NEWS & EVENTS
Message from the CEO
It was called the “Porch Network” for its ability to keep track of and monitor all the things that went on in my hometown. Relatives, neighbors, mailmen; yes, even the barbershop were part of it. The Porch Network (named for the conversations had between neighbors who chatted from porch-to-porch) was what kept us kids in line and out of serious trouble. And when serious trouble came calling, extended connections to the Porch Network could often intervene, resulting in the police cruiser drop to your parent’s house, instead of the station. In the big picture, you didn’t have much privacy in a small town of 800.
Today, kids have lots of privacy, or anonymity, because they are part of a crowd of thousands. What they don’t have is the “Porch Network” to keep them in line. You couldn’t imagine a police officer dropping your child at home. This big-city anonymity has meant a loss of the small-town early warning system. By the time today’s kids are caught the transgressions have become more serious and the penalties more harsh.
In business, companies have grown so large and widely distributed that there is no longer the societal ability to ensure every employee is working on the straight and narrow. Punishment comes hard and fast from the likes of the Department of Justice’s enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). A small office in a foreign country pushing to win a contract or even a single employee trying to guarantee a bonus, potentially small transgressions when caught early, can now result in penalties of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Your company could use a small town atmosphere watching every transgression.
Achieve the same result through continuous controls monitoring for transactions.
– Patrick Taylor, CEO
– Oversight Systems
FCPA Compliance Central
Oversight Systems is your resource for FCPA compliance information. Do you know the meat of FCPA regulations, why you should care, and what your company should do to ensure compliance?
Podcast: an excellent 16 minute summary of the what, why and how of FCPA compliance.
Listen here.
Whitepaper: A concise report on regulations, penalties, and how you can keep your company out of the headlines.
Download here.
FCPA, TARP Enforcement Teams Ramping Up
In a recent Wall Street Journal article the DOJ (FCPA enforcement) and the Inspector General (TARP enforcement) announced a search for investigative lawyers to help track down fraud and abuse of funds. Once again, financial transparency becomes an essential part of policing your organization’s financial records to prevent employees from engaging in misconduct that could lead to criminal prosecution. Implementing a Continuous Controls Monitoring for Transactions program is the most intensive, cost effective way to ensure compliance to both TARP and FCPA guidelines.
April 7th Webcast: COSO Guidance on Controls Monitoring
Continuous monitoring technology that meets the COSO requirements delivers the most persuasive data on the internal control system’s operational effectiveness. Learn how continuous monitoring itself serves as a key control, improves operational performance through both detection and prevention, and enhances confidence in reporting and results.
March’s Quick Question Results
What do you think is the most common justification for stealing from an employer?
You responded: Heck, I'm underpaid.
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| 42.2% Heck, I'm underpaid. I deserve this. |
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25.3% Pshaw, no one will even notice. |
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15.7% C'mon, everybody does it. |
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14.5% Dang it! They've treated me unfairly. They deserve it. |
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2.4% Aw, my boss / department head won't mind. |
Some of the comments you wrote to us:
“All of these rationalizations overlap, but the feeling of being put upon and desire to ‘get even’ probably is the most common.”
“...some of the staff or operations level employees rationalized stealing pens, company time, or slightly increasing some costs for reimbursement because they felt everybody was doing it.”
“They (the company) can afford it & won’t even miss this little bit. Heck, they spend more on an Exec. lunch”
April’s Quick Question
Are you familiar with your company’s FCPA compliance monitoring program?
