Category: Articles

Gavel

Energy Services Company to Pay $43 Million to Settle Bribery Charges

Amec Foster Wheeler Limited agreed on Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice to pay a total of more than $43 million related to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The British-based oil and gas services company, owned by John Wood Group PLC, entered Read More

SEC Whistleblower program

What Compliance Officers Need to Know About SEC Whistleblower Law

GUEST BLOGInternal auditors, compliance officers, and other “lines of defense” professionals are in unique positions to spot fraud and wrongdoing at the companies where they work. In most cases it is enough to report the problems to senior management or to the board of directors in situations where senior executives Read More

Lawyer on road

Survey: In-House Legal Professionals Got Smaller Raises in 2020

A new survey found that compensation for in-house counsel took a hit in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, with all industries reporting the smallest base salary increases in the last five years. The survey, conducted by legal recruiting firm BarkerGilmore, also found that while lawyers in consumer, healthcare Read More

handcuffed for fraud

Legal Group Calls for Protections for CCOs in Prosecutions

The New York City Bar Association proposed a new framework it hopes will influence decisions by regulators to charge chief compliance officers in certain criminal and civil cases. The move is an attempt to quell growing concerns from enforcement actions that hold financial sector CCOs individually liable for the actions Read More

A padlock overlaid over a world map decorated with binary code

ESG, Cybersecurity Among Proposed Rules on SEC’s To-Do List

The Securities and Exchange Commission has released its 2021 “Agency Rule List” to give companies an idea of the regulations in its pipeline and when they can expect them to move forward. The list includes a schedule of proposed and final rules on such topics such as climate change disclosures, Read More

A woman in the foreground and a man in the background work on their computers, socially distanced and wearing masks

Amid the Pandemic, Financial Firms Working to Keep Up with Regulation

A new study finds that more financial firms are outsourcing all or part of their compliance functions, while others are growing compliance budgets and staff levels more slowly. Meanwhile, a large majority expect regulators to continue to pile on new regulations during the rest of the year.  The study, 2021 Read More

World News

New Report Provides Guidance on Internal Audit’s Role in ESG Disclosures

Investors and regulators are pushing for more comprehensive and uniform reporting on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts. Some organizations are even tying incentive compensation metrics to ESG goals. In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it would be looking more closely at ESG disclosures and also announced the creation of Read More