Compliance Perspectives

By Adam Turteltaub

Heidi Rudolph, Managing Director at Morae Global, has spent a great deal of time considering technology’s role, risks, and rewards for compliance teams.  She contributed an article on the subject to the newly released Complete Compliance and Ethics Manual and also spent some time talking about it on this podcast.

As we all know technology holds great promise for compliance.  It can help automate tasks, provide audit trails and train the workforce.  But not every organization needs the same technology solutions or can afford them.

For smaller firms, Heidi recommends beginning with:  a helpline, case management tool, and e-learning.  These typically come from outside vendors but should be supplemented with internal resources such as a good intranet site and an online code of conduct.

For larger companies, and those with more advanced programs she has a somewhat surprising recommendation:  start focusing on your graphics and design to ensure that your compliance communications look as professional as the rest of the company’s efforts.  In addition, she recommends taking advantage of tools for managing gifts and entertainment, conflicts of interest, policy management, and more.

But no matter what the size of your program, also learn about the technology the rest of your organization is using.  There is potential risk there, especially when consumer data is collected.

Listen in here, and if you’re interested in learning more, check out the latest edition of the Complete Compliance and Ethics Manual.

By Adam Turteltaub

I admit it.  I have a problem when it comes to understanding blockchain technology.  I think I understand what it is and somewhat how it works, but I’m not sure why anyone needs it, or how it can be used for compliance programs.

Syed Hussain, CEO of the Americas for BANKEX offered to help.  As you’ll hear in this podcast he provides an overview of the technology.  It’s highly secure, distributed and decentralized, he explains, which means it is relatively difficult for someone to hack or to meddle with a record.  Each block of data is immutable.

One key benefit of the technology, Syed argues, is that it can create trust, which can help on compliance issues such as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML).

He makes some very interesting points about the technology and its potential, and I’m sure one-day compliance teams will embrace it, but I’m still not sure how.  What do you think about blockchain and how we can use it?

By Adam Turteltaub

I admit it.  I have a problem when it comes to understanding blockchain technology.  I think I understand what it is and somewhat how it works, but I’m not sure why anyone needs it, or how it can be used for compliance programs.

Syed Hussain, CEO of the Americas for BANKEX offered to help.  As you’ll hear in this podcast he provides an overview of the technology.  It’s highly secure, distributed and decentralized, he explains, which means it is relatively difficult for someone to hack or to meddle with a record.  Each block of data is immutable.

One key benefit of the technology, Syed argues, is that it can create trust, which can help on compliance issues such as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML).

He makes some very interesting points about the technology and its potential, and I’m sure one-day compliance teams will embrace it, but I’m still not sure how.  What do you think about blockchain and how we can use it?

By Adam Turteltaub

What should I ask when interviewing someone as a part of an investigation?  Where should I conduct the interview?  How do I know if the person I’m talking to is telling the truth?

According to Michael Johnson, CEO of Clear Law Institute, before you ask all that, start by thinking about the report that you are going to have to write at the end.  Think about the questions you will have to answer and evidence you will need.  That way you can better ensure that the investigation stays on track.

If you want to know who’s lying to you, don’t rely on visual clues.  Research has found that behaviors people tend to associate with lies – avoiding eye contact, jitters – are actually signs of nervousness, not prevarication.  Instead, he advises in this podcast, the best way to know if someone is telling the truth is to listen to what they say.

When it comes to the issue of what to ask, here, too, he advises listening.  While having questions ready is essential, too often investigators are more focused on getting their questions asked than in listening to what the person has to say or encouraging the witness to tell the full story.  As he explains, the technique of using cognitive interviews, which encourages people to talk more freely and look at what happened from multiple sides, can be much more effective than going down a laundry list of questions.

And, no matter how you conduct an interview, think carefully about where you conduct it.  You don’t want it in a glass conference room with other employees walking by.

Listen in to this podcast to learn more about, well, learning more during an investigative interview.

By Adam Turteltaub

What should I ask when interviewing someone as a part of an investigation?  Where should I conduct the interview?  How do I know if the person I’m talking to is telling the truth?

According to Michael Johnson, CEO of Clear Law Institute, before you ask all that, start by thinking about the report that you are going to have to write at the end.  Think about the questions you will have to answer and evidence you will need.  That way you can better ensure that the investigation stays on track.

If you want to know who’s lying to you, don’t rely on visual clues.  Research has found that behaviors people tend to associate with lies – avoiding eye contact, jitters – are actually signs of nervousness, not prevarication.  Instead, he advises in this podcast, the best way to know if someone is telling the truth is to listen to what they say.

When it comes to the issue of what to ask, here, too, he advises listening.  While having questions ready is essential, too often investigators are more focused on getting their questions asked than in listening to what the person has to say or encouraging the witness to tell the full story.  As he explains, the technique of using cognitive interviews, which encourages people to talk more freely and look at what happened from multiple sides, can be much more effective than going down a laundry list of questions.

And, no matter how you conduct an interview, think carefully about where you conduct it.  You don’t want it in a glass conference room with other employees walking by.

