Compliance Perspectives

By Adam Turteltaub adam.turteltaub@corporatecompliance.org At the 2017 SCCE Washington, DC regional meeting we were fortunate to be joined by Terence Stechysin, the Acting Director of Compliance of the Canadian Competition Bureau.  In a podcast recorded there, Terry provides a good reminder that when thinking internationally, US compliance officers need to remember that, as close as Canada is, it does have its own regulations and regulators. In this podcast Terry explains: * What the role of the Competition Bureau of Canada is * Its similarity in role to the US FTC and the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and even state Attorney Generals offices * Their commitment to innovation and competition * The importance of focusing on business behavior, especially with partners, suppliers, and competitors * The need to be aware that, when engaging in a business relationship, the organization needs to be aware of competition law * Common problems such as agreeing to set prices, and who will bid on each contract * The risks of trade association meetings * The Competition Bureau’s guidelines on compliance programs, which are available here * The importance of “shared compliance” — business, government and law firms working together * The Bureau’s outreach to the community, including at the incubator stage. Listen in to get better prepared to meet anti-competition challenges in Canada.

Marsha Ershaghi Hames is the Managing Director for strategy and Development at compliance solution provider LRN.  She also holds a Doctorate in Education Technology.  She earned her Ph.D. studying the role leaders play in enabling organizational culture. It’s an important field of study.  Tone at the top is something that compliance professionals discuss, but it’s about much more than compliance.  Culture permeates an organization in countless ways, and leadership very much drives that culture. In this podcast, Marsha covers a large swatch of cultural and training ground including: * Taking the time to understand the audience before training * The importance of thinking about core priorities in terms of risks and themes for training * Designing a curriculum based on your desired outcomes * The importance of reminder messages * The risks of too many reminders * Thinking about a cadence to your training strategy: how frequently you train over the next 18 months or so, and the arrangement of longer and shorter messages * How leaders can more effectively support training * The importance of leaders being in alignment with the training and modeling the right behavior * How leaders can help by discussing the nexus between the organization’s values and actions * Hallmarks of how behavior change happens * The importance of middle managers in affecting behavioral change * Motivating rank and file employees around learning

When compliance professionals think of Brazil, they tend to focus, rightly, on the corruption challenge.  Many may miss the fact, thought that it is also a very large economy, in fact it is one of the world’s ten largest. In addition, the country has a very sophisticated business community and a substantial investment in compliance.  So much so that it is the SCCE’s second largest country by membership. At the 2017 SCCE Basic Compliance and Ethics Academy in Sao Paulo I wat down with Brandon Spooner, the founder of Spooners Consulting to discuss the challenges.  In this conversation he shares his insights on a wide range of topics: * How far from hopeless the corruption is in Brazil * The challenges of cross-border compliance * The scope of the Brazil Clean Companies Act * The challenges of multiple enforcement authorities within Brazil * The need to fully understand the culture before diving in, including the importance of personal connections [clickToTweet tweet=”Brandon Spooner on Compliance in Brazil [Podcast]” quote=”Brandon Spooner on Compliance in Brazil [Podcast]” theme=”style3″]

We’re all familiar with the challenges of a distributed workforce, but there are challenges, too, with a distributed compliance team.  It can be difficult working with colleagues who are hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away.  How do you work together as a team?  How do you know if your colleague is truly on board, or just saying yes to get off the phone?  And how do you ensure everyone understands their responsibilities? Bruce Anderson, Plan Compliance Officer from Anthem, shares what he’s learned leading a compliance team that is spread out across California.  Learn from him as he discusses: * Effective techniques for recapping what is agreed to * How to communicate effectively * How to encourage others to communicate with you * Making video conferencing work, and * Etiquette for working with colleagues in very different time zones

