The Human Factor: Corporate Integrity Matters

It is not new that ethical behaviour and integrity increases profitability and attract talents. The right talents! That is one of the responsibilities we have as business leaders.

And with that there are frequently seen pitfalls in organisations sabotaging the main vision, the purpose and the initially „good will“ to have a bigger impact.

Some of these most common pitfalls on ethical behaviour are on spot in todays episode. I am convinced that with the awareness of the importance regarding ethical behaviour a lot of troubles can be eliminated at the source.

But this is just the first step. With having an understanding what the potential pitfalls are it becomes also obvious what measurements and sanctions would be to protect the organisations’ assets and the corporate culture. Therefore – isn’t it worth to take care of it?

The topic of ethical behaviour was raised in a recent conversation I had with clients in the financial services environment. Actual media coverage of what went wrong in the financial services industry are high and news come up on a daily basis.

We all know that smart people are leading, steering and deciding. But what goes wrong? Again and again? When I mention only one scandal the effect is that 99.9% of listeners feel not related to it. It is too far away – we are not attached to it.

Nevertheless, I would like to invite you to put yourself into the position of being a business leader – or even better – being THE responsible leader – in the next big case which will happen. Just as an exercise and see what it does with you, with your team and with your organisation. How does it feel like?

We know that the responsibility is on Board, C-Level and Management and when I investigate incidents, there is hardly a case where these levels of responsibility are not involved.

The roots of integrity and ethical behaviour

If you would ask your peers in the management team, board of directors or within your professional association. None of those would admit that she works for a company which is unethical and does not care about integrity.

But, with the use cases I experienced over the last three decades I must conclude that there are companies hardly being able to create and maintain a corporate culture which fosters ethical behaviour and integrity.

Different KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) underline the result and will be discussed with our clients to ensure that – if profitability and attracting talents are on their target list – the right actions can be taken, and measurements implemented.

The roots of integrity and ethical behaviour are found in the corporate culture.

There are plenty of reasons that even organisations with great intention struggle with integrity issues but there are a few pitfalls which could be eliminated to start with.

And these are the ones I have on my focus for todays episode.

Lacking corporate value management

How often do I ask employees – no matter on which hierarchy level – what the mission or higher purpose of the company is they work for.

Often the answer goes the direction of letting me know that there must be a mission statement somewhere on the intranet they have access to. I am not blaming the employees answering my question. Not at all.

If the board of directors and management is not able to transport the mission which is key to align (ethical) behaviour to the values, we have already lost our pole position to become an organization with strong ethical roots.

The values derived from the mission and purpose define the ethical behaviour and understanding of integrity in a corporate culture.

And this already leads me to the first questions:

1. Do you detect any misalignment between the company values and employee behaviour? And if so, can you detect the root cause?

You already know that this question is part of the take home assignment and we come back to this later on.

Setting wrong KPIs

We already mentioned the KPIs a few sentences before as we often use these supporting the discussions with our clients.

KPIs are measurable, comparable, and therefore important when we talk about ethical behaviour and leadership. A key element in the different approaches and methods within Corporate Integrity Concepts.

What if we focus on the wrong parameters?

How important is quality and how is it going to be measured and rewarded? The human behaviour is quite simple in this setting. What gets measured gets done. What gets rewarded has priority.

Are we rewarding productivity before quality? These two parameters are contraindicative in most cases. The higher the productivity the less quality you can expect.

As employees are part of the most valuable assets a company it is also clear, that they are smart and understand how to tweak the figures. Creative accounting is not far to achieve what they are measured by.

It is obvious that quality needs to be far more rewarded than productivity and being part of the overall implementation strategy for a culture of corporate integrity.

Another KPI which needs to be focused on is profit which goes along with productivity too. Increasing the pressure to the sales organisations on cost of ethics will cost the company in the long run all.

Good corporate governance is not lived

You remember when I started a few minutes ago with the categorization where the topic belongs to? The Board, C-Level and Management.

That is also the reason why this last common pitfall is an evergreen. We all know how important good governance is. The hottest topic for ethical behaviour is, how the governance of the company is lived!

