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Richard Bistrong

Rewarding Those Who Speak Up – Money or Thanks?

Richard Bistrong

Dec 18, 2017

Rewarding Those Who Speak Up – Money or Thanks?

The following post is by Katherine Bradshaw, Head of Communications, Institute of Business Ethics. Having an 8 year old means there’s a lot of Harry Potter in our house. One of my favourite scenes from Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone is when an unassuming boy called Neville Longbottom, who tried to stop Harry, Ron and Hermione from breaking the school rules, is awarded ten points for his courage, enabling Gryffindor to win the house cup. “There are all kinds of coura

Moving Back In-House to Move Compliance to the Next Generation

Richard Bistrong

Sep 25, 2017

Moving Back In-House to Move Compliance to the Next Generation

The following interview is with Nicole Rose, Head of Risk and Compliance, Uniting Resources NSW and ACT. As you may recall, Nicole and I co-produced the anti-bribery training animation, “Why We Say Yes,” of which the trailer can be found here. RB: So, Nicole, I heard you have changed roles, so why the change? NR: Richard, as you know I have spent the past few years using my creativity to inspire, motivate and persuade people to increase their appetite for compliance and adopt

Ethics and Compliance Training, What Gets Results?

Richard Bistrong

Sep 6, 2017

Ethics and Compliance Training, What Gets Results?

The following interview is with Dr. Patricia Harned, Chief Executive Officer of the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI). RB: Pat, it’s a pleasure to have you join us today, and thank you for sharing your report “Ethics and Compliance Training, What Gets Results.” So, first, given the proliferation of compliance surveys and studies, why did the Ethics and Compliance Initiative commission this paper? Did you see a gap out there in terms of understanding and information? PH: T

‘Unmasking’ Corruption

Richard Bistrong

Aug 7, 2017

‘Unmasking’ Corruption

The following is an interview with Anne-Christine Wegener, co-author, “Unmasked: Corruption in the West.” RB: Dear Anne-Christine, first, thank you for taking the time to meet with me during my recent trip to Heidelberg, and I really enjoyed our exchange of perspectives over a good coffee! So, for those who might want to know more about your background, perhaps you can share a little about your career, prior to co-authoring “Unmasked: Corruption in the West.” AC: Dear Richard

Using a Human Rights Lens to Strengthen Your Anti-Corruption Compliance Program

Richard Bistrong

Jul 31, 2017

Using a Human Rights Lens to Strengthen Your Anti-Corruption Compliance Program

Today’s guest blog is by Sarah Altschuller. Sarah is an attorney in the Corporate Social Responsibility practice at Foley Hoag LLP, where she is the editor and primary author of the “Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law” blog. In 2017, Sarah was the only U.S.-based attorney recognized by Chambers Global in its first-ever ranking of law firms advising on business and human rights concerns. Companies are increasingly expected to manage the human rights impacts of their

Talking About Bribery in the Country Where I Bribed

Richard Bistrong

Apr 23, 2017

Talking About Bribery in the Country Where I Bribed

I recently returned from a week in Amsterdam, addressing front-line compliance challenges, and attending several anti-corruption conferences. It was a surreal experience for me, for in 2003 I paid a “Dutch Agent approximately $15,000 based on an invoice for marketing services knowing that the Dutch agent would then pass all or some of that money to (a) Dutch Procurement Officer.” That’s right from my “Statement of the Offense” as part of my US Plea Agreement. And as I would s

What Does the “Good News Cocoon” Mean to Business & Compliance?

Richard Bistrong

Mar 19, 2017

What Does the “Good News Cocoon” Mean to Business & Compliance?

Recently, I had the pleasure of engaging with compliance and business leaders in Europe and Asia. It’s an honor to be traveling again, and to hear about ethical and compliance challenges from those who work in the middle of risk, as well as from leaders who are tasked with supporting the commercial workforce in how they address issues of ethics, integrity and values. Over a nice walk along the Neckar River (pictured) in Germany, I thought about the need for business leadershi

A China Compliance Diary

Richard Bistrong

Mar 6, 2017

A China Compliance Diary

When my supervision (probation) ended in January 2017, the US District Court in DC released my passport, and I could once again travel internationally. And with that milestone, a note of thanks to all the international event organizers, from London to Shanghai, that have been so patient and cooperative in bringing in my experience and perspective, over the past three years, to events via satellite uplinks and live studio feeds. As to my first international trip in what’s bee

Can marketing and compliance share a playbook?

Richard Bistrong

Jan 10, 2017

Can marketing and compliance share a playbook?

I recently read an article in the Winter 2017 MIT Sloan Management Review, Mastering the Market Intelligence Challenge (Chari, Luce & Thukral). In this work, the authors address how “many multinationals simply import their domestic models into emerging markets.” And whilst this work is directed towards those who deal with market intelligence in emerging markets, the conclusions drawn are equally applicable to those who face compliance challenges in such frontier regions. If y

Gluten-Free Compliance

Richard Bistrong

Dec 20, 2016

Gluten-Free Compliance

This past November, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Sean Freidlin, Marketing Manager of Compliance & Ethics at SAI Global, www.saiglobal.com at The Little Beet Restaurant in NYC, to discuss my history with compliance, bribery, corruption, and the FCPA for a recently published eBook. The restaurant describes its gluten-free menu as “wholesome food that makes you feel real good about eating it, and even better after.” For two people in the compliance & ethics field, we

VIDEO: The Bribery Act, The SFO & DPA’s: Talk of Change?