Civility in the workplace is something most, but not all, would agree makes for a better work environment.  But, what about the impact on compliance? In his book Civility Rules, long-time labor and employment attorney Stephen Paskoff, who is a former trial attorney for the EEOC, argues that civility plays a critical role in ensuring ethical, compliant behavior. He observes, “The path from the merely disruptive to outright abusive behaviors is a well-traveled route to illegal actions.” In this podcast Stephen discusses: * The dangers of incivility * Watching for incident reports that may not be uncovering illegality but are nonetheless troubling * The impact of incivility on business * The importance (and surprising ease) of making the business case for better behavior * The role of leadership in affecting behavior * Tone at the top * Tying behaviors to values, and * The importance of candor

Few things provoke more stress in the compliance and ethics community than preparing for one of the certification exams:  CHC, CCEP, CCEP-I, CHRC, CHPC.  Even those attending the Academies are fearful, often unduly. For some it’s just the challenge and fear of taking their first test, other than for a driver’s license renewal, in years.  For others it’s the question of how to be prepare for the exam. To help solve the latter problem we turned to, Debbie Troklus, President of the Compliance Certification Board.  Debbie leads the SCCE and HCCA Academies, and, in addition, works as Managing Director of Aegis Compliance and Ethics Center. In this podcast Debbie explains what the certification exams cover and what they don’t.  Critically, the focus of the exams is on practical experience and application in given scenarios.  It is not about memorizing nuances of specific laws.  Instead the focus is on the concepts of compliance and the seven elements of an effective program.  As a result, the best preparation is experience working in compliance. She also provides insight into the value of attending an SCCE or HCCA Academy and reading the book Compliance 101 as well as reviewing the content outlines for each exam.  By spending time with the outline, candidates can have a better sense of both what is covered by the test as well as areas where they may be stronger or weaker. Finally, she discusses the benefits and pitfalls of creating or joining a study group. Listen in.  It won’t guarantee that you will pass the exam, but it may make preparing for it a little less stressful.

Most of the discussion around getting people to complete their compliance training focuses on the rank and file employee.  Yet, getting management to complete the training, and making it relevant for them is an equally important challenge. Without management on board, it’s hard to gain their support for the compliance program, and, at the same time, the management team may have very different training needs. In this podcast Jason Lunday, Vice President of Product Development, Advisory Services at Syntrio provides insights in how your training can better serve the needs of leadership, and gain their support for workforce training.  Jason addresses: * Making the most of your time with leadership * Communicating effectively the value that comes from compliance training * The pain that comes from not being properly trained and lacking essential compliance skills * Discussing compliance from the perspective of its effect on strategy * The importance of making sure that leaders understand their role in influencing employees * Determining the best method for training * Challenging perspectives, and * Avoiding the mistakes that can turn off leadership.

Despite the fact that compliance training has been around for years now, there is still much debate around topics such as the use of humor and how long each piece of training should be. In this podcast Ronnie Feldman, the founder of Learnings & Entertainments, provides his insights into these topics.  He discusses how training should be considered part of an overall communications program.  In addition, he touches on the role of live training, and what makes it work more effectively.

For many compliance professionals, working with the board is a relatively new and stress-filled endeavor. To learn how to make the most out of this very important relationship we turned to veteran compliance professional Marjorie Doyle, who has worked extensively with several companies and their boards on compliance issues. Marjorie is an expert practitioner and leader in the field of ethics and compliance. She works with all organizational levels including Chief Ethics & Compliance Officers, CEOs, Boards of Directors, and any others responsible for the implementation of effective ethics and compliance programs.  A member of the board of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and Health Care Compliance Association, Marjorie was EVP, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at Vetco International where she was responsible for a newly formed organization of compliance officers, directors, and specialists. She reported directly to the Compliance Committee of Vetco’s Board of Directors. Before Vetco, Marjorie was the first Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at Dupont, where she founded and led the Ethics & Compliance Central organization, the first dedicated team of compliance officers chartered with furthering the company’s  global ethics and compliance objectives. In this podcast, Marjorie addresses: * The importance of demonstrating to the board that its responsibility for compliance oversight has changed and expanded * The new DOJ evaluation questions and the importance of compliance expertise on the board * Recording when the board discusses and reviews ethics and compliance issues * What you need to tell the board and how to help them know what to ask * Tying into the risk assessment * The value of metrics and demonstrating effectiveness * Showing the board how it can affect culture * Pitfalls to avoid when working with the board