Of course, there are differences already in the set-up of the companies’ governance but more important is how it is implemented and lived.

Implementing these first three pitfalls into your take-home-assignment would mean that you – together with your team - reflect on

1. How is our governance lived? You can also compare what is stated in your org charts, rules and regulations and compare it what really happens

2. What are the KPIs we have set in place and do they measure what needs to be measured?

3. Do you detect any misalignment between the company values and employee behaviour? And if so, can you detect the root cause?

With these three questions for yourself, your team and your next discussions with peers will give you insights and indications for potential measurements and sanctions.

Which also leads me to the perspective, that Governance and business driven Compliance can be seen as secret weapon.

EPISODES' REFLECTION

My personal whish for you is that at least these three introduced pitfalls are part of an upcoming discussion within your leadership team.

Not all at the same time as I am completely aware of the fact starting such discussion might be a challenge for some teams.

Not starting is not an option as the future is waiting and ready for corporates acting with integrity.

I have to disappoint you - these few pitfalls are not the only ones, but a good start to look at and to work on.

I am sure you remember the three questions of the take-home-assignement.....

THANK YOU FOR SHARING, SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING

Thank you for joining me on this episode of THE HUMAN FACTOR – Corporate Integrity Matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the upcoming episodes.

Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Linkedin and Instagram. I am looking forward meeting you there.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT

Let me know what topic you would like to have on spot – via [email protected]

Further information about Corporate Integrity can be found on www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

And if you are interested in becoming part of the amazing movement, join us on www.corporateintegrityacademy.com

Have you ever tried to convince someone without good arguments? Difficult. Therefore, every negotiation specialist would give you the good advice of understanding the resonating arguments leading to the expected goal. The driving reasons.

In this episode you will get ideas how to manage the decreasing willingness to comply within your organisation.

And maybe also detect your own lacking discipline and how to cope with it.

Depending on what area we are focusing on being compliant can be crucial for our organisation and especially for ourselves. Therefore, I am convinced that being aware of a so called Compliance fatigue is important and needs to be identified at the very early stage. Because having it once in our organisation the multiplication is so fast that it takes even more effort to bring it back into the right direction.

What I see – in society and especially also in the corporate world is, that the good arguments of complying are often either missing or not communicated. If it is the latter, there is room for improvement by working on the communication part. If the arguments are missing, we have another significant issue putting the entire organization at risk.

The first questions I would like to ask you to start with is: Are you hitting the crisis fatigue?

Yes, this term of “crisis fatigue” definitively exists and health specialists, know about this symptom for decades.

The actual pandemic is not the first crisis impacting individuals and organizations, but the uniqueness is seen as it all affects us at the same time.

And after more than a year it is also not a short-term limitation to the lives of every individual or organisation anymore. It is essential that we are aware of the symptoms and even more about the root causes. The “crisis fatigue” is a reaction and symptom that grows the longer the crisis lasts.

And we all know, depending on the country and region we are, it lasts for more than 13 months when this episode is recorded and published.

When a person feels they have no control over the current situation (or responsibilities) this can lead to the individual impression or feeling that nothing they do really matters for good.

We could all follow that hiss circumstance can seriously affect a person’s mental and emotional health.

In the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic this fatigue can manifest in carelessness by not following the instructions of

1. social distancing,
2. staying in their home-office
3. and/or wearing masks.

And the longer we are in such extraordinary situations, the higher the risk of the crisis fatigue becomes.

The second question I would like you to reflect on is What does such a “crisis fatigue” mean for corporates and organisations?

Have you ever thought about what “crisis fatigue” could mean in the corporate world? Not only on individual level? In your organisation? I do that on a regular basis – no matter what role I have for the organisation.

Either as board member, CEO or as an advisor. And the longer we are in the current crisis the more frequent I take that topic onto my agenda.

Yes, we are all individuals – acting and being responsible for organisations - and as a Corporate Integrity Counsel and Business leader we must take into consideration that a significant part of our crew is affected by the “crisis fatigueness” too.

The topic becomes one on the C-level and often in the board room too. What I still see is, the risk of having to many rules to comply with which are not effectively implemented. Having said that I focus on the implementation process starting at the very beginning.

