Gehrig’s Streak Ends and Compliance Week 2014 Is Near

Today we celebrate greatness in two areas. The first is in baseball as on this day in 1939, “New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig benches himself for poor play ending his streak of consecutive games played at 2,130. “The Iron Horse” was suffering at the time from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” Gehrig joined the Yankees in 1923, but he didn’t see any action until 1925, when he backed up star first baseman Wally Pipp. According to legend, Gehrig stepped in at first base when Pipp benched himself with a headache, and Pipp never made it back on to the field. Gehrig didn’t miss a game for the next 13 years.” Gehrig’s record of playing in 2,130 straight games was intact until broken by Cal Ripken, Jr.

In the area of conference excellence around all things compliance, there is the upcoming Compliance Week 2014. While the conference has not had as many appearances as Gehrig’s long streak, this is the 9^th annual event. As usual, Matt Kelly and his team over at Compliance Week have put together a star-studded and first-rate program for a wide variety of compliance practitioners. From the US government there is Kara M. Stein, Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Interested in the future of the audit committee, there will be Jay Hanson, Board member from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), together with others to talk on that subject. For export control there will be representatives from the Department of Commerce and Department of Justice (DOJ) to bring you the latest on export control enforcement issues. Finally, both Patrick Stokes from the DOJ and Kara Brockmeyer from the SEC will be there to discuss Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement from the perspectives of their agencies.

As usual there will be many sessions aimed at the compliance practitioner. Are you interested in developing a strong corporate culture? If so there will be a panel to discuss how to do so from working with your board to determine what your culture should be to building ethics and compliance programs (and control systems) that amplify those values rather than undermine them. An often-discussed topic is the management of compliance in joint ventures (JVs) and in a panel you will hear from three compliance officers telling their approaches to JVs: from risk assessments before the deal to monitoring and cooperation during the partnership to practical tips on investigations should misconduct in a JV partner come to light.

If there are specific geographic areas that you are concerned about there will be conversations about India, the Middle East, Africa, China and Latin America. In these sessions, held in smaller groups to facilitate conversations and questions, there will be discussions that focus on ethics and compliance risks in geographic hotspots around the world. Wondering which regulators matter most in a specific area? What training tactics work best for local workforces? Which cultural differences can cause the biggest risks or mis-steps? All those questions and more are prime fodder for these sessions.

There are a couple of very interesting sessions aimed at providing data on compliance trends. In one, there will be a joint Deloitte and Compliance Week review of their findings of this year’s Compliance Trends report – a survey conducted this spring to benchmark compliance operations at the modern enterprise. Hear about current budget and staffing levels, as well as emerging trends in reporting structures, use of GRC (Governance, Risk management and Compliance) technology, risks confronting the enterprise, and strategies to address them. In a second, there will be a review of the joint Kroll and Compliance Week 2014 Anti-Bribery and Corruption Report – one of the most comprehensive reviews of corporate anti-corruption practices you’re ever likely to find. In this session Kroll executives present the findings and lead a discussion on what those findings say about current (and not necessarily best) practice in FCPA compliance.

There will be several sessions, which deal with training. An interesting one is entitled, “Employee Training – Four Statistics That Will Surprise You” and will provide you with information on best practices on how to align roles, risks, and priorities strategically, to make the most efficient use of limited training time while protecting the organization. The discussion will be framed around four key statistics that you can use to drive training decisions and true program effectiveness. Another interesting angle will be through the prism of social media in a session which will consider the new risks social media brings, and the best ways to square its advances in communications and IT with your existing compliance program, whether that’s through new policies, new technology, or a mix of both.

There will be a couple of sessions dealing with investigations. In one, I will lead a panel, entitled “Investigations Gone Global, Not Haywire”, where we will focus on how can you run an effective investigation in some of the most difficult spots in the world, where local law may conflict with what you need to do. We will explore local stumbling blocks to your investigation, and offer ideas on how to complete the job nonetheless. Another session will help you scope out your internal investigation by considering some of the most difficult parts of scoping (parameters for e-Discovery, for example), and techniques to help determine scope more effectively (say, using the audit team to help map out the issue).

Finally, one session looks timely and intriguing. It will focus on supply chain compliance issues and will look at misconduct in the supply chain – conflict minerals, human trafficking, bribery, and more – is one of the most dangerous risks a company faces: It can erupt anywhere, cause enormous reputational harm, and leave boards scrambling for answers. You will hear about the clues you have, in the vast databases of modern businesses, and how to draw out the answers you need – about which risks are looming, which require policy response, and which require the board’s attention. Lastly, I will be leading a conversation on the FCPA enforcement trends we have seen in 2014.

I have been authorized to offer readers of this blog, who register for Compliance Week, a discount off of the standard rate..  To register, please use this link and discount code CW14FOX (case sensitive) to receive the special pricing of $1,495 (rate applies to new registrations only; please read Compliance Week Terms of Sale about refunds or substitutions). Event website: http://conference.complianceweek.com.

This publication contains general information only and is based on the experiences and research of the author. The author is not, by means of this publication, rendering business, legal advice, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such legal advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified legal advisor. The author, his affiliates, and related entities shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person or entity that relies on this publication. The Author gives his permission to link, post, distribute, or reference this article for any lawful purpose, provided attribution is made to the author. The author can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com.

© Thomas R. Fox, 2014