Anti-corruption prosecutions are far from a US-only effort these days.  More and more countries are adding legislation and enforcement. France’s Lois Sapin II is one of the more recent government efforts.  In this podcast, you will hear from two experienced compliance professionals who explain what the law does.  This includes the creation of the AFA, A French Anti-Corruption Agency with greater resources, budge and administrative powers. Listen in to learn more about when the law goes into effect, requirements for French companies and subsidiaries, eight required aspects under the new law, code of conduct requirements and more. The guides providing an overview and insight into the new law are: Cecilia Fellouse-Guenkel.  Cecilia is a passionate consultant who started working on compliance matters in the healthcare industry in 2008. She now helps companies in various industries with their compliance programs, corruption risk assessments, trainings and the coaching of new compliance officers. Originally trained as an attorney is France, she has worked in Asia (Vietnam), Africa (Nigeria and Gabon) and the UK.  Cecilia makes a point of alternating between in-house and outside missions in order to keep abreast of the day-to-day challenges facing compliance officers. Her consultancy is called Compliance For Good because she believes that through a pragmatic and operationalized approach, compliance helps companies be stronger, more profitable and sustainable… for good. Caroline Hailey. Caroline’s work focuses on promoting ethical business practices. She currently serves as senior counsel to a major energy company, advising on anti-corruption matters, and also serves as Vice Chair of the International Bar Association’s Committee on the Drivers of Corruption. Previously, she spent eight years with a leading international law firm advising corporate issuers and financial institutions on cross-border transactions as well as boards of directors on corporate governance matters.  She has held consulting roles with the United Nations and various not-for-profit organizations and is admitted to practice law in New York and Paris.

Kristy Grant-Hart has become widely known as the author of How to be a Wildly Effective Compliance Officer. Her wisdom comes from her many years as a compliance professional, including serving as Chief Compliance Officer at United International Pictures, the joint distribution company for Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in 65+ countries. She recently completed a new work the Wildly STRATEGIC Compliance Officer Workbook. In this podcast Kristy shares her insight into creating more effective compliance and ethics program objectives, strategies and plans. Hint: it’s better if you have them than if you don’t. She discusses what makes for the right set of objectives, especially focusing on those that the compliance department controls. From there she moves on to creating strategies that work, and the ins and outs of planning. Plan on listening in.

As the Chief Integrity Officer at the Cleveland Clinic, Don Sinko has responsibility for both compliance and internal audit.  Listen in to this interview in which he explains the advantages of keeping compliance and internal audit as separate roles but under one umbrella.  As he explains, it helps them pursue their very related but separate roles in what he sees as the most optimal way.  Don also explains: * What it means to be an integrity officer * Why Cleveland Clinic chose to keep audit and compliance as separate departments * Why building relationships is a core value to compliance and integrity programs * The importance of focusing on the issues rather than looking to blame someone * Leading by example * Helping colleagues realize that compliance is everyone’s job * Risk assessment structures throughout Cleveland Clinic * The importance of operations understanding risks throughout the organization * Corporate compliance is best thought of as preventative medicine   Don Sinko is the Chief Integrity Officer for Cleveland Clinic, with responsibility for the Offices of Internal Audit, and Corporate Compliance and Business Ethics.  In this capacity, Don oversees the audit and compliance programs that focus on risk management, regulatory compliance, business ethics and internal controls for the health system. Prior to joining the Cleveland Clinic, Don was the Director of Internal Audit at Eaton Corporation, responsible for an international internal audit staff serving operations on six continents.  Prior to Eaton, Don was an Audit Senior Manager with Ernst & Young in Cleveland, serving primarily healthcare and SEC manufacturing clients. Don, a certified public accountant and a graduate of Miami University, is a frequent speaker on healthcare compliance, leadership, and process control topics. He also has extensive board of trustee experience, having actively served on the Boards of Trustees of The Arthritis Foundation of Northeastern Ohio, Great Lakes Theater Festival, The Presbytery of the Western Reserve, and the Miami University Isaac & Oxley Center for Business Leadership.

