How to Make Sure the Periodic Review Gets DONE

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How to Make Sure the Periodic Review Gets DONE

There’s merit in the old cliché, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Frankly, it makes sense to leave the pieces of your program that are running effectively alone. After all, there’s always something that needs attention, so why bother reviewing things that are doing just fine?

Why? Because of regulators. In the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs guidance, variations of the word “periodic” appear 12 times in 20 pages. In the UK Ministry of Justice’s Guidance on the UK Bribery Act, variations of “periodic” and “review” appear 37 times. Prosecutors expect a periodic review of how your program is operating. Specifically mentioned is a periodic review of:

  • The criteria used in risk assessment

  • The risk assessment process

  • How lessons learned have altered the program

  • How investigations/reports have altered the program

  • How effectively the investigations process is working

Human Nature Gets in the Way

If we know that regulators expect a periodic review of how various pillars of our program are operating, why don’t we do it? Human nature directs our attention to things that aren’t working, rather than spending time memorializing things we decided are fine.

But human nature is a poor defense when sitting across from a prosecutor trying to explain that you did think about whether your risk assessment criteria was good enough, but since it was fine, you didn’t memorialize that conversation with yourself.

Program Review or Periodic Review?

It’s important to note that the review we’re discussing is specific to various program elements as opposed to the program as a whole. Holistic program review (whether internally performed or done by an outside consulting group like Spark Compliance) is very important. In this blog, we’re discussing how to systematize and document an annual review process that will check the adequate procedure boxes and ensure that you’ve got your ducks in a row if the government comes calling.

The 5-Step How-To

Here’s how to get this done…

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How to Create a Post M&A Integration Plan

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How to Create a Post M&A Integration Plan

This is a guest post from Ramsey Kazem, East Coast Vice President at Spark Compliance Consulting

The pre-transaction due diligence has been completed. The terms of the deal have been negotiated. The agreement has been signed. It is time to pop the champagne and celebrate the acquisition of a new entity that will grow your business, increase your market share, and strengthen your competitive advantage. The hard work is over . . . or is it?

The completion of an M&A transaction is certainly cause for celebration, but it does not mark the end of the work – it only signals the beginning of a new phase: Post-Merger & Acquisition Integration. Post-transaction integration is critical to the overall success of a deal – especially from a compliance and ethics perspective. A company must be proactive and strategic in assimilating a newly acquired entity and its employees into its culture and compliance program. Failing to do so can result in confusion, misunderstanding, and costly missteps (or ongoing misconduct) within the business of the newly acquired entity.

Moreover, in its June 2020 guidance, the Department of Justice stressed the importance of post-transaction compliance integration stating:

“A well-designed compliance program should include . . . a process for timely and orderly integration of the acquired entity into existing compliance program structures and internal controls.”

To meet this expectation, companies should implement a process for creating a Post-Transaction Integration Plan (“Integration Plan”) after the acquisition is completed. The following explains how such a process should be structured.

Developing a Post-Transaction Integration Plan

An Integration Plan is…

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Whitepaper Here! Putting Adult Learning Best Practices in Compliance Training!

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Whitepaper Here! Putting Adult Learning Best Practices in Compliance Training!

Compliance training has a bad reputation – one which it has mostly earned. Because of irrelevant scenarios and training that focuses on the legal requirements instead of what the employee needs to know, employees have become turned off and tuned out. There is a better way to give training, and it all starts with understanding adult learning.

We’ve put together a 14-page whitepaper full of practical strategies and easy-to-apply examples to take your training to the next, NEXT level. In it, you’ll discover:

· Five critical assumptions to apply to adult learners

· How to use four different types of learning theories for maximum comprehension

· How to mix in five different types of learning styles to ensure everyone is engaged

· The top eight trends in Compliance training (and how to mix-and-match them)

· Eight ways to measure the effectiveness of compliance training

CLICK HERE to access and download the Whitepaper.

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E&C Exchange on Training with Richard Bistrong (the transcript)

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E&C Exchange on Training with Richard Bistrong (the transcript)

Hi there! I’ve started a brand new expert discussion series called the E&C Exchange! In this inaugural episode, the one and only Richard Bistrong and I talk about all things training. We get into the important details like:

  • The big changes in how training is delivered (possibly forever)

  • The top trends in training - multi-channel/multi-subject anyone?

  • How to go deeper instead of wider - Two steps you can take right now to meet adult learning best practices

  • How to understand proximity bias and the huge challenge it presents to hybrid online/in-person learning

  • Several ways to successfully measure training effectiveness (finally!)

You don't want to miss this! (If you’d prefer to watch the video instead of watching the video, CLICK HERE)

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Kristy Grant-Hart:

Hi, this is Kristy Grant-Hart, and I am so delighted today to be joined by one of my favorite compliance and ethics experts, Mr. Richard Bistrong. Hello, Richard, how are you? It's been far too long.

Richard Bistrong…

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The E&C Exchange on Training with Richard Bistrong

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Hi there! I’ve started a brand new expert discussion series called the E&C Exchange! In this inaugural episode, the one and only Richard Bistrong and I talk about all things training. We get into the important details like:

  • The big changes in how training is delivered (possibly forever)

  • The top trends in training - multi-channel/multi-subject anyone?

  • How to go deeper instead of wider - Two steps you can take right now to meet adult learning best practices

  • How to understand proximity bias and the huge challenge it presents to hybrid online/in-person learning

  • Several ways to successfully measure training effectiveness (finally!)

You don't want to miss this! (If you’d prefer to read the transcript instead of watching the video, CLICK HERE)