Compliance Perspectives

By Adam Turteltaub

The US Supreme Court’s Digital Realty Trust decision has been a cause of concern within the compliance community.  In that the case the court found that the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protection provisions do not apply in instances where the whistleblower does not report the allegation to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

To better understand what this case means we sat down with Sean X. McKessy, a partner at the law firm Phillips and Cohen and the former Chief of the SEC Whistleblower Office.  As he explains in this podcast, the ruling was shocking to many.  It puts employees considering reporting an issue into a more difficult position since they may potentially lose protections if they only report internally.  That will likely increase the likelihood of them taking their concerns directly to the government and, potentially, bypassing internal channels.

As a result, he argues, it is now more important than ever for compliance teams, and the organization as a whole, to underscore that even if the law does not promise protection against retaliation, the institution does.

Listen in to learn more about what the decision means and what compliance teams can due to help their own internal reporting efforts.

By Adam Turteltaub

In the pre-digital age, workplace communications tended to be verbal and memo based.  Then email came along, which changed everything.  And, now there is an explosion of new technologies such as Slack and Microsoft Teams being deployed with the goal of increasing collaboration and productivity.

Behind the change, explains Robert Cruz, Managing Director at Smarsh is a changing workforce.  Younger workers and clients have their own preferences for how they want to communicate, and the emphasis is on speed.

The challenge for compliance and ethics professionals, and the businesses that they serve, is that there are not yet clear guardrails, Cruz explains in this podcast, for communication on these platforms.  While some may recognize that the need for careful communication still applies, many do not.  That creates substantial risk in areas ranging from protecting corporate intellectual property to harassment to privacy laws.

Organizations need to spend the time, he argues, examining what the risks are and not just the potential productivity gains.  In addition, they need to assess the ability to capture historical data should an incident occur and an investigator or regulator wants to access previous communications.  That may be harder than it seems based on how the platform has been deployed and what content it contains: text, videos, and even emoji’s.

Listen in to learn more about the opportunity and risks in the emerging space of collaboration platforms.

By Adam Turteltaub

In the pre-digital age, workplace communications tended to be verbal and memo based.  Then email came along, which changed everything.  And, now there is an explosion of new technologies such as Slack and Microsoft Teams being deployed with the goal of increasing collaboration and productivity.

Behind the change, explains Robert Cruz, Managing Director at Smarsh is a changing workforce.  Younger workers and clients have their own preferences for how they want to communicate, and the emphasis is on speed.

The challenge for compliance and ethics professionals, and the businesses that they serve, is that there are not yet clear guardrails, Cruz explains in this podcast, for communication on these platforms.  While some may recognize that the need for careful communication still applies, many do not.  That creates substantial risk in areas ranging from protecting corporate intellectual property to harassment to privacy laws.

Organizations need to spend the time, he argues, examining what the risks are and not just the potential productivity gains.  In addition, they need to assess the ability to capture historical data should an incident occur and an investigator or regulator wants to access previous communications.  That may be harder than it seems based on how the platform has been deployed and what content it contains: text, videos, and even emoji’s.

Listen in to learn more about the opportunity and risks in the emerging space of collaboration platforms.

By Adam Turteltaub

July 12, 2019, was the date of the first SCCE Regional Compliance & Ethics Conference in Thailand.  With our growing membership in Asia, the association is eager to provide more opportunities for members of the local compliance and ethics community to meet, network, and share best practices.

While there I sat down to record this podcast with John Frangos, a partner and Deputy Director, Dispute Resolution at the law firm Tilleke & Gibbins.  In our conversation, we cover the many compliance risks for companies doing business in the country, which has the 25th largest GDP in the world.

At the top of the list of compliance risks is corruption.  The country had a score of just 36 on the Transparency International 2018 Corruptions Perception Index.  Perhaps surprisingly, is that corruption is not limited to the public sector.  Business needs to be wary of corruption in the private sector as well.

A second risk, although mostly for businesses in the fishing industry, is modern slavery.  This can be a particularly challenging risk area because of the length and complexity of the fish processing supply chain, he explains.  To stay on top of the issue businesses need to audit their supply chain diligently.

Organizations also need to be careful when they find an issue.  Thailand, he warns, has very strict defamation laws.  Accusing a company of wrongdoing publicly can lead to criminal prosecution if that company fights back.

One key to mitigating risks in Thailand, as elsewhere, is to encourage local companies your organization works with to establish or strengthen their compliance efforts.  Doing so successfully will involve convincing the local company that it will benefit their business, including the business they have with you.  It can also be advantageous to remind them of the relevant Thai law that prohibits bribery.

John also suggests that compliance requirements be put into the contract, while remembering that corporate criminal liability was only introduced in Thailand in 2015.  It’s a very new concept there.

Listen in to learn more about the risks of doing business in Thailand and how to navigate safely around them.

By Adam Turteltaub

July 12, 2019, was the date of the first SCCE Regional Compliance & Ethics Conference in Thailand.  With our growing membership in Asia, the association is eager to provide more opportunities for members of the local compliance and ethics community to meet, network, and share best practices.

While there I sat down to record this podcast with John Frangos, a partner and Deputy Director, Dispute Resolution at the law firm Tilleke & Gibbins.  In our conversation, we cover the many compliance risks for companies doing business in the country, which has the 25th largest GDP in the world.

At the top of the list of compliance risks is corruption.  The country had a score of just 36 on the Transparency International 2018 Corruptions Perception Index.  Perhaps surprisingly, is that corruption is not limited to the public sector.  Business needs to be wary of corruption in the private sector as well.

