Compliance Perspectives: Volkswagen's Transformation
Daily Compliance News: March 3, 2020, the Devil’s Advocate edition
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 62, Sentencing of VW Employee Oliver Schmidt
Day 20: What Does Innovation in Compliance Look Like?
The Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal captured global headlines and was profoundly disruptive to the company, resulting in substantial penalties and a three-year monitorship under former Deputy Attorney General Larry D. Thompson...more
In January 2019, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan returned an indictment against four executives from Audi, a Volkswagen subsidiary, for their participation and direction of Audi’s emissions-cheating...more
The compliance community is well aware of the risks in the C-Suite. As you move up the corporate ladder, the level of risk from executive misconduct increases. A rotten executive can quickly bring down a company, destroy...more
When unraveling a major corporate scandal, especially multi-year schemes involving senior executives, the blame game or lessons learned approach can easily turn into a fruitless exercise. The VA and Takata scandals are...more
Corporate misconduct occurs in a variety of forms. Starting with the basic truism – companies act through people, and when companies engage in misconduct it requires the coordination and collaboration of multiple actors. The...more
That may well be the line most used by Volkswagen (VW) executives after the arrest of their fellow executive, Oliver Schmidt, this past week at the Miami airport. According to an article in the New York Times (NYT), entitled...more
Compliance professionals are familiar with the phrase “tone at the top,” but what exactly does it mean? Unlike other compliance program components, it cannot be easily formalized and implemented in a policy or procedure....more
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. One of the small pleasures I take each week is reading the New Yorker’s Cartoon Caption contest. I have entered most weeks for the past 10 years or so when the spirit moved me with a...more
Today, we conclude our week long exploration of the original Star Wars trilogy, all posted in conjunction with three podcasts, subtitled May The Podcast Be With You, where we use one movie as a staring point to review Foreign...more
Last week, VW blamed its “culture” for allowing “individual misconduct” that lead to the emissions-testing-evasion scandal engulfing the company. It reminded me of a couple of corporate-compliance mantras and of DOJ’s recent...more
Sometimes the simplest visual can provide the greatest insight about transformation. I had that particular insight when I recently had the chance to catch up with Scott Lane, Chief Executive of the Red Flag Group, at the SCCE...more
Today, I wrap up my series on why I think compliance is at the Tipping Point. However as it is a Friday in October, I continue my tribute to the Man in the Shadows, producer Val Lewton, whose films for RKO had some of the...more
In the movie Margin Call, Jeremy Irons intones that there are three ways to win in business: (1) be the smartest; (2) be the fastest; and (3) cheat. I am currently out at the SCCE 2015 Compliance and Ethics Institute and as...more
Ed. Note-The VW scandal is clearly much broader than simply corporate lying about environmental compliance. It is about an entire corporate culture that engaged in, tolerated or consciously disregarded the illegal behavior....more
Too many organizations learn the hard way that failure to create a speak-up culture poses risks that go far beyond financial calamity. Volkswagen (VW) appears likely joining those sad ranks today, as it scrambles to figure...more