Here are some recent stories that I found interesting: The Auditors And Financial Regulatory Reform: That Dog Don’t Hunt by Francine McKenna in re: The Auditors The firms are broken and their basic product is worthless. The auditors were completely impotent to warn investors of over-leverage and risky business models, to prevent erroneous and potentially … Read more »
Side-by-Side Comparison Chart of Financial Reform Bills
The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, passed by the House on December 11, 2009 is over 1300 pages long. The Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, passed by the Senate on May 20, 2010, is over 1600 pages long. You have lots of reading to figure out the differences between … Read more »
Check out The Checklist Manifesto
As a former transactional attorney, I was trained to use checklists. The transactions were too complicated to keep track of everything in my head. I also needed to communicate with the rest of the transaction team. In The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande approaches checklists from the perspective of a surgeon. I had put off reading … Read more »
Portugal and Ethics Hotlines
Under guidelines published by the Portuguese Data Protection Authority on the 1st October 2009, a whistleblower cannot make a report anonymously. I have to admit that I can’t read Portuguese, so reading Deliberação Nº 765 /2009 does not help me much in interpreting the limitations. (Google translate helps.) Most EU member states allow anonymous reporting … Read more »
SEC’s Mickey Mouse Sting Operation
Maybe this would have worked last year. But traders are probably a little nervous when it comes to buying inside information since the Galleon insider trading case. Hedge funds are now well aware that the SEC and FBI are willing to use a broader range of investigation techniques including wire taps and undercover agents. That’s … Read more »
Compliance and the Desert Island
A compliance challenge is seeing below the surface. The big danger comes from what you don’t know that you don’t know. I thought this cartoon was right on target Image is from XKCD Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces – Compliance Week Edition
If you stuck around for my blog posts on Compliance Week 2010, I figured I would end the week with other attendee’s coverage: Lanny Breuer at Compliance Week by Tom Fox on FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog He stated that tools which had been previously used to combat organized crime would now be employed in … Read more »
Winding Down From Compliance Week
My head is full of compliance goodness after spending 2.5 days at Compliance Week 2010. The Mayflower Hotel is a great place for a conference this size, with plenty of places to run into people. Substance The agenda was full of great substantive information from fellow compliance professionals. There were sessions on metrics, social media, … Read more »
Second City on the Stage at Compliance Week 2010 Conference
Get ready for a fun, interactive, high-energy conference closer from Second City Communications, the business solutions division of the world-famous comedy theatre. Using observations, ideas, and insights garnered from the entire three-day conference, Second City Communications will play back what they’ve heard, offering a real-time wrap-up of key conference takeaways, and providing a host of … Read more »
U.S. DoJ Asst. Attorney General, Criminal Division, Lanny Breuer Speaks at Compliance Week
Lanny Breuer, selected by President Obama to head the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in January 2009, will discuss practical matters for companies dealing with the Justice Department, including topics such as cooperation, attorney-client privilege, and the importance of pre-existing compliance programs. Breuer will also discuss the Department’s increasing use of proactive law-enforcement strategies … Read more »