A second risk, although mostly for businesses in the fishing industry, is modern slavery.  This can be a particularly challenging risk area because of the length and complexity of the fish processing supply chain, he explains.  To stay on top of the issue businesses need to audit their supply chain diligently.

Organizations also need to be careful when they find an issue.  Thailand, he warns, has very strict defamation laws.  Accusing a company of wrongdoing publicly can lead to criminal prosecution if that company fights back.

One key to mitigating risks in Thailand, as elsewhere, is to encourage local companies your organization works with to establish or strengthen their compliance efforts.  Doing so successfully will involve convincing the local company that it will benefit their business, including the business they have with you.  It can also be advantageous to remind them of the relevant Thai law that prohibits bribery.

John also suggests that compliance requirements be put into the contract, while remembering that corporate criminal liability was only introduced in Thailand in 2015.  It’s a very new concept there.

Listen in to learn more about the risks of doing business in Thailand and how to navigate safely around them.

By Adam Turteltaub

When thinking about South America, the first step in compliance risk management is to stop thinking about South America and start thinking about each individual country.  Geert Aalbers, a Senior Partner and head of Control Risks’ Brazil and Southern Cone business, explains that the risk profiles vary considerably by country.  In fact, when looking at a risk such as anticorruption, it even varies by which governmental body you are dealing with.  While customs may be clean in one country, it could be a dangerous mess in the other.

Adding to the complexity, the capacity to combat corruption also varies considerably by country.

Corruption, of course, is not the only risk to think about.  As Geert explains in this podcast, other risks include regulatory, security, social, economic, environmental and, increasingly, cyber and data-related risks.  Brazil, for example, recently passed a new data protection law that is very similar in its approach to GDPR.

Many may think, “no problem, already have that covered.”  Geert cautions, however, that data security practices in Brazil tend to be lax, creating a potential “perfect storm” of challenges for the compliance team.

Listen in to learn more about compliance risks across the continent, mistakes to avoid, and how to strengthen your compliance efforts from Argentina to Uruguay.

By Adam Turteltaub

When thinking about South America, the first step in compliance risk management is to stop thinking about South America and start thinking about each individual country.  Geert Aalbers, a Senior Partner and head of Control Risks’ Brazil and Southern Cone business, explains that the risk profiles vary considerably by country.  In fact, when looking at a risk such as anticorruption, it even varies by which governmental body you are dealing with.  While customs may be clean in one country, it could be a dangerous mess in the other.

Adding to the complexity, the capacity to combat corruption also varies considerably by country.

Corruption, of course, is not the only risk to think about.  As Geert explains in this podcast, other risks include regulatory, security, social, economic, environmental and, increasingly, cyber and data-related risks.  Brazil, for example, recently passed a new data protection law that is very similar in its approach to GDPR.

Many may think, “no problem, already have that covered.”  Geert cautions, however, that data security practices in Brazil tend to be lax, creating a potential “perfect storm” of challenges for the compliance team.

Listen in to learn more about compliance risks across the continent, mistakes to avoid, and how to strengthen your compliance efforts from Argentina to Uruguay.

By Adam Turteltaub

Few relationships are as difficult, important, and filled with risks as those with regulators.  Get them right and even a bad situation can be better.  Get them wrong, and situations can quickly spiral out of control.

Gabe Shawn Varges, Senior Partner in the Swiss offices of HCM and Director of Compliance Studies at the University of St. Gallen, knows the dynamic well, having served with FINMA, the Swiss financial markets regulator.  In this podcast, he provides his advice for ensuring your relationship with regulators starts on the right foot and stays on the right front.

Among his pieces of advice:

* Avoid overly legal thinking and taking an adversarial approach

* Invest in the relationship and build trust when before issues arise

* Appreciate that regulators are human, and trying to juggle multiple responsibilities

* Stay tough on the problem but not on people

Listen in to learn more and, hopefully, pave the way for a healthier relationship with your regulators.

By Adam Turteltaub

Few relationships are as difficult, important, and filled with risks as those with regulators.  Get them right and even a bad situation can be better.  Get them wrong, and situations can quickly spiral out of control.

Gabe Shawn Varges, Senior Partner in the Swiss offices of HCM and Director of Compliance Studies at the University of St. Gallen, knows the dynamic well, having served with FINMA, the Swiss financial markets regulator.  In this podcast, he provides his advice for ensuring your relationship with regulators starts on the right foot and stays on the right front.

Among his pieces of advice:

* Avoid overly legal thinking and taking an adversarial approach

* Invest in the relationship and build trust when before issues arise

* Appreciate that regulators are human, and trying to juggle multiple responsibilities

* Stay tough on the problem but not on people

Listen in to learn more and, hopefully, pave the way for a healthier relationship with your regulators.

By Adam Turteltaub

Joseph Agins, Compliance Officer for Sam Houston State University in Texas isn’t a big fan of sitting behind the desk.  Instead he believes in what he calls “compliance by wandering around.”  As he explains in the podcast, that doesn’t mean roaming the halls endlessly.  It’s much more strategic than that.

It includes meeting with employees, compliance partners and management so that the compliance team has a better idea of what people are doing, while at the same time providing an opportunity to demonstrate the value proposition of compliance.

It is also an opportunity to break down barriers and truly listen to people, understand what they do, provide assistance and get better results, including making the workforce more comfortable about bringing issues to compliance.   Likewise, it’s easier to hear about problems when you are out and about.

Listen in to learn more about how to wander purposefully.