The Failure of Compliance in the Non-Profit World

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The Failure of Compliance in the Non-Profit World

Oxfam.  Save the Children.  Unicef.  What do they all have in common?  A grave failure of compliance and ethics.  Compliance and ethics programs are a rarity in non-profit and non-governmental organization sectors.  Why?  Three things…

1.     The Belief that All of their Employees and Volunteers Live the Mission

It’s hard to blame the managers of a charity for wanting to believe that all of their employees and volunteers live the mission of the organization and operate with the highest levels of integrity.  The people that work in such organizations often volunteer their time or take significantly lower salaries than they would attract in the corporate world.  Surely compliance and ethics are simply part of the culture, so there doesn’t need to be a system around them, right? 

Wrong. 

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Three Ways to Tell if ADVICE is Worth Taking

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Three Ways to Tell if ADVICE is Worth Taking

Have you noticed that nutritional advice seems to change and contradict itself all the time?  Drink coffee, it’s good for you.  Caffeine is terrible- avoid it at all costs.  Eat chocolate.  Don’t eat chocolate.  Drink wine, but only red wine.  Don’t drink alcohol at all.  It’s enough to make you run to the store to buy lettuce (almost). 

People love to give advice, and not just about what to eat.  Well-meaning co-workers, managers and friends rush to tell you what to do in any situation you encounter.  But how do you decide who to listen to?  Here are three ways to determine whether to follow the advice:

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Six Do’s and Don’ts for Due Diligence Questionnaires

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Six Do’s and Don’ts for Due Diligence Questionnaires

“Wait, they want three months of the CEO’s personal bank statements?  Are they insane?”  This was a real request to one of my clients via a due diligence questionnaire.  When I called to inquire with the requesting company why they needed this, they said that they wanted to ensure that the CEO wasn’t receiving “unusual payments” that could be a bribe. 

Due diligence questionnaires are a critical tool for understanding third-parties.  But they can quickly get out of control, putting unreasonable burdens on the answering party, and at worst, invading the privacy of individuals in wholly unnecessary ways. 

How do you balance the legitimate need for information with the reality that no questionnaire can fully protect the company from the possibility that the third-party will misbehave?  Here are three do’s and don’ts when it comes to due diligence questionnaires.

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Speak Now, and Never Hold Your Peace

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Speak Now, and Never Hold Your Peace

How many times have you been in a meeting where the boss asks, “Does anyone have any ideas about how to (insert goal here)?” followed by silence.  Co-workers look at each other, no one wanting to pipe up in case their idea is badly received or laughed at by others.  Finally, the boss looks exasperated and either answers the question herself or calls on someone to answer.  What should you do if you find yourself in this situation?  Speak up, speak first, and speak with authority.

In 2009 a study was conducted at the University of California, Berkley where groups of four men and four women were asked to work together to complete a complex math problem.  No one was assigned the role of leader.  The discussion between the group members was videotaped.  Later, a panel of viewers who did not know the people solving a math problem watched the video and were asked, “Who is the leader of the group?”  Astonishingly, all panelists agreed that the person who spoke first when discussing the math problem was the leader.  Not only that, 94% of the final answers turned in by the groups were originally proposed by the person who spoke first.  

Researchers concluded from this experiment that not only did group members perceive the person who spoke first as the leader, but outside observers watching the interaction perceived the first person to speak as the leader too. 

How do you use this research to improve your leadership? 

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Celebrating Spark Compliance's Two-Year Anniversary!

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Celebrating Spark Compliance's Two-Year Anniversary!

I am absolutely thrilled to say that last week my company Spark Compliance Consulting reached its milestone two-year anniversary!  When I started Spark Compliance on Feb. 1, 2016, I had no idea that we would grow so rapidly and have the opportunity to work with such fantastic multi-national clients. 

We’ve recently opened our Atlanta office, with Ramsey Kazem heading the charge for our Eastern and Southern clients, while Diana Trevley continues to run all of our U.S. operations from Los Angeles.  We feel so lucky to have been working with you and we want to thank you for your support.

We’re also extremely pleased to announce that for the second year running, we’ve been nominated as Compliance Consulting Team of the Year at the International Women in Compliance Awards.  I’ve also been nominated for the inaugural Mentor Award for Advancement of Women in Compliance. Many of our award-nominated clients will be joining us at our table at the black-tie gala will be held March 22 in London. (our press release is HERE).

I couldn't be more grateful for my business or for the compliance community!

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