Thomas Fox (JD Supra United States)

2412 results for Thomas Fox (JD Supra United States)

  • Are you a Compliance Evangelist?

    Back in 2016, I took the moniker of “The Compliance Evangelist”. I did so because since 2010 I have written about the nuts and bolts of anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance programs. In 2011, Howard Sklar introduced me to the world of podcasting when he asked me to join him on the original version of This Week in FCPA. That led to me starting my own podcast, The FCPA Compliance Report, and

  • The Biden Administration, Corruption and National Security

    Last week’s announcement by President Biden that corruption is a national security issue is one that has long been overdue. The modern era of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement began, in part, as a response to the terrorism of 9/11. Terrorism has long been tied directly to corruption. Professor Andrew Wilson of the US Naval War College, in his “Masters of War: History’s Greatest...

  • Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on the National Security Study Memorandum on the Fight Against Corruption

    Strengthening the resilience of rights-respecting democracies is one of the defining challenges of our era. Corruption eats away at the foundations of democratic societies. It makes government less effective, wastes public resources, and exacerbates inequalities in access to services, making it harder for families to provide for their loved ones. Corruption attacks the foundations of democratic

  • The Roaring 20’s: GRC in the Post-Pandemic Landscape

    I recently had the chance to sit down and visit with Dan Zitting, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Galvanize, a Diligent company. We chatted about Dan’s new role for himself and Galvanize. We also focused on a recent Galvanize Report on Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) going forward, entitled “The Technology Turning Point for GRC Professionals”. Covid 19 drastically altered the role of GRC,...

  • The ‘G’ in ESG: The Role of Compliance

    ESG (Environmental, Sustainability, Governance) continues to be in the news these days. Prong Three – Governance usually does not get as much play as the first two but last week we saw a prime example of governance. It was the stunning defeat of Exxon management for at least two or perhaps three Board of Director seats. These Exxon Mobil Corp. (Exxon) nominated Directors were defeated by a slate...

  • CNN and a Values-Based Business Strategy for Compliance Innovation

    It is hard to remember a time when CNN was not a part of the now 24 hour news cycle, yet before it premiered there were three major networks with trusted anchors that gave us the news at 5:30 CT each night. The news came either before or perhaps with dinner. But all that changed on this date in 1980, when was CNN launched. Originally monikered the Cable News Network, CNN was the brainchild of Ted

  • Compliance, Data Analytics and ESG

    This week, I have been exploring the role for the compliance function in ESG and the role of a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) in leading the corporate effort on ESG. Today, I want to focus on why the current job requirements of a CCO and corporate compliance function lend themselves to leadership in the ESG sphere. The short answer is data.

  • Leading the ESG Effort – Steps for Compliance

    Yesterday, I wrote about how the compliance profession is the natural group to lead ESG efforts and why a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) should be the person in every corporate organization to help a business’s efforts around ESG. One thing that is clear is that ESG is here to stay with the Biden Administration ramping up disclosure requirements and potential enforcement actions against companies

  • Post It Notes and the SAP Non-Prosecution Agreement

    Stephen Martin would often tell the story about when he was a Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor and a company would come in and claim they spent all the money they could on their corporate compliance program. Martin would then ask, “How much did you spend last year on Post-It Notes?” The answer was always four to five times the amount of their annual compliance budget. This immediately put...

  • Panasonic Avionics Whistleblower Award

    Last week a major Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower award of $28 million was announced (SEC Award). Although the names of the parties were redacted, the law firm which represented the whistleblower confirmed to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the award was in connection with the Panasonic Avionics (PAC) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) settlement from 2018. This...

  • Blue Jeans and ESG

    On this date in on May 20, 1873, the original patent on blue jeans was issued jointly to Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis. According to This Day in History, it was Davis and not Strauss who actually invented the blue jeans. He was a tailor in Reno, Nevada, and one of Levi Strauss’ regular customers. In 1872, he wrote a letter to Strauss about his method of making work pants with metal rivets on the...

  • Disruption in Aviation and Dynamic Policies in Compliance and Risk Management

    This date has amazingly two great milestones in aviation history. The first is Charles Lindberg’s solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1927. Then five years to the day, Amelia Earhart duplicated the feat by becoming the first woman to cross the Atlantic solo. Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, successfully completing the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight and the first ever nonstop...

  • Lawrence of Arabia and Bridging the Data Analytics Gap

    T. E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, died as a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) mechanic living under an assumed name. Lawrence is most famous for leading the Arab Revolt in World War I against the Turkish Empire. After the war, he wrote the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, published in 1927. However, by the 1930s, Lawrence retreated out of the public eye in what he termed a ‘mental...

  • Sister Aimee and Invisible Change for a CCO

    On this date in 1926, America’s most well-known evangelical, Sister Aimee McPherson, disappeared. Sister Aimee founded the Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, where she consistently amassed overflowing crowds. McPherson claimed to have faith-healing abilities and put on wonderfully entertaining shows for the public. Contemporaneously with her disappearance, radio announcer Kenneth Ormiston, a ‘friend’

  • Brown v. Topeka and the Digital Change in Compliance

    Today we honor one of the most important US Supreme Court decisions in the history of the country, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, which was decided on this date in 1954. In the decision, the Court held that racial segregation in public educational facilities was unconstitutional. The historic decision, which brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, by over-turning one of...

