MyComplianceOffice Blog

The holidays are here. The air is filled with cheer. . . and gifts and entertainment that might be putting your organization at risk. And 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.

For every registered firm with the SEC, it’s not a matter of if you’ll be examined but when. COVID-19 drove a necessity for the SEC to adapt its examination processes from traditionally in-person activities to remote. As a result, companies operating in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region must now be ready and able to support the SEC in its procedures.

The global workforce has been under pressure since March, when the lockdown started in most countries. Since then, the stress and financial pressure caused by COVID-19 and the uncertainty to industries, organizations and employees has increased. Governments and regulators are under pressure to deliver normality while reducing the economic and market impact of the crisis.

Last year, two executives of Herbalife Ltd. were charged after spending $25 million on entertainment and gifts for Chinese officials in 10 years period, to facilitate the company operations in some regions in China.

In this period of uncertainty and pressure on firms, regulators around the world have been quickly changing their strategies to support firms, so they all can manage the situation at best.