Listen in to this podcast to learn more about, well, learning more during an investigative interview.

By Adam Turteltaub

It’s not always easy walking into the room as a compliance officer.  Employees often tense up and wonder “what now.”

It doesn’t have to be that way, and Amsterdam-based Susan Du Becker, Global Compliance Enablement for Cisco, has identified how to build a more positive relationship.  Turning things around, she explains, depends on showing the business the value that compliance can bring and that we are here to help support the business.

It begins, like so much else in compliance, with the corporate culture.  If the culture is wrong, there is no way to effectively address the underlying issues.  That makes it exceptionally difficult to affect behavior, including a willingness to come forward and speak with compliance.

One way to start moving the culture, according to Susan, is to look for support from others outside of compliance.  Start with the individuals who get it, and help them enlist others. One way to help make that happen:  earn some quick wins.  Show where compliance adds values to the business.  Point out that customers want reassurance that the company is compliant.  In addition, demonstrate successes such as reductions in cases or ethics issues.

Listen in to learn more about how compliance can start being seen as brightening a door, instead of darkening it.

By Adam Turteltaub

It’s not always easy walking into the room as a compliance officer.  Employees often tense up and wonder “what now.”

It doesn’t have to be that way, and Amsterdam-based Susan Du Becker, Global Compliance Enablement for Cisco, has identified how to build a more positive relationship.  Turning things around, she explains, depends on showing the business the value that compliance can bring and that we are here to help support the business.

It begins, like so much else in compliance, with the corporate culture.  If the culture is wrong, there is no way to effectively address the underlying issues.  That makes it exceptionally difficult to affect behavior, including a willingness to come forward and speak with compliance.

One way to start moving the culture, according to Susan, is to look for support from others outside of compliance.  Start with the individuals who get it, and help them enlist others. One way to help make that happen:  earn some quick wins.  Show where compliance adds values to the business.  Point out that customers want reassurance that the company is compliant.  In addition, demonstrate successes such as reductions in cases or ethics issues.

Listen in to learn more about how compliance can start being seen as brightening a door, instead of darkening it.

By Adam Turteltaub

Dan Roach is Chief Compliance Officer for Optum360 and one of the co-founders of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.  He has directed the development and implementation of compliance programs for more than 25 years.  Throughout this time he has staffed boards and compliance/audit committees, as well as served on the board or compliance/audit committee of the board for multiple organizations.

In this Compliance Perspectives podcast, Dan shares his expertise on five key questions.  Are there specific legal requirements for board members when it comes to overseeing compliance?  What should board members be asking of the compliance team?  What should boards be asking management when it comes to their interactions with compliance?  What should compliance officers be telling the board on an ongoing basis to help boards exercise their oversight authority? What should a compliance officer not be sharing with the board?

Listen in as he shares his insights including:

* Take the time to understand what training in compliance, legal and regulatory risks that individual board members may need

* Don’t measure your interaction with the board based on minutes spent with them, but instead on the quality of the interaction

* Provide key metrics to the board on the effectiveness of the program and how its elements are functioning

* The need for the board to ask management if the compliance program is being executed consistently, and whether there are sufficient resources

By Adam Turteltaub

Dan Roach is Chief Compliance Officer for Optum360 and one of the co-founders of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.  He has directed the development and implementation of compliance programs for more than 25 years.  Throughout this time he has staffed boards and compliance/audit committees, as well as served on the board or compliance/audit committee of the board for multiple organizations.

In this Compliance Perspectives podcast, Dan shares his expertise on five key questions.  Are there specific legal requirements for board members when it comes to overseeing compliance?  What should board members be asking of the compliance team?  What should boards be asking management when it comes to their interactions with compliance?  What should compliance officers be telling the board on an ongoing basis to help boards exercise their oversight authority? What should a compliance officer not be sharing with the board?

Listen in as he shares his insights including:

* Take the time to understand what training in compliance, legal and regulatory risks that individual board members may need

* Don’t measure your interaction with the board based on minutes spent with them, but instead on the quality of the interaction

* Provide key metrics to the board on the effectiveness of the program and how its elements are functioning

* The need for the board to ask management if the compliance program is being executed consistently, and whether there are sufficient resources

By Adam Turteltaub

These days compliance typically stands alone and reports directly to the board.  But that’s not true for every organization.

At Freddie Mac, compliance is a part of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), albeit with a reporting line to the audit committee of the board.

To get a better sense of how this relationship with risk works I spoke with Michael Levin, the Senior Director of Compliance there.  He explained that, like so many other large financial institutions, Freddie Mac operates with a three-lines-of-defense system.  Since both compliance and ERM served on the second line of defense, the company decided to combine the two under one executive leader.

For Michael, there have been significant benefits to this relationship.  It has helped the compliance team to better understand risk, build bridges to the business unit, gain greater exposure to the board and become a part of business decisions much earlier.

At the same time, there have been challenges, including helping the ERM team better understand the challenges of managing culture.

Listen in to better understand the benefits and risks and being a part of risk management.