MyComplianceOffice Blog

The holiday season will be here before we know it! And that means gifts and entertainment activities that might be putting your organization at risk. It's important to remember that those gift and entertainment compliance concerns don't end when the holidays are over. Taking a mindful approach to both the giving and receiving of gifts and entertainment can help firms stay on top of compliance throughout the year.

Hong Kong has become one of the most corruption-free nations in the world. The Transparency International 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the most widely used global corruption ranking system, lists Hong Kong as the 12th most ‘clean’ nation out of 180. The system measures how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be, according to experts and businesspeople.

Compared with other industries, the financial services industry inherently has an elevated risk of conflicts of interest. In particular, connected persons and close personal relationships can influence decisions that result in significant business and financial impact. After all, we’re all human and sometimes act based on emotion. Unfortunately, those human, emotional connections can sometimes lead to severe conflicts.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has clearly set expectations to ensure that asset managers conduct their business with due skill, care and diligence and that they manage conflicts of interest, between the firm or its employees and its customers or between its customers, fairly. A European asset management firm was recently fined £9.1mn by the FCA for failure to adhere to these principles and effectively manage conflicts of interest.

It’s that time of year again! The end of the year brings opportunity for corporate gift giving and holiday events—and with that ample risk for conflicts of interest.

Are your gifts and entertainment policies wrapped up in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season?