Day 2 of 30 Days to Operationalize Your Compliance Program

The Evaluation, most generally, follows the DOJ and Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) seminal Ten Hallmarks of an Effective Compliance Program, released in the 2012 FCPA Guidance. If there is one over-riding theme in the Evaluation, it is the DOJ’s emphasis on operationalizing your compliance program as the questions posed are designed to test how far down your compliance program is incorporated into the very DNA and fabric of your organization. The Evaluation is not simply a restatement of the Ten Hallmarks, as it clearly incorporates the DOJ’s evolution in what constitutes a best practices compliance program over the past 18 months and it certainly builds upon the information put forward in the DOJ’s FCPA Pilot Program regarding effective compliance programs, most particularly found in Prong 3 Remediation.

Three Key Takeaways

1. The Evaluation follows a consistent theme of DOJ pronouncement over the past 18 on to operationalize your compliance program.
2. There is one new area with a focus on root cause analysis and risk assessments.
3. There is a greater consideration of how the CCO is treated and viewed within an organization.