Few relationships are as important as the one between the compliance officer and the organization’s Board of Directors.  When a healthy relationship is in place, the compliance team can benefit from high-level support, greater management involvement, and tone at the top that truly does come all the way from the top. And, having the right relationship is now more important than ever.  The compliance program evaluation questions recently released by the Department of Justice demonstrate that the government is looking for greater board involvement. So, what makes for a successful relationship?  Cindy Matson and Ruth Krueger of Sanford Health lay out the challenges and opportunities when working with the board. Listen in to hear them discuss: * The key elements of a dynamic board report * Successfully educating the board * Language to use and terms to avoid * Major challenges including access to the board itself * Planning your time with the board carefully Ruth Krueger Ruth is currently the Compliance Program Administrator for Sanford Health.  She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences from Western Michigan University and completed her Masters in Healthcare Administration at the University of South Dakota. Cindy Matson Cindy is currently the Senior Executive Director of Health Services Compliance at Sanford Health. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in both Chemistry and Medical Technology from Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota and has completed coursework for her Masters in Business Administration at the University of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, SD.

Lisa Fine, Director, Global Compliance at gategroup shared some of her wisdom about helplines in Europe during the 2017 European Compliance and Ethics Institute. Listen in to the podcast to gain her insights into:: * Why implementation of helplines in Europe has lagged the US * Some of the biggest challenges, and strategies for making helplines work * Logistics and challenges of making a hotline work in-country versus on a global scale * The inherent challenges in dealing with differing laws from country-to-country * Some of the benefits of using a third-party vendor * Potential changes to hotline regulations with the implementation of GDPR * Her experience with usage and reporting once hotlines are active * The many reasons to keep trying, despite the challenges Lisa Fine is the Director, Global Compliance for gategroup, and has worked at gategroup since January 2011. She is based in gategroup’s Reston, Virginia offices. Lisa supports the overall global compliance structure. This includes gategroup’s Global Compliance Committee and the regional Business Compliance Committees in developing a robust compliance program to address key company-wide and regional risks. Working cross-functionally, Lisa reviews and helps develop project plans related to compliance issues, manages the Company’s employee helpline (the “AlertLine”), and provides compliance and investigation training. Before joining gategroup, Lisa worked in both the private and non-profit sectors. After earning her undergraduate degree from Tufts University and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, she started her legal career in the Washington, D.C., office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. There, she was a litigation associate and later served as the firm’s Pro Bono Counsel for Washington, D.C., where she grew the pro bono program. Lisa then relocated to Utah, where she worked at the Disability Law Center, a non-profit organization designated as Utah’s Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agency, representing persons with disabilities in the areas of civil rights, employment, housing and access to public facilities. After returning to Washington, D.C., she worked at a boutique regulatory law firm before joining gategroup.

Anna Whites provides fascinating insight into the world of telehealth/telemedicine.   In a wide-ranging conversations she discusses the opportunity to better serve patients, especially those living in remote areas or wanting more anonymity in their treatment. She also discusses some of the risks, both real and perceived: * Stark Law and Anti-Kickback * HIPAA compliance * Cloud storage and data security * Data retention policies, and * Patient consent Anna Whites is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of law and operates Anna Whites Law Office. Her practice focuses on healthcare issues from the provider perspective, including reimbursement, audit responses, compliance education and telehealth. Anna is committed to pro bono legal work with youth particularly in the behavioral health arena. Anna is the Rural Subcommittee Co-Chair of the AHLA Behavioral Health Task Force; a founding member of the Kentucky Governor’s Advisory Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders; a founding member of the national Community Action Agency CAPLAW legal network and the Kentucky Bar Associations Youth Issues Committee. Anna works with the Kentucky Telehealth Board and Kentucky providers and legislators to enhance coverage for telemedicine in the Commonwealth.