We are now already heading the third questions and, in my opinion, the most important one what is this rule for?

You can also find another word for “rule” like control, check, test, whatever fits best for your role. I immediately hear all the voices telling me that these rules are implemented for the regulators, auditors, etc.

If that is the case and the rule doeshardly to protect our employees, our business, our partners, our clients our community. There must be something wrong.

Compliance – and even more integrity - helps us to protect our crown jewels – if we do it properly and with the mindset of business-driven compliance.

I will not leave you out of this episode without a short guidance on how you could cope with the increasing “crisis fatigue” but also, with the “compliance fatigue” which does not need to be rooted by a crisis. Sometimes there are specific processes facing this phenomenon.

A short guidance on coping the “crisis fatigue”

· Communicate: listen and talk to your team, family, friends

· Awareness: be aware of causes for stress

· Identify, what you have under control

· Keep daily work- and personal routines for you and your team

· Stay in contact and be connected

· Recognizing changes in behaviour in our environment (at work, family, and friends)

· SPEAK UP! To your supervisor, colleague, friend, or family.

EPISODES' REFLECTION

Which is your next rule you have to re-think to make sure that people understand the goal to avoid “fatigue”?

I am curious to read about it and am looking forward receiving your message via one of the listed channels in my show notes.

Fact is, that the more and longer we must comply the more important is the understanding of the “why” we must do so. The reason behind – the interest – is the main driver for successful compliance. Therefore, our all goal should be to implement rules which are understood.

If we cannot do so on a society level then we should at least start in our families, organizations and wherever we have the power to positively impact.

Do you remember the three questions which also lead to the take-home assignment?

1. Are you hitting the crisis fatigue?

2. What does such a “crisis fatigue” mean for corporates and organisations?

3. what is this rule for?

I am pretty sure it would also be interesting for you to hear the answers of your peers and teams. Maybe your next virtual meeting starts with one of these questions?

THANK YOU FOR SHARING, SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING

Thank you for joining me on this episode of THE HUMAN FACTOR – Corporate Integrity Matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the upcoming episodes.

Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Linkedin and Instagram. I am looking forward meeting you there.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT

Let me know what topic you would like to have on spot – via [email protected]

Further information about Corporate Integrity can be found on www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

And if you are interested in becoming part of the amazing movement, join us on www.corporateintegrityacademy.com

What are the resources, tools, approaches, or methods you apply when it comes to fraud, misbehaviour, or non-compliance?

Today you will learn how the fraud triangle could become your partner in crime during prevention, detection, and reaction to fraud. On a strategic and operational level.

What I have experienced of over the last two decades of working in an environment where fraud is daily business is, that having a profound knowledge about the fraud drivers is key to understand the root causes of misbehaviour.

What I have learned is, that the easier it is to understand the more often such tools are used. And thatis exactly what I want to achieve with the fraud triangle. I would like to have it implemented in as many teams and organisations as possible toimprove the awareness.

Also here we reduce the risk of false application by reducing it to the max. And if you would like to know to whom such tools like the fraud triangle are addressed, my spontaneous reaction would be: "To everybody".

KEY MESSAGE

Let's take a step back and think of fire as a metaphor for economic crime. In order to prevent fire from breaking out, it is important to know what could start a fire and how to prevent it from breaking out.

These conditions are also essential in understanding how to create effective and efficient anti-fraud programmes or how to conduct risk assessment as such, taking into account different perspectives.

The theory of the fraud triangle supports those responsible along the entire life cycle of white-collar crime and is applied in practice as a procedural method in the various stages of prevention, detection, and reaction, be it for risk identification, hypothesis generation, preparation and conduct of interviews or identification of relevant sources of information.

Motive

"...Trusted persons become trust violators when they conceive of themselves as having a financial problem which is nonsharable...."

In metaphors, motive is the heat and thus the strongest element of the Fraud Triangle. The motive pushes the individual to find a way to eliminate the perceived uncomfortable initial situation (pressure) and to satisfy the needs in this regard.

