MyComplianceOffice Blog

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) published an article in May focusing on the top ten things small corporate legal departments need to know about complying with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). While all ten are good to review, three stand out as critical to making sure your FCPA compliance program is more than just a written policy.  

It’s only six months until the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s new Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) requirements take effect. It’s important to remember as of December 9, 2019, a senior manager may be held personally liable for breaches in SMCR requirements. The FCA has made it clear it does not matter if the senior manager was involved in the breach. They will still be held accountable if the breach occurred as a result in their failure to execute on their SMCR responsibilities.  

The time to being preparing to comply with the new Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) is now, according the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA recently issued a reminder to firms regulated by the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) that they must be ready to meet SMCR requirements when the December 9, 2019 effective date arrives.  

Telefônica Brasil recently agreed to pay the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) more than $4 million to settle charges brought against the organization for allegedly violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). 

Many organizations look to auditors as their primary source of fraud detection. That’s a mistake according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). In 2018, an ACFE study found 53 percent of occupational fraud is identified by employees other than auditors. That’s compared  to just 15 percent detected by internal auditors and just 4 percent by external auditors.