Ethics, Compliance & Leadership
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According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, 40% of fraud cases studied at public companies were detected by tips....that's 3-times as many as by any other method, like an audit for instance. So an ability to report fraud is the most important means of uncovering fraud. So it is especially egregious when the whistleblower hotline, the internal means of reporting fraud, is headed by a person who is involved in a massive fraud/coverup. This is exactly what happened at the Japanese based company,...
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Jon Corzine sure has plenty on his mind these days but now he also has to worry about possibly going to prison. The FBI is now looking into the possibility that the firm he headed, MF Global, was involved in criminal activity by commingling customer and corporate funds (accounts). Andrew Ross Sorkin, NY Times DealBook Editor and CNBC commentator, was on with NBC's Brian Williams saying that if this is true about MF Global then it amounts to a 'Ponzi Scheme". According to the Wall Street Journal, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is also...
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I enjoy reading a good article on Anti-Corruption and this one authored by William Sullivan and Derek Andreson of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP is a good one....or at least a good start.
The article provides guidance to the contents of anti-corruption that are important to have including the Commitment of Senior Management (a must), tone in the middle (what management thinks), a comprehensive compliance program and relationship with experienced anti-corruption and enforcement counsel (outside of the organization).
We at 500 Pearl Street particularly are engaged in...
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The fraud triangle (Pressure, Rationalization and Opportunity) has come to define white-collar crime attributes. Pressure meaning the perpetrators own personal pressures (gambling, finances, self-confidence) that lead people to make poor decisions. Rationalization is our own innate ability to justify our behavior, no matter how bad that may be. The last part of the fraud triangle, Opportunity, is where companies can best work to prevent fraudulent activity within the organization. Opportunity represents the giant loop-holes within organizations that are prone to risk...