In the case of Cressey's hypothesis, this is the financial problem to be solved without involving third parties like for example:

1. Personal pressure from family, friends or society to achieve and/or maintain a certain standard of living.
2. Achieving certain targets (on the part of the employer) in order to receive the promised bonus payment as a result.
3. External pressure due to a changed economic situation, competitive situation, dependence on customers, etc.
4. financing an addiction (to gambling or drugs) in order to be able to keep it hidden
5. Lack of money due to expensive medication that has to be financed for a sick family member.

According to research findings, the motives of crimes are very often relationship-driven - also in the case of economic crimes and cybercrime. This means that it is about relationship constructs, such as from and to ex-partners, jealous partners, school or work colleagues and of course employers. The fact that a loyal and long-term relationship is also entered into between employee and employer, depending on the cultural background, should not be disregarded when analysing the motives.

Opportunity

Do you remember the second driver? "… are aware this problem can be secretly resolved by violation of the position of financial trust … "

An individual with a motive cannot commit a white-collar crime if the opportunity is not there. Opportunity is - metaphorically speaking, in reference to thefire - the fuel that makes the fire start and burn. The business model, the industry as well as the structures and processes influence the internal control system of every company.

This gives more or less opportunities that can be used due to the professional position.

Examples of opportunity and access:

1. non-existent control mechanisms,
2. Highturnover rates in key functions,
3. Operations in high-risk areas (depending on the regulations and standards to be complied with, e.g. FCPA, UK Bribery Act, OFAC)
4. lack of segregation of duties (one of my favorites as I get so many excuses on that….)
5. (overly) complex organisational structures and transactions.

The opportunity can - due to the considerably increased regulatory and legal requirements in the past 15 years - be most easily prevented procedurally and technically within the framework of internal control systems. The introduction of collective signatures already massively reduces the risk of fraud by internal perpetrators.

However, it must be considered that it is not the number of implemented controls that is decisive for the reduction of risk, but the design of these controls.

The identification of effective risk-minimising controls is of great importance and requires comprehensive knowledge in white-collar crime patterns (including thetopic of non-compliance and cybercrime).

Rationalisation

Remembering the hypothesis which was: "… and are able to apply to their own conduct in that situation verbalizations which enable them to adjust their conceptions of themselves as trusted persons with their conceptions of themselves as users of the entrusted funds or property..."

In metaphors spoken the air - or one's own justification - keeps the fire burning. This third leg of the fraud triangle is one of the most complex when it comes to pre-emptively anticipating and mitigating it. Please do not forget:

This begins with the simplest actions and ends with the most essential decisions. This is also the case when it comes to not complying with guidelines, regulations and laws.

These actions and justifications are rationalised to oneself and compared with the individual value system and personal beliefs.

Recording and assessing this value system and its beliefs is highly relevant in the context of recruting key positions.

But that is a topic we will discuss even further in the future.

In practice, the justifications that the investigators learn from the perpetrators in the course of the investigations are of particular importance. They allow the hypotheses to be further developed, give clues to possible evidence and make it possible to read the offender(s) in terms of profiling.

Analysing the origin and effect of the three legs of the Fraud Triangle, it can be said that they are very closely interdependent. As mentioned at the beginning, fire requires several components. The same is true for a white-collar crime.

Circumstances overrule morals...

If these three conditions exist at the same time, the risk that an individual will be tempted to commit a white-collar crime increases to a maximum. As soon as one of the three legs breaks away, the act does not take place. Donald Davidson explained that an action does not take place until the individual has rationalised and justified it for himself. Without opportunity, an individual cannot follow their own motivation - even if the justification exists. Likewise, without motivation, no individual will come up with the idea of a justification - nor would this be possible without the driver of motivation. Likewise, without motivation, no one will look for useful opportunities.

Based on Donald Davidson's insights into the interdependence of the three drivers, concrete measures for practice can be derived. To ensure effective (fraud) risk management, it is necessary to focus on the elimination of at least one of the drivers. The ultimate goal should be to eliminate all drivers, which in practice requires a high investment of resources and is therefore illusory.