Richard Bistrong

Dec 5, 2016

VIDEO: The Bribery Act, The SFO & DPA’s: Talk of Change?

In this video interview, Barry Vitou (www.thebriberyact.com), Partner, Pinsent Masons, and head of their Global Corporate Crime Team, addresses: His initial interest in global anti-corruption issues. The role and mandate of the SFO and NCA. Differences, as well as similarities, in the structure and enforcement of the FCPA and The Bribery Act. The current regime of DPA’s and incentives. What are the hallmarks of the current program? What’s the discount value of self-disclosur

Gearing Compliance to the Tasks at Hand

Richard Bistrong

Oct 24, 2016

Gearing Compliance to the Tasks at Hand

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Chicago for my first SCCE Compliance and Ethics Institute (CEI), and attended a session “Keeping Compliance Simple,” which was led by Ricardo Pellafone, CEO, The Broadcat (www.thebroadcat.com) and John Partridge of Gibson Dunn. It was an engaging session, and it gave me an opportunity to reflect on their work in the context of some recent corporate engagements. What first caught my attention was when Ricardo started the session by

Due Diligence Questions Chief Compliance Officers Should Ask In A Job Interview

Richard Bistrong

Aug 23, 2016

Due Diligence Questions Chief Compliance Officers Should Ask In A Job Interview

The following guest post is by Maurice Gilbert, Managing Partner of Conselium Executive Search. Earlier this month I posed a question to Chief Compliance Officers around the world: “Since today’s regulatory climate means you may face increased personal liability for corporate wrong-doing, what due diligence questions are you now asking potential employers and Boards before accepting a CCO position?” The results were enlightening. Are today’s CCO candidates concerned? Yes. Ar

A View from the Front-Lines of Compliance in Mexico

Richard Bistrong

Aug 8, 2016

A View from the Front-Lines of Compliance in Mexico

Today, I am pleased to welcome back Patrick Henz as a guest contributor. I welcome Patrick’s perspective, as he shares his real-world approach and experience with respect to anti-corruption compliance in Mexico. The Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (2015) presents Mexico as 95 of a total of 167 countries. In comparison to 2014, this was no change of the perceived corruption level, as the score stayed at 35. If we analyze the index starting in 2002 (36),

Carrots, Corruption & Compliance

Richard Bistrong

Aug 1, 2016

Carrots, Corruption & Compliance

In part one of a two-part interview, Frank Brown, Value Chain and Anti-Corruption Program Team Leader at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), addresses a CIPE paper “Anti-Corruption Compliance, A Guide for Mid-Sized Companies in Emerging Markets.” In this interview, Frank addresses the ‘carrots’ which can help organizations, even in low integrity regions, embrace anti-corruption compliance as their entry into the global supply chain. In this fourteen minute

VW: The Challenge of Whistleblowing

Richard Bistrong

Jul 25, 2016

VW: The Challenge of Whistleblowing

The following guest post is by Wendy Addison. A hand shot up from the lecture hall: ‘I don’t understand’, a young economics undergraduate said, looking perplexed, ‘surely a company’s executives would want to know about unethical practices in the organisation?’ I was lecturing on Corporate Governance at Warwick Business School, and had just introduced the topic of Whistleblowing and Speaking Out to the students. Taking my time in responding, and conscious of holding the tens

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Richard Bistrong

Jul 14, 2016

VIDEO: Hyper-Transparency and Corporate Anti-Corruption

In part one of a two part interview, Alison Taylor, Director of advisory services at BSR, a non-profit consultancy and company network focused on sustainability and CSR, and James Cohen, an expert on anti-corruption, international development, and security sector reform, share their personal views of how recent data leaks have impacted our awareness of global corruption issues, and how that might shape the future of compliance programs. Issues addressed in this seventeen minu

An Organizational Response to Global Compliance Challenges

Richard Bistrong

Jul 11, 2016

An Organizational Response to Global Compliance Challenges

The following is part II of a guest post by Alison Taylor and James Cohen. Part I can be found here. A consensus has emerged as to what an effective anti-corruption compliance program looks like – its components and success factors. At the same time, it has become clear that compliance programs don’t exist in a vacuum; the effectiveness of any process is driven by its surrounding culture. Regulators and compliance teams are drawing inspiration from leading academic thinking o

Global Trends and Business Ethics

Richard Bistrong

Jul 5, 2016

Global Trends and Business Ethics

The following is part one of a two-part guest post by Alison Taylor and James Cohen. 2016 is only half-complete, but it’s already been a pivotal year in ethics and compliance. The Panama Papers and Unaoil data leaks have ushered in a transformed transparency environment. Due diligence approaches have come under particular pressure as it came clear that standard tools and approaches are not fit for purpose. Leading thinkers in compliance have called for Compliance 2.0, a boost

Compliance Meaningfulness: Hard to Achieve, Easy to Destroy

Richard Bistrong

Jun 27, 2016

Compliance Meaningfulness: Hard to Achieve, Easy to Destroy

In an article titled, What Makes Work Meaningful- Or Meaningless by Catherine Bailey and Adrian Madden (MIT Sloan Management Review, Summer 2016), the authors focus upon what makes our work meaningful, with research conducted across multiple industries and responsibilities. While their findings are presented as relevant to the overall workforce, the compliance implications are significant and worthy of discussion. In sum, meaningful work, which can be “highly motivational, l

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