Control Chatter
November 2021
News that Control Professionals need to know
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Test your Knowledge of Internal Control
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The Internal Control Institute has developed two mini assessments to test your knowledge. A CICS Common Body of Knowledge Mini Assessment that helps an individual determine their knowledge as it relates to organizational governance and control practices. Results point out areas of knowledge that may require additional training and experience. The assessments also provides a measurement to the individual's readiness for CICS certification.
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Start becoming an Internal Control professional today! |
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The ICI "Certification Series" of online courses |
The ICI "Certification Series" has been completely updated and is available online to everyone around the world! Course content prepares individuals to design and/or assess internal control and to assist management in installing internal control processes. In addition, the series prepares candidates for the Certified Internal Control Specialist (CICS) Examination. To review the course catalog click
To register for one or all of the online training programs click here:
Online course pricing has been reduced by over 70%
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Internal Control Chatter
Each month the staff of The Internal Control Institute reviews hundreds of articles related to Internal Control and Corporate Governance. Here are brief summaries of some of the top articles (along with links to the original article) that may be of interest to you.
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The Impact of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on Corporate Boards
By Michael Marquardt
“Tone at the top” now includes ensuring business dealings are ethical and bribe-free.
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The impact of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) on corporations and their boards of directors has been enormous and wide-ranging, and not just on corporations based in the United States. Companies all over the world have modified their business practices to avoid violating the FCPA and becoming ensnared in legal enforcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Department of Justice (DOJ).
An investigation by the SEC in the early 1970s found that more than 400 U.S. corporations admitted to making questionable payments totaling more than $300 million to foreign government officials, foreign political parties or foreign politicians (often running for office). This was not illegal at the time, so the legislature set out to make it illegal. At its core, the FCPA prohibits individuals and entities from bribing foreign government officials anywhere in the world to benefit their own business interests.
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McKinsey affiliate agrees to pay $18 mln to U.S. regulator over compliance failures
reuters.com
November 19, 2021
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday said an affiliate of consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to pay $18 million for compliance failures in handling nonpublic information. McKinsey's affiliate MIO Partners, which handles investments for current and former McKinsey employees, maintained inadequate policies and procedures to prevent partners from misusing material nonpublic information they obtained as consultants to public companies and other clients while they were simultaneously overseeing the MIO's investment decisions, the SEC said in a statement.
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China: New challenges ahead for corporate compliance investigations under China’s new Personal Information Protection Law
globalcompliancenews.com
NOVEMBER 19, 2021
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China has strengthened its commitment to protect personal information by adopting the new Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL 《中华人民共和国个人信息保护法》) which gives data subjects the power to control and determine how, with whom and for what purposes their personal information can be shared, analyzed or handled. Our Firm has previously released a more detailed discussion on the PIPL, which took effect on 1 November 2021. In the context of compliance investigations, typical activities can include accessing and analyzing employees’ personal information. The investigation team may also want to engage external professional assistance or share such information with head offices located outside China. Under the PIPL, these activities require general or specific consent from the data subject, which may not be feasible in light of the sensitive and confidential nature of an investigation.
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Diving deeper into smaller frauds due to COVID-19
By Dave Arman, CPA, CGMA, and Carl Mayes, CPA
journalofaccountancy.com
November 19, 2021
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By looking at the fraud triangle, we would expect that the possibility of fraudulent behavior would increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that management personnel, more so today than prior to the pandemic, likely have more pressure, opportunity, and ability to rationalize fraud, but nonmanagement employees are also experiencing stressors due to the pandemic that may nudge them toward fraud. The opportunities nonmanagement employees have for fraud may be different, but the impacts of any fraud they commit can be just as severe. The importance of an auditor's professional skepticism is heightened in this environment, and that includes having a questioning mind regarding the possibilities of fraud by nonmanagement personnel.
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SEC Announces Enforcement Results For FY2021-Agency Brought Significant Actions In Traditional And Emerging Areas-Whistleblower Program Surpassed $1Billion In Awards
mondovisione.com
November 18, 2021
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The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it filed 434 new enforcement actions in fiscal year 2021, representing a 7 percent increase over the prior year. Seventy percent of these new or "stand-alone" actions involved at least one individual defendant or respondent. The new actions spanned the entire securities waterfront, including against emerging threats in the crypto and SPAC spaces. For example, the SEC charged a company for operating an unregistered online digital asset exchange, charged a crypto lending platform and top executives alleging a $2 billion fraud, and brought an action against a special purpose acquisition company, its merger target, top executives, and others for alleged misconduct in a SPAC transaction. The SEC’s whistleblower program was critical to these efforts and had a record-breaking year.
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4 Hard Truths About Ethics and Compliance Training
gallup.com
NOVEMBER 10, 2021
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Most employees receive some kind of ethics and compliance training at work. Many of these training sessions are mandatory for legal reasons. Others, like those regarding workplace ethics, go beyond mere compliance to address the standards of behavior that an organization wants to uphold. The problem is that much of compliance training is uninspiring and ultimately ineffective at educating and changing employee behavior. Gallup data suggest that simply "checking the box" on compliance training for employees doesn't work. If corporate leaders want to get ethics and compliance initiatives right, they need to take a serious look at the effectiveness of their training. Here are a few hard truths Gallup has discovered about the effectiveness of compliance training.
