Trends and Topics

Six Best Ways to Protect Your Organization from Insider Cyber Risks

By David Klopp … Cyber risk discussions often center around how criminals, nation states, hacktivists and/or terrorists could breach perimeter defenses to carry out objectives such as data theft, denial of service and financial fraud. But what about the trusted employees, contractors and third-party suppliers that already have legitimate access to your systems and data? These are commonly neglected data breach vulnerabilities. Independent research and years of Kroll’s extensive global fieldwork have shown that trusted Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Actions Build Brand Reputations, not Talk

By Bob Conlin … Organizations are no longer the majority shareholders of their reputations. Employees, customers and the general public are the new proprietors of brand reputations in the marketplace. And this group has grown increasingly skeptical as case after case of ethical lapses roll in through various media outlets. Thanks to the media, social and otherwise, organizations today have to be proactive in demonstrating they have a strong, ethical culture that customers will want Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Managing Employee Risk Demands Data, Not Guesswork

By William Kruse … Businesses have to manage myriad types of risk in their workforces. These include theft, employees deviating from company policies or the law, and workers exposing their employers to lawsuits from clients or other employees. So what are the best ways for businesses to manage these risks? Companies that lack a framework of data and analysis to gauge risk more precisely can only guess the best ways to bolster their company culture to reduce Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Setting the Tone for Bribery & Corruption Disclosure

By Ian Painter … Take a look at the contexts of the top-10 FCPA fines of all time and you will soon spot a trend: mostly European-based organisations where corrupt activity has been uncovered within the day-to-day running of the business. Bribery and corruption creeps in through the disconnect between personal integrity and the pressure to bend the rules for the sake of achieving company targets. When asked about the payment of bribes, a former accountant Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Financial Controls Require the Right Mix of Internal Controls & Human Oversight

By Matt Kelly … Ethics and compliance officers talk constantly about the importance of corporate culture, ethical values, and a strong tone at the top; and we should. You can’t have an effective corporate compliance program without them. Still, despite all the uplifting and urgent talk about ethics, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also stress the other indispensable element of effective compliance: financial controls. Unsexy as they may seem, financial controls have been on Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Cyber Security Is Evolving

By Pamela Passman … Cyber security has been a priority – current events have made it an urgent one. Companies of all sizes and maturity levels are falling victim to cyber attacks. Large enterprises are experiencing breaches that compromise the personal information of millions upon millions of individuals, while small-to medium-sized organizations are being targeted as entry points to infiltrate supply chains and gain access to larger organizations. This has made third parties an increased Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Anonymous Whistleblower Reports Need to Be Part of the Corporate Conversation

By Matt Kelly … As ethics and compliance officers continue to think about corporate culture, and skillful ways to push corporate culture toward higher ethical standards, we continue to have a fascinating example from perhaps the most high-profile corporate culture in the United States – Uber. The latest news is that Uber’s head of HR, Liane Hornsey, resigned on July 10 after 18 months on the job. The circumstances around her departure are unclear, but Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Tapping into the Unconscious Habit of Risk Mitigation

By Amy Swenson … The habits of an individual define their behavior; the habits of many define a culture. In the corporate environment, the individual behaviors of your guiding teams have the ability to drastically alter the culture of the entire workplace. When employees are faced with ethical dilemmas, it is the organizational culture that guides their decisions. So in any conversation on corporate risk mitigation, we need to at first have an understanding of the leadership Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Confident Whistleblowers Protect the Bottom Line

By Bob Conlin … Organizations with a culture of integrity and respect attract the best people, lose fewer people to undesired turnover and maintain strong reputational brands across commercial and social networks.  In addition, research shows that those organizations where employees feel free to report concerns and wrongdoing, and where management is quick to respond to incident reports in a non-retaliatory way, outperform their peers. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT WHEN EMPLOYEES ARE EMPOWERED THROUGH TRAININGS AND POLICIES TO Read more…

By Accordo, ago

Building a Better Board Report: Essential Strategies for Chief Compliance Officers

By Randy Stephens … As compliance professionals, most of us are very proud of the accomplishments of our programs. Nevertheless, we know that there are areas where we can improve – and these improvements may require resources in the form of people or cash.  So how can we best make a business case to the “powers that be” for getting additional resources to make needed improvements? Advocating for Compliance to Get “Board Time” The solution Read more…

By Accordo, ago