Nevertheless, it is important to consider these three drivers and their interdependence at different locations in the organisation and their processes and to initiate appropriate measures. One of the core elements remains the screening of third parties (individuals and legal entities) through background investigations. The risk of becoming a victim of a white-collar crime can never be completely eliminated, but active management of the drivers in the form of comprehensive (fraud) risk management can significantly reduce it. evenge,

The Fraud Triangle subsumes the feelings of revenge (primarily due to a lack of appreciation, confirmation and attention) in its various forms under the aspect of justification.

The justification is not always clear from the outset, neither for cybercriminals nor for real-world perpetrators. It often only establishes itself in the course of the crime. After crossing the magic border between legality and illegality, a justification for one's own actions - very often contrary to one's own values - is worked out.

For this reason, the motives and justifications can neither be kept razor-sharp apart in the real world nor in the virtual world.

EPISODES' REFLECTION

With the human success factor at the centre, motivation - as a driver of white-collar crime and non-compliance – becomes the relevant and thus essential adjusting screw that needs to be identified, understood and adjusted.

With the drivers as a basis, the manifestations and patterns are created to achieve the goal. The driving forces as outlined in these sections allow the perpetrators to be creative and no less innovative in pursuing their goal. Be it as a lone wolf or as a group.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING, SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING

Thank you for joining me on this episode of THE HUMAN FACTOR – Corporate Integrity Matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the upcoming episodes.

Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Linkedin and Instagram. I am looking forward meeting you there.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT

Let me know what topic you would like to have on spot – via [email protected]

Further information about Corporate Integrity can be found on www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

And if you are interested in becoming part of the amazing movement, join us on www.corporateintegrityacademy.com

Have you ever asked yourself what kind of tools could be helpful to prevent and identify fraudulent actions or non-compliant behaviour?

If so, in this episode you will receive a first tool in form of a hypothesis at hand which I highly appreciate and – after so many years into that business – I use on a daily basis. Sometimes even unconsciously.

I talk about the drivers of fraud and where these come from. It is definitively not a new art at all.

I am convinced that it is essential to understand the different fraud drives when you are overseeing processes, businesses and people.

Methodologies, tools and approaches support us and are part – or become part - of a wider framework in your organisation. And for yourself.

Companies that have been successful for decades often have a corporate governance that is truly (pre-)lived and based on

· ethical principles.

· and values of integrity.

The three drivers of fraud are based on Cresseys analysis and final hypothesis. He developed the method of the so-called "Fraud Triangle".

The hypothesis is based on three main sub-areas which we heard before:

1. Trusted person Trust creates access and thus opportunities.
2. Financial problem A motive that puts pressure on the individual
3. Own value system (own conduct) One's own truth and thus justification for the act

As already mentioned, this fraud triangle has been developed and refined over the years.

However, the simplicity of these three manifestations allows

· a quick and

· Reliable analysis

of possible offender profiles for hypothesis work, also under altered conditions, for example with new risks in the area of cybercrime.

Therefore I would like you to use the take-home assignment to practise the underlying hypothesis of fraud triangle

- Trusted person

- Financial problem

- Own value system

Pick one of the latest news and identify these three key drivers. You will immediately see the interconnections of the hypothesis.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING, SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING

Thank you for joining me on this episode of THE HUMAN FACTOR – Corporate Integrity Matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the upcoming episodes.

Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Linkedin and Instagram. I am looking forward meeting you there.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT

Let me know what topic you would like to have on spot – via [email protected]

Further information about Corporate Integrity can be found on www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

And if you are interested in becoming part of the amazing movement, join us on www.corporateintegrityacademy.com

Have you ever questioned your – personal or professional risk identification process?

If not, I will give some input how you could identify the three (or even more) key success factors of how to identify risks.

You are the one knowing your business and responsibilities best and are you also aware of your own blind spots?

I think there aren’t any business leaders and especially risk owners who wouldn’t agree on that. But how does it look like when it comes to daily business?

In my experience a completely different story and I see a huge variety of maturity level out in the field regarding the risk identification process.

For risk owners and business leaders there is a significant potential of upside if the risk identification process serves the business needs.

