Compliance into the Weeds - SOX Compliance, PCAOB Inspections and Audits
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 57-SOX Reform or Not?
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 51, the PCAOB and Compliance
Compliance into the Weeds-Espiode 47
Everything Compliance-Episode 12
Day 5 of One Month to Better Investigations and Reporting-the Board’s Investigation Protocol
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 30-SOX 404(b)
FCPA Compliance and Ethics Report-Episode 145-SEC Enforcement of the FCPA, Part II
On July 18, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed most of the claims brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) against SolarWinds Corp. and its Chief...more
Ed. Note-We welcome back Troy McAlister with another guest post. Troy brings 20 years of experience at both public and private companies, in public accounting and in a variety of industries. Troy has experience in...more
The first step is to convert your company’s compliance risks into internal control objectives. The internal control objectives are then given to each business unit with instructions to develop controls, which meet the...more
We are on the final countdown, moving closer to Number 500. On Monday, August 31, I will be celebrating my 500th Anniversary episode, where I will talk about some of the key changes I have seen in compliance over the past 10...more
According to a recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Blog entry (11/28/18), over 40% of internal frauds are discovered by whistleblowers and statistics show that 74% of whistleblowers are terminated. ...more
When it comes to a poster-child for corrupt organizations, there is very little competition that can eclipse Petrobas, the Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company. ...more
In this episode, Matt Kelly and I take a deep dive into the Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). We consider the role of the PCAOB in both audit standards and internal controls for compliance. What is goodwill, goodwill...more
Yesterday I presented my views on why I believe that Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement will continue under the new administration. Today, I want to begin a multi-part series (sorry I don’t know how long it will...more
Sometimes I get inspired when writing blog posts and sometimes I get on a roll. It is a bit of both this week and today, as previously this week, I have focused on Department of Justice (DOJ) pronouncements on their view of...more
At first glance, the SEC’s recent enforcement action against Johnson Controls for $14 million for FCPA violations in China, along with a Justice Department declination under its new Pilot Program, appears to be a “routine”...more
I continue my exploration of recent enforcement matters and issues by turning to the Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action, which was announced last week. Mike Volkov has called...more
This week I have been exploring the Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) with Joe Howell, an Executive Vice President (EVP) with Workiva Inc. We have considered how some of the issues addressed by the PCAOB directly...more
I recently had the chance to visit with Joe Howell, the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Workiva LLC. Howell has been the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a number of public companies, mostly in the technology space, and...more
What is the interplay of two different pieces of legislation enacted almost 25 years apart in response to widely different crisis? In the case of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) quite a...more
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet included this often used phrase – hoist with his own petard (a small bomb). Shakespeare never knew that his eloquence would apply to today’s SEC enforcement of internal controls. The FCPA...more
"Wherefore Art Thou Due Process?" Part III - Why it matters: It is time for another installment in our continuing "Wherefore Art Thou Due Process?" coverage into the ongoing constitutional challenges to the SEC's...more
Ed. Note-today we have a guest post from Jean-Michel Ferat ,CPA, CFF is a Managing Director in the Washington D.C office of the Claro Group around his views on the BHP Billiton enforcement action. Much has been made in...more
In this episode which is Part II of my look at SEC enforcement of the FCPA, I consider whether profit disgorgement is available to the SEC in a strict liability enforcement action of violation of internal controls. ...more
When you review the actual law surrounding books and records and internal controls, you wonder to yourself what took the Justice Department and the SEC so long to discover the full power of the provisions....more
In Part I of this two-part post regarding a Board of Director’s Role in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) oversight from the internal controls perspective, I reviewed how a Board might have independent liability for its...more
Ten years ago, Sarbanes-Oxley was the focus of compliance and corporate governance reform. Sarbanes-Oxley was enacted in response to major corporate scandals involving financial reporting fraud and accounting...more