(ComputerWorldUK, 2 May 2012) In Brief: UBS says it has fixed two faulty internal controls that were in place when Kweku Adoboli, a London-based employee who allegedly made unauthorized trades that cost the Swiss bank $2 billion. Adoboli has pleaded not guilty to charges of false accounting and fraud. The bank said it had “reactivated [...]
Read more(CBS News, 27 April 2012) In Brief: The US Secret Service, which protects that nation’s top elected officials, has issued a new code of conduct for all employees in response to a scandal about agents’ behavior during President Obama’s recent trip to Colombia. Our View: In the process of explaining policies and procedures, companies often [...]
Read more(Management Today, 1 May 2012) In Brief: Have a clear written policy outlining the company’s commitment to whistleblowing, encourage rather than compel reporting of misconduct, keep the hotline internal, and train managers on how to handle complaints, says the article. Our View: Few compliance functions maximize the value of their own whistleblower hotlines as a [...]
Read more(AccountingToday, 1 May 2012) In Brief: The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) plans to postpone issuing its revised Internal Control Integrated Framework to the first quarter of 2013, instead of the fall of 2012. COSO will continue accepting feedback on the current draft, even though the official deadline was 31 March. [...]
Read more(The New York Times, 22 April 2012) In Brief: In 2005, top executives at a global retailing giant received evidence of widespread bribery by a subsidiary during a drive to build new stores rapidly throughout Mexico, The New York Times said. The multinational corporation disclosed to US authorities and to shareholders in December that it [...]
Read more(CNN Money, 11 April 2012) In Brief: Corporate Executive Board (CEB) research of 500,000 employees at 150 companies shows that half of observed misconduct is never reported by employees. The most common reason that staff members fail to speak up is their fear of retaliation –”including losing their job, failing to get promoted, failing to [...]
Read more(Corporate Compliance Insights, 10 April 2012) In Brief: Although internal investigations are not exactly thrilling for employees, they’re often necessary. Before rethinking the scope or necessity of an investigation, consider the importance of an in-house probe in these five situations: whistleblowing, government inquiry, section 10A notice from an independent auditor, internal audit findings, and shareholder [...]
Read more(Reuters, 21 March 2012) In Brief: Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission said a fund manager who was fined for illegal insider trading acted after receiving a tip from a securities firm sales person. The leaker had heard about a pending stock offering from a colleague despite a “wall” that was supposed to confine such [...]
Read more(CFO, 20 March 2012) In Brief: Companies will continue to make mistakes even if they adhere closely to new Internal Control-Integrated Framework guidelines from the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, because the draft doesn’t contain any “real world” examples, this writer says. The new framework is more up-to-date, she says, but internal [...]
Read more(ComputerWorldUK, 13 March 2012) In Brief: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is encouraging whistleblowers to present recorded phone conversations, incriminating emails, and other documents in exchange for up to 30% of the resulting recovered cash. Our View: With large rewards on the table that may entice employees to disclose to authorities first, we [...]
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