I am going to outline three specific areas to focus on when you are involved in the process of establishing, reviewing, challenging or approving a risk identification process:

1. Diversity

2. Communication

3. Risk-Intelligence

We all know there are many other areas too

but having learned that we as humans are not capable of taking up much more at a time, we keep it simply reduced to those three.

Starting with diversity I could imagine what kind of beliefs; stereotypes might already have come up while I was talking

The first question you could reflect on is:

What are the sources we use to identify potential risks for our business?

· Do we always use the same sources?

· How diverse are these?

· Did we change sources over the last time?

· How do we know that the sources used are still valid for our business

And here, please do not forget that when you change your business model, also your risk landscape should look different.

Meaning, when one source was great for the last 10 years, it does not mean that it is also helpful for the future.

The second questions is a more internal perspective to take on:

How are your communication and transportation paths within the firm regarding the task of identifying risks?

· How is the interaction in that process between BOARD – C-LEVEL -MANAGEMENT?

· How are the processes set up regarding TOP-DOWN and BOTTOM-UP streams?

· What are the criterias for those streams?

· What is the cultural mindset in the risk identification process?

· Is the defined process still “state of the art” or did it loose priority due to external (or internal) circumstances?

The third question wants to learn more about the collective risk intelligence:

What is the maturity level of risk-intelligence as an organisation?

To get a clear understanding it will be necessary that the term “risk-intelligence” is already implemented in an organisation.

As a starting point – and take-home assignment – I would like you to observe where you can identify sort of risk-intelligence within your organisation.

Please focus on the following three sources of risk intelligence

· Individual level

· Team level (Board, C-Level, Management, Project or Team)

· Speak-up Culture

With that focus I would like to motivate you to think about the following – for each of the mentioned three sources of risk-intelligence:

· What can you identify?

· What would you like to implement to change for better?

· What do you need from others to make it even more successful`?

Of course, you will find the three sources and also the focus questions in the show notes afterwards.

This exercise can also be used within your organisation, the team or project.

You will be amazed what kind of interesting discussions start from here.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING, SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING

Thank you for joining me on this episode of THE HUMAN FACTOR – Corporate Integrity Matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the upcoming episodes.

Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Linkedin and Instagram. I am looking forward meeting you there.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT

Let me know what topic you would like to have on spot – via [email protected]

Further information about Corporate Integrity can be found on www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

And if you are interested in becoming part of the amazing movement, join us on www.corporateintegrityacademy.com

Is compliance in crises possible? That was the question I have received in Summer 2020 – in the middle of the pandemic.

The question itself made me think. Not the answer, which is cristal clear to me. By answering such a question there are more additional thoughts to be considered than just the isolated question.

All business leaders receive questions they would never have thought about. Until the moment they are asked. And then they suddenly realize: the mindsets are different so are the value systems.

And how can we now ensure that an organization is aware of these potential conflicting mindsets and values systems putting the code of conduct at risk?

Ask yourself and your organisation

How do these three key areas

- Prioritization

- Adaption

- Social control

work together to protect your assets?

THANK YOU FOR SHARING, SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING:

Thank you for joining me on this episode of THE HUMAN FACTOR – Corporate Integrity Matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the upcoming episodes.

Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Linkedin and Instagram. I am looking forward meeting you there.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT:

Let me know what topic you would like to have on spot – via [email protected]

Further information about Corporate Integrity can be found on www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

And if you are interested in becoming part of the amazing movement, join us on www.corporateintegrityacademy.com

In todays episode we talk about how our own human behaviour becomes one of the key risk factors for fraud.

Understanding why we all are potential fraud risk factors by our human behaviour let us take the necessary measurements to avoid being harmed and to protect our assets.

By learning what the key success drivers of the human factors are an important awarness level is set. For those who want to take actions - easy implementation steps can be taken.

Understand the following elements:

1. Impact of pressure on human behaviour is underestimated
2. Corporate culture shapes behaviour with the tone at the top
3. Risk-Intelligence is on "sleep-modus" in most organisations

EPISODES' REFLECTION:

The following three – easy applicable – steps could be implemented without asking for large investment budgets. And it will already work towards awareness and prevention.