  • Crisis, What Crisis?

    When will the next compliance crisis occur? As we learned from the recent SAP trade sanction enforcement action, it can be quite some time from a change which leads to a violation that leads to an enforcement action. In this case for SAP, it was acquisitions in the early 2010s, who had violations from 2010 to 2017, that led to the 2021 enforcement action. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ...

  • The SAP Enforcement Action: The Need for Robust and Timely Post-Acquisition Integration

    The SAP enforcement action was certainly a game-changer in trade sanction enforcement. It was the first Justice Department (DOJ) National Security Section enforcement action under the under the Justice Department’s Export Control and Sanctions Enforcement Policy. Mike Volkov, channeling his inner Grace Slick, called it “a New Dawn”. Moreover, although the enforcement action was in the realm of...

  • Currents Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions

    I recently had the chance to visit with Tom Pannell, Managing Director in K2 Integrity’s Investigations and Risk Advisory practice on the current M&A and deal making scene. We explored it from both the domestic and international perspective.

  • Core Investigative Diligence

    What is core investigative diligence and how does it protect an organization? I recently had the chance to visit with Hannah Coleman, Managing Director in K2 Integrity’s Investigations and Risk Advisory practice on this topic. Diligence is performed in the context of a business transaction, such as a potential M&A or an investment, and in the context of an executive hire or Board appointment who...

  • Leadership Week: Part 5, Leading Yourself First

    Today, I conclude my exploration of several aspect of leadership that every Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) can utilize by focusing on the decision-making process that General Dwight Eisenhower used around the one factor he could not control around the D-Day invasion – the weather.

  • Leadership Week: Part 4, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

    I continue my exploration of different ways to think about leadership by considering perhaps the most iconic album cover in the history of rock and roll, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. In Rolling Stone article, entitled “Beatles’ Iconic ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Art: 10 Things You Didn’t Know”, Colin Fleming wrote about the concept and execution. Fleming described it as “wonderful swirl of visuals,...

  • Leadership Week: Part 3, the Stoics Guide to Business Leadership

    Today, we dip back into ancient history for some leadership lessons that every Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) should take to heart, by considering the Greek and Roman philosophers, the Stoics. You can draw a straight line from the Stoics to the British wisdom of “Keep Calm and Carry On”. From the American side of things that also translates into the maxim that when faced with an obstacle you...

  • Leadership Week: Part 2, Leadership Lessons from the Father of Texas

    Today we continue to look at leadership from a variety of angles and approaches as celebrate the Father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin. Most people think Sam Houston was the father of this great state but it was the person for whom our state capital is named. Austin was the man who led the colonization of Texas in the early 1830s and was one of Texas’ earliest political leaders. He was appointed by...

  • Leadership Week: Part 1- Catch 22

    This week I will be looking at leadership issues for the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) from a variety of disparate sources: history, literature, culture and music. Today, I begin with one of the most the most famous books and movies from the second half of the 20th century; Catch 22. While it may not seem apparent on first blush it has several lesson for the business leader to learn going...

  • A Primer on Policies and Procedures

    Today, I conclude my five-part series on a Primer on FCPA Compliance. I end with a piece on policies and procedures. There are numerous reasons to put some serious work into your policies and procedures. They are certainly a first line of defense when the government comes knocking. The 2020 FCPA Resource Guide made clear that “Whether a company has policies and procedures that outline...

  • A Primer on Gifts and Business Entertainment

    If one were to reflect upon the providing of gifts and business entertainment to foreign governmental officials, one might reasonably conclude that after 40 years of the FCPA, companies might follow its prescriptions regarding gifts and business entertainment. However, there have been some notable FCPA enforcement actions in this area.

  • A Primer on Charitable Donations and Political Contributions

    This week has seemingly turned into a series of blogs posts which are primers for areas which are still of concern under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and for compliance professionals. I previously looked at facilitation payments, extortion payments. Today I provide a primer on charitable donations and political contributions. I will also provide primers on gifts and business...

  • A Primer on Extortion Payments

    Yesterday, I posted a short primer on facilitation payments. Today, I want to take up another issue which embroils compliance officers from time to time; that being extortion payments. For compliance officers’ purposes, extortion payments are not illegal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Extortion payments are made for any action which threatens or demands payment for life, liberty,

  • A Primer on Facilitation Payments

    One of the more confusing areas of the FCPA is in that of facilitation payments. Facilitation payments are small bribes but make no mistake about it, they are bribes. For that reason, many companies feel they are inconsistent with a company culture of doing business ethically and in compliance with laws prohibiting corruption and bribery. Further, the 2020 FCPA Resource Guide, 2nd edition...

  • Whistleblowers And The Exit Interview

    I moderated a Keynote Panel Thursday at the Ethics & Compliance Initiative’s (ECI) 2021 IMPACT Conference. On the panel were Greg Keating, partner at Epstein Becker Green, Dr. Kyle Welch, Assistant Professor at George Washington University and Dr. Pat Harned, CEO of ECI. Our topic was whistleblowers, recent reports on whistleblower activity over the past year and whistleblower retaliation....

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