Ethicast

An embezzlement case of epic proportions shines a bright light on the importance of internal controls and speak-up culture, as federal prosecutors seek a sentence of 18 years for the former Detroit Riverfront Conservancy CFO William Smith for embezzling $44.3 million from the nonprofit over 10 years. Ethisphere Chief Strategy Officer, Erica Salmon Byrne, offers some much-neededethics and compliance context on what we can learn from this oversight failure, and how to prevent it at your organization.

Ethisphere Resource Center: https://www.ethisphere.com/resources

News link: https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2025/04/14/how-former-detroit-riverfront-cfo-embezzled-40-million-undetected-for-over-a-decade/

News link: https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2024/08/23/detroit-riverfront-conservancy-searches-for-new-auditor

News link: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/300125283/202433209349321323/full

As a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer in the highly regulated medical products industry, Convatec invests a considerable amount of time and energy into its Compliance Week program as a keystone event to advancing compliance across the organization, and further Convatec's culture of integrity. Convatec Deputy Chief Compliance Officer Chris Corallo explains how his team executes it.

Our latest question from the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) membership asks, what are ethics and compliance best practices when it comes to managing an organization's "material risk-takers?" BELA Chair Erica Salmon Byrne has the answer.

For guest access to BELA: https://ethisphere.com/bela

Ethisphere Resource Center: https://ethisphere.com/resources

In this episode, Matt Silverman, author of The Champions Network: A Blueprint to Expand Your Influence and Spread Big Ideas in Any Organization, shares best practices for how you can start, develop, and grow an ethics and compliance champions network where you work. Champions networks are a proven way to broaden the reach of ethics and compliance programs and embed compliance into an organization’s culture.

Get The Champions Network: A Blueprint to Expand Your Influence and Spread Big Ideas in Any Organization on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/u8ej5w3c

Ethisphere Resource Center: https://ethisphere.com/resources

Be a guest on the Ethicast: https://ethisphere.com/ethicast

In this BELA Asks episode of the Ethicast, Erica Salmon Byrne, Executive Chair of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance, explains how you can detect signs of post-investigation or post-survey retaliation within your organization.

Learn more about BELA: https://bela.ethisphere.com/

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In this episode of the Ethicast, Brian Peckrill, Executive Director of the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, discusses the unique value that ethical leadership builds for organizations during these challenging and turbulent times.

Learn more about the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund: https://williamgmcgowanfund.org

Free ethics and compliance resources: https://ethisphere.com/resource-search/

Find out how to appear on the Ethicast: https://ethisphere.com/ethicast/

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In this episode of BELA Asks, Erica Salmon Byrne, Executive Chair of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), shares insights on how to effectively communicate and implement manager toolkits for ethics and compliance.

Learn more about BELA: https://bela.ethisphere.com/

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In this episode, Craig Moss, EVP, Measurement at Ethisphere interviews Yasuyoshi Goto, SVP Global Compliance and APAC Legal at Marelli, a motor vehicle manufacturer based in Tokyo, Japan. Goto-san shares his insights on how Marelli has made significant improvements to its global ethics and compliance program, and how partnering with Ethisphere made that work possible.

Learn more about Ethisphere program assessments: www.ethisphere.com/solutions

Learn more about Marelli's ethics and compliance program: https://www.marelli.com/en/sustainability.html

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In this episode, Haima Marlier, a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group and co-chair of its Fintech practice, highlights some of the emerging technology issues compliance teams should focus on (that aren't AI), as well as a clear-eyed perspective on what regulatory enforcement realities persist (especially on the state level) despite the ongoing political turmoil in Washington.

In this episode, BELA Chair Erica Salmon Byrne answers another great question from our BELA members: What employee listening strategies really make a difference? (Hint: It has something to do with playing the game "Last Word.")