Analyse current situation:

What do we know about the topic

What are we doing

How actual are the information

Do we have the knowledge

What kind of goals are we setting ourselves?

What is the minimum target to be achieved by every leader (see example and case study) within our organisation and by when

What are the measurements to be taken?

What do WE need to implement by when?

Investment decision to be taken?

Who are the sponsors (we all know how important a sponsor is!

THANK YOU FOR SHARING, SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING:

Thank you for joining me on this episode of THE HUMAN FACTOR – Corporate Integrity Matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the upcoming episodes.

Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Linkedin and Instagram. I am looking forward meeting you there.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT:

Let me know what topic you would like to have on spot – via [email protected]

Further information about Corporate Integrity can be found on www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

And if you are interested in becoming part of the amazing movement, join us on www.corporateintegrityacademy.com

In todays episode we talk about the my individual journey where corporate integrity plays a key role since the early 90ies.

But more important, what you can expect from this podcast and how I would like to interact with you, with the actual topics and how we can all contribute.

Understanding the root causes is key. No matter whether we talk about individuals or organisations.

My why is part of this episode together with its relevance for Corporate Governance, Integrity, Ethical Leadership, Fraud, White-Collar crime, Cyber crime and Non-compliance.

KEY MESSAGES:

1. Connecting the dots of interdisciplinarity is needed
2. Joint forces and persistence will protect businesses
3. human behaviour plays the key role
4. Leadership faces more challenges than ever in the past
5. Prominent real cases like Greensill, Wirecard must be eye-openers

EPISODES' REFLECTION:

IMPORTANT LINKS AND MENTIONS

www.sonjastirnimann.com

www.structuul.com

www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

THANK YOU FOR SHARING, SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING:

Thank you for joining me on this episode of THE HUMAN FACTOR – Corporate Integrity Matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the upcoming episodes.

Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Linkedin and Instagram. I am looking forward meeting you there.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT:

Let me know what topic you would like to have on spot – via [email protected]

Further information about Corporate Integrity can be found on www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com

And if you are interested in becoming part of the amazing movement, join us on www.corporateintegrityacademy.com

I am Sonja, Entrepreneur, Independent Board Member, Speaker, Author of the book "The Human factor in white-collar crime. AND: I am your host.

I live along the motto: Either I get involved properly or not at all. There is not path in between. And there is hardly any situation where I do not have skin in the game.

By the way, what only a few people know about me so far: I am a passionate, storm- and crisis-resilient offshore sailor. A deep love to the sea goes far back in our family’s history.

I deal with human behaviour in business, society and especially in individual crisis or exceptional situations on a daily level.

What often does not get enough attention is the key success factor of Corporate Integrity and Ethical Leadership. From non-compliance, to fraud, to white-collar crime to cybersecurity. It all starts with us. 

Over the past 30 years, I have supported, mentored, and coached affected parties in internal and external investigations, audits and in their processes of implementing successful corporate cultures to protect their assets.

Being involved in some of the most highly sensitive economic crimes in national and international history is part of my story too.

Thousands of hours of investigative work, interviews with suspects, analysis of evidence and reporting characterise my experience in the field of forensic accounting, asset misappropriation, fraudulent financial statements, corruption, bribery, money laundering, investment fraud, tax evasion, data theft & leakages and many more patterns.

The weakest (and strongest) link is and remains the human being. THE HUMAN FACTOR.

My vision with this podcast is to foster corporate integrity and ethical leadership on a global level by providing insights, use cases, best practice approaches and lesson learned.

With my background as a swiss certified public accountant with an international Executive MBA in Financial Services and Insurance, as a Certified Fraud Examiner, a business mediator and executive coach, I combine the business and psychological aspects of the human behaviour.

Why do I share this knowledge, experience, and different perspectives with you?

Because I am convinced that raising awareness is the most effective preventive measure to protect individuals and organisations.

Let us take you on a journey into the world of corporate integrity, ethical leadership, white-collar crime, non-compliance, fraud, and cyber security and use the condensed knowledge in easily digestible doses to protect your company, your employees, your customers and especially yourself.

Interested in learning more? visit www.corporateintegrityconcepts.com or www.sonjastirnimann.com