audit topics include: COVID-19 clinical documentation coding and billing, telehealth coding and billing, Evaluation and Management (E/M) selection, and documentation and coding of conditions determined by clinical indicators, such as Sepsis, Acute Renal Failure and Malnutrition.

* Prominent clinical documentation and coding audit risks in 2022 and tactics clinical documentation and coding audit functions can employ to more effectively audit target risk areas and collaborate with hospital stakeholders.

They also provide some good news: leadership is paying more attention to coding and clinical documentation because now they are more focused on quality data.

Listen in to learn more about how to manage coding in this fast-changing era.