Frances McLeod: We need to audit culture change too


Culture is often thought of as a soft issue because companies struggle to measure its effectiveness. But culture and compliance are linked.


Harry Cassin Publisher and Editor
Jessica Tillipman Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn Contributing Editor
Bill Waite Contributing Editor
Shruti J. Shah Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong Contributing Editor
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Bill Steinman Contributing Editor
Aarti Maharaj Contributing Editor
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Culture is often thought of as a soft issue because companies struggle to measure its effectiveness. But culture and compliance are linked.
In the frenzy of upsizing, downsizing and rightsizing compliance programs after downturns in the market or in the midst or aftermath of a major investigation, it’s important to keep in mind that experienced lawyers and compliance professionals bring significant value to a company.
With every enforcement action comes lessons and warning tales for other companies and compliance officers. Last week Qualcomm paid $7.5 million to settle SEC charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by hiring relatives of Chinese officials responsible for deciding whether to select the company’s mobile technology products.
I'm often asked for my thoughts about the future of compliance. What people really want to know is, what's the next level of compliance? How do we improve? For me, the answer is corporate consciousness.
Corporate compliance programs are no longer classified as “nice to have,” nor are they mere responses to allegations of wrongdoing. Some companies are going beyond mentioning how they have cleared their names with regulators after an investigation; they're actively promoting the components of an effective strategy.