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Compliance Under Pressure
By Sepideh Rowland, CAFP
bankingjournal.aba.com
November 15, 2021
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Compliance processes at financial institutions of all sizes are complex, and they consume seemingly ever-expanding amounts of time, money, and human resources. Yet compliance processes are essential to preventing financial crimes. With the pressures of managing financial crimes risk steadily increasing, institutions large and small must implement and maintain effective internal controls to remain compliant. In the past, these pressures largely stemmed from ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. Today, with financial institutions shifting to remote work, consumer expectations changing, and digital payments reducing in-person transactions, there are also new internal challenges, and stresses keep mounting. To prevent compliance failures, institutions need to understand the pressures they and their compliance teams are facing and take steps to cope with them. Not taking action to mitigate stress in a financial institution’s daily operations can have serious consequences—not just in the engagement and productivity of staff, but also in the effectiveness of the compliance program.
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The SEC Joins DOJ's War on Corporate Offenders
natlawreview.com
November 9, 2021
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Last week we wrote about the three-pronged attack that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will use to get more aggressive in prosecuting cases and how they punish corporate offenders. Now, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced its own intention to conduct faster investigations, bring bigger cases, and to seek harsher penalties. In his first speech on enforcement, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler quoted the agency’s first Chair, Joseph Kennedy, to summarize his own agenda: “The Commission will make war without quarter on any who sell securities by fraud or misrepresentation.”
Chairman Gensler announced four principles that he’s asking that the Enforcement Division utilize to guide their investigations and recommendations to the Commission.
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HELP US IMPROVE INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE:
The Internal Control Institute™ (ICI) improves organizational Internal Control worldwide by providing training, products and services and individual Professional Certifications
recognized internationally. The Institute's Board of Advisors has determined it would like to further expand into areas where it is not directly represented. ICI provides world-class
programs and its intellectual property to affiliates free of charge and shares all program
revenue with them. If your organization is interested in partnering with ICI to earn revenue while you contribute to the development of the internal control profession worldwide please contact Dr. Michael Pregmon, Jr., Chief Operations Officer, by email at mpregmon@internalcontrolinstitute.org or by phone at 727-538-4113 in the USA.
Below is a list of WorldWide Affiliates currently serving the profession. If your area is not represented please consider partnering with ICI
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2021 Certification Training Program & Exams
ICI and affiliates around the world have a busy training program scheduled for 2021. For more details on the CICS Training programs on offer visit the Events page on our website by clicking on the link below.
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ICI World Wide Affiliates
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Contact: Mr Aminur Rahman
Email: info@aaa-associate.com
Tel: +88 01749 400600
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Contact: Soulémane BABA DAMAGUI
Email: sbabadamagui@gmail.com
Tel: +0022997492600
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Contact: Mr Humphrey Chawafambira
Email: humphrey@internalcontrolinstitute.co.bw
Tel: +267 75618647
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Contact: Mr Eduardo Person Pardini
Email: eduardo@crossoverbrazil.com
Tel: +55 11 2599 8360
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Contact: Mr Eric Kamegne
Email: eric.kamegne@ipeonline.net
Tel: +237 658 292 978
Our first CICS session in April is online only
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Contact: Mr Qiu Jianting
Email: cert@neikong.com
Tel: 400-098-1119 or 010 68004176
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Contact: Mr. Yves Dupont
Email: info@icib.org
Tel: 0032 2 305 35 25
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Contact: Mr Summit Goyal
Email: info@bncglobal.in
Tel: +91 9810 575 613
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Contact: Mr Nereo Guzman Mendoza
Email: nguzman@buinesssolutionvalley.com
Tel: +52 811 181 3514
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Contact: Mr Belal Abdul Jabbar
Email: b.ajabbar@osooltc.com
Tel: +962 6 5927171
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Contact: Mr Sanjeev Gathani
Email: sanjeev@bbg-apac.com
Tel: +65 9655 4633
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Contact: Mr Joel Aluko
Email: tunjialuko5@yahoo.com
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Contact: Mr Muhammad Farooq Hammodi
Email: nardac_k@yahoo.com
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Contact: Mr Cosmin Serbanescu
Email: contact@incir.ro
Tel: +40 752 525 525
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Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia & Taiwan China |
Contact: Mr Bob Seetoh
Email: bobseetoh@theglobalgrc.com
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Contact: Ms Sedie Jane Masite
Email: sediem52@gmail.com or info@ciagol.com
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Contact: Ms Nadia Yaich
Email: nadia.yaich@bfc.com.tn
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Contact: Ms Ilknur Tunc
Email: ilknur.tunc@iciturkey.org
Tel: +90 312 442 50 15
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Contact: Mr Jesus Salazar Ras
Email: salazarras1970@gmail.com
Tel: +58 426 737 8096 or + 58 416 291 3788
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Contact: Mr Nguyen Thanh Tung
Email: info@fmit.vn
Tel: 848 3803 5020
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Contact: Dr Proctor Nyemba
Email: admin@internalcontrolinstitute.co.zw
Tel: +263 4 443124
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Control Quotes:
I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?
Yogi Berra
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The Internal Control Institute™ (ICI) is a worldwide organization devoted exclusively to internal control and corporate governance. The Institute is dedicated to the development of world-class educational programs and best practice guidelines on internal control and corporate governance, based on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the COSO internal control framework.
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