Explore every episode of the podcast Innovation in Compliance with Tom Fox

Innovation comes in many areas and compliance professionals need to not only be ready for it but embrace it. Join Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance as he visits with top innovative minds, thinkers and creators in the award-winning Innovation in Compliance podcast. In this episode, Tom welcomes Greg Shultz, the founder of Conformitise, to take a deep dive into his journey in operationalizing compliance in some of the world’s largest companies. Shultz also advises into the essential skills required for a thriving career in compliance. Emphasizing the importance of active listening, Shultz shares the significance of listening again before advising, to foster a collaborative partnership with business teams. Forming personal connections is highlighted, particularly through face-to-face interactions with investment teams, which helps in understanding different personas and building strong relationships over time. Our discussion also touches on the evolving role of data analytics in the compliance field, stressing its criticality in managing global data and mitigating risk in today's super funds landscape. This episode is a must-listen for anyone aiming to step into or advance within the compliance profession. Key Highlights ·      Introduction to Compliance Professional Skills ·      The Importance of Listening and Advising ·      Building Strong Relationships ·      The Role of Data Analytics in Compliance Resources Greg Shultz on LinkedIn Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn

Innovation comes in many areas and compliance professionals need to not only be ready for it but embrace it. Join Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, as he visits with top innovative minds, thinkers, and creators in the award-winning Innovation in Compliance podcast. In this episode, Tom welcomes back, Travis Howerton, a co-founder of RegScale, the sponsor for this episode, to take a deep dive into automating compliance solutions for the digital transformation of compliance. Howerton advocates for the integration of automation in compliance to keep pace with rapid technological advancements, thereby maintaining competitiveness and efficiency. Through digitizing regulations by using the latest standards and forming strategic partnerships, Howerton and RegScale are transforming traditional compliance from a manual, burdensome task into an automated, streamlined process, thereby redefining the role of compliance professionals as key contributors to secure and innovative operations. We discuss the three pillars of cybersecurity: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. While much focus is placed on safeguarding confidentiality to protect sensitive information, the speaker highlights that integrity issues pose a significant threat, particularly in sensitive industries like healthcare and critical infrastructure. Compromised integrity can lead to dire physical consequences, making it the most concerning aspect of cybersecurity. Key Highlights: Introduction to Cybersecurity’s Three-Legged Stool Focus on Confidentiality in Cybersecurity The Critical Importance of Data Integrity Real-World Implications of Integrity Issues The Sleepless Nights of a Cybersecurity Analyst Resources: Travis Howerton on LinkedIn RegScale Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn

Innovation comes in many forms, and compliance professionals need to not only be ready for it but also embrace it. In this episode, Tom Fox visits with Arthur Mueller, a thought leader in compliance and financial crime prevention. We take a deep dive into the topic of financial crime prevention and the use of generative AI in this edition of Innovation in Compliance. Arthur Mueller has over 20 years of experience in anti-financial crime programs across various institutions. He explains his current role at WorkFusion, where he leverages AI and machine learning to enhance compliance programs. The discussion encompasses the evolution of AML practices, the role of digital workers like Tara in automating routine tasks, and the benefits of AI in improving risk management, efficiency, and worker satisfaction in financial services. Arthur provides real-life examples of how AI can help mitigate risks, streamline operations, and enhance employee productivity and retention. Key Highlights Evolution of AML and Financial Crime Programs WorkFusion's Role in Financial Crime Prevention Digital Workers and AI in Compliance Adverse Media Screening and Automation Introducing Tara: The Digital Payment Screening Analyst The Future of AI in Financial Crime Compliance Resources: Arthur Mueller on  LinkedIn WorkFusion Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn

Welcome to a special 5-part podcast series, sponsored by Diligent. Over this series we will consider a risk-based approach toe third-party risk management. Over this series I will visit with Michael Parker is the Director of Advisory and Consulting Services, Stephanie Font, Director of the Optimizations Group; Kairi Isse, Managed Services Group Manager; Adam Bailey, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Alexander Cotoia, from the Volkov Law Group. In this Part 4, I visit with Adam Bailey, to look at the role of the Board in risk, audit, compliance, and ESG and the reporting from executive teams and GRC practitioners to take risks and seize chances.   Bailey has worked to help organizations better manage their risk by providing insight and clarity to boards of directors. He strived to enable executive teams and GRC practitioners to assess and manage strategic risks, ultimately connecting boards, practitioners and executives together to innovate and drive growth. With the complexity of third-party relationships continuing to grow, companies need to adopt a continual improvement approach to contend with unforeseen risks. A corporate compliance function is not just something nice to have but a must and a Board needs clear and relevant data to make the best decisions. Organizations need to use the necessary tools to ensure that Boards had the visibility to manage their third parties and make informed decisions. Key Highlights 1. A compliance function must support leaders through it reporting work.  2. Companies can effectively manage third-party risk with a risk-based approach and robust processes.  3. Connecting Board, senior executives, and practitioners together to enable organizations to take risks and innovate is critical. Notable Quotes  1.     "The key to this effective risk management is truly the follow up, the ongoing follow up to ensure that all the controls are in place and if needed, are changed."  2.     "Continuous blanket monitoring of all third parties with every risk asset you can think of is just not feasible and probably wouldn't deliver the outcomes that we need."  3.     "We know that change is constant, regulators are looking for risk management policies and practices which continually improve and evolve over time."  4.     "We need robust processes and systems in place to make sure that when you create your third-party profile, it's screened against sanctions lists, embargo watch lists, et cetera, to provide the rich data that's there."  Resources Adam Bailey on LinkedIn Check out Diligent’s 3rd party products and services here.

Welcome to a special 5-part podcast series, sponsored by Diligent. Over this series we will consider a risk-based approach toe third-party risk management. Over this series I will visit with Michael Parker is the Director of Advisory and Consulting Services, Stephanie Font, Director of the Optimizations Group; Kairi Isse, Managed Services Group Manager; Adam Bailey, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Alexander Cotoia, from the Volkov Law Group. In this Part 3, I visit with Kairi Isse, on the implementation of your third-party risk management program after the contract is executed.  Learning about the risk posed by  third-party vendors to a company's compliance program can be an eye-opening experience. However through the use of an AI-based ongoing monitoring search tool with customizable features, auditable trails, for third-party risk management; an organization can ensure that their compliance programs are effective and reduce their risks of fines and reputational damage in the implementation stage after contract is executed.  Key Highlights  ·      How can modern companies effectively manage third party risk and protect their reputation?  ·      What are the best ways to monitor third parties in a stable vendor ecosystem?  ·      How can AI and machine learning make third party management more efficient and effective? Notable Quotes  1.     "The key to this effective risk management is truly the follow up, the ongoing follow up to ensure that all the controls are in place and if needed, are changed."  2.     "The key to effective risk management is the ongoing follow up to ensure all the controls are in place and if needed, are changed." 3.     "It's not the most data, it's the right data." 4.     "Everything is audited in there; there's audits for the third-party profiles, there are audits for each of the cases."  Resources Kairi Isse on LinkedIn Check out Diligent’s 3rd party products and services here.

Welcome to a special 5-part podcast series, sponsored by Diligent. Over this series we will consider a risk-based approach toe third-party risk management. Over this series I will visit with Michael Parker is the Director of Advisory and Consulting Services, Stephanie Font, Director of the Optimizations Group; Kairi Isse, Managed Services Group Manager; Adam Bailey, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Alexander Cotoia, Associate at the Volkov Law Group. In this Part 2, I visit with Stephanie Font, on the need for evaluation of potential third-party through questionnaires and determination of the necessary due diligence investigations to comply with regulations, while navigating using questionnaires to uncover the truth.   What is the importance of understanding regulations and risk factors when creating questionnaires to help with due diligence. Through understanding the risk model and what specific regulations the company needs to comply with, creating effective questionnaires to help with due diligence can become easier. Stephanie also found out that having a due diligence risk management system can automate some of the process and help flag any potential risk factors. With the help of questionnaires and due diligence, Stephanie was able to learn how to effectively document and investigate potential third parties. Key Highlights How questionnaires can be used to comply with regulations and inform a risk model.  How due diligence investigations can help to uncover risk factors in a potential third party.  How a third-party risk management system can automate parts of the process.  Notable Quotes  1.     "Knowing what you're trying to comply with and thinking of those questions that are going to get you there is probably the top thing." 2.     "Don't lose your common sense and listen if your gut tells you something's wrong."  3.     "Documentation is key to create an internal audit trail and have something to show to regulators."   4.     "Know your own risk model and build the risk model into the system to flag any potential risk factors."  Resources Stephanie Font on LinkedIn Check out Diligent’s 3rd party products and services here.

Is your company's data fit for purpose? In this episode of the Innovation in Compliance podcast, host Tom Fox welcomes Malcolm Hawker of Profisee, a company that creates MDM software, to discuss the importance of data quality, master data management (MDM), and data governance. They also explore how proper data management can drive exceptional results, reduce costs, and ensure compliance.  Malcolm Hawker is a seasoned data management and governance professional with over 30 years of experience. Malcolm spent 15 years in product leadership, including a stint as Chief Product Officer at a software startup in Austin, Texas. He also led an IT organization at a $2 billion publicly traded company. Malcolm has since specialized in data management, master data management, and governance, working as an analyst for Gartner before joining Profisee as the Head of Data Strategy. Malcolm's passion is helping organizations leverage data to drive results. You’ll hear Tom and Malcolm talk about these ideas: Data must be accurate, complete, timely, and unique to be fit for purpose within an organization's business processes. Master data management (MDM) solves the "single version of the truth" problem, helping organizations maintain consistent and trustworthy data across various systems and departments. Effective data governance involves creating and implementing policies and procedures related to data management to optimize value, reduce costs, and ensure compliance. High-level, cross-functional, and functional levels all require tailored governance strategies. A CDO should define how data governance drives the three levers of revenue, cost savings, and risk mitigation within an organization. Corporate governance is typically the focus of boards of directors, while data governance is more of a functional or operating level concern. Data privacy plays a significant role within data governance and must be addressed with robust policies and procedures. Data governance can contribute to ESG initiatives, with one example being the reduction of carbon footprint through better data management and retention policies. No matter where technology trends lead, the foundation of accurate, consistent, trustworthy, and fit-for-purpose data remains essential for successful decision making and operations. "Modern younger business leaders are turning to LinkedIn, they're turning to YouTube, they're turning to podcasts for these types of insights [about business]. I need to be where the business leaders are." Malcolm shares best practices from a data management, data quality, and MDM perspective through his CDO Matters LIVE podcast. Malcolm's experience at AOL during its rapid growth period on his approach to innovation. KEY QUOTES "Data quality is all about making sure that you have data that is fit for purpose, that can be used efficiently in operations within the business, can be accurate and consistent, and trustworthy within the analytics, the reports that are used by that organization.." - Malcolm Hawker "My point here is that from a governance perspective, …the foundation of data quality, master data management - all the things that go into creating accurate, consistent, trustworthy, fit for purpose data - those things never go away." - Malcolm Hawker "Modern younger business leaders are turning to LinkedIn, they're turning to YouTube, they're turning to podcasts for these types of insights. I need to be where the business leaders are." - Malcolm Hawker Resources: Malcolm Hawker on LinkedIn  CDO Matters LIVE Podcast Profisee

Welcome to a special 5-part podcast series, sponsored by Diligent. Over this series we will consider a risk-based approach toe third-party risk management. Over this series I will visit with Michael Parker is the Director of Advisory and Consulting Services, Stephanie Font, Due Diligence Service expert; Kairi Isse, Managed Services Group Manager; Adam Bailey, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Alexander Cotoia, from the Volkov Law Group. In this Part 1, I visit with Michael Parker on the need for risk mitigation to bring a third-party into a relationship with your organization. Parker has worked in the compliance arena for six years, learning from his experience in government and tech. For a compliance program to be successful, executive leadership and there must be Board of Director buy-in for oversight as well. The goal of a third-party risk management platform is to protect the assets of the business and create a single source of truth. Through such a mechanism, third parties can be can screened for anti-bribery, anti-corruption, human trafficking, and much more. The Board needs visibility in order to make decisions and an audit log to show activity and diligence if ever needed. It is critical for all compliance function to stay up to date with regulations and keeping their third party platform consistently updated. Key Highlights How can a risk-based approach, coupled with a single source of truth and robust platform, help protect business assets and comply with changing regulations? What is the German Supply Chain Act and how can companies ensure compliance related to human trafficking and human slavery? How can companies use visual analytics to gain insights into their risk-based approach, and show evidence of due diligence in the face of an audit? Notable Quotes "Companies don't do bad things, people do. And as people do, the regulatory landscape changes and it can change quickly. So keeping up with those changes is critical to protecting your assets and mitigating risk." "We need to increase our defensibility and increase our auditability if somebody comes knocking, we can show and illustrate that we have done our due diligence to mitigate any sort of risk of doing business with this third party." "Companies don't do bad things, people do." "Put a platform in place that is robust lends itself to a number of different benefits."  Resources Michael Parker on LinkedIn Check out Diligent’s 3rd party products and services here.

Legal GRC focuses on the various activities and responsibilities that people who report to legal must carry out, such as data privacy and breach response. In this week’s show, Tom Fox reconnects with Bill Piwonka, Chief Marketing Officer of Exterro, to discuss compliance with data privacy. They discuss the concept of legal GRC, which is a subcategory of the larger umbrella of GRC. They also explore how Exterro's legal GRC software can help companies manage their data effectively and efficiently while ensuring compliance. Prior to Bill Piwonka’s current position at Exterro, he had extensive experience running marketing teams for typically small software companies, helping build them as they grew. His knowledge of both startups and large multinational global organizations, including Intel and Oracle, has given him a unique perspective on the dynamics of different companies. As an expert in compliance and data privacy, Bill's insights and expertise are invaluable to organizations seeking to improve their compliance programs. Key ideas you’ll hear Tom and Bill discuss: Legal GRC is a subcategory of the larger umbrella of GRC that focuses on the various activities and responsibilities that people who report to legal must carry out, such as data privacy and breach response. Understanding where your data is, who owns it, and what regulations apply to it is crucial to effective data management and compliance. Data governance, data security, and data cleansing are key components of ESG, particularly in the G part, and the management of data is a mandatory step under ESG. Having a data inventory and understanding what regulations apply to that data from a retention perspective and disposition is essential to minimizing risk and ensuring compliance with various regulations. The key to minimizing risk and ensuring compliance is to have the processes and technology that enable you to constantly push the deletion button, in accordance with your retention policy. Extero has broad capabilities in eDiscovery, privacy forensic investigation, incident response, and cybersecurity compliance. Its clients include a wide range of professionals, such as IT, legal ops, GC, compliance, privacy, and HR. Regulatory obligations around data security and document turnover are a significant concern for organizations, and Extero's eDiscovery product can help clients comply with government agencies' requirements and store relevant information in their ESI vault. Extero's consent product can help organizations with obtaining and revoking consent across any medium and demonstrate their compliance. Legal departments are now recognizing the need for people, process, and technology to address issues that are now being enforced, especially on the privacy side. Process orchestration gives legal departments the ability to manage, measure, and optimize their processes and ensure defensibility. Extero's marketing strategy is to provide high-quality educational content for the people who would ultimately use their products, such as benchmark surveys, case law alerts, and privacy alerts.  KEY QUOTES "Legal has to be involved in all the different GRC activities." - Bill Piwonka "You have to have the guts to push the deletion button. When you have the processes and the technology that enable you to constantly push that button, you're going to minimize your risk and you're going to ensure compliance across a whole swath of regulations." - Bill Piwonka "If I can help somebody understand how to optimize a data subject access request process or how to conduct a document review more efficiently, and help them do their jobs more effectively - and I do that for five years - they are more productive, they're more efficient, and they like the content that we're creating." - Bill Piwonka Resources: Bill Piwonka on LinkedIn | Twitter   Exterro

"Most successful executives are well aware of meditation and the secret power of it, and that it has a competitive advantage because it can change the way they're thinking, access more levels of creativity and intuition," says Kara Goodwin, a meditation expert and Tom Fox’s guest on the latest episode of Innovation In Compliance. Kara and Tom discuss the transformative power of meditation, the benefits it offers to individuals and companies, and how it can help people find balance and purpose in their lives. She also talks about how meditation can change your brain, reduce anxiety and depression, and unlock your creativity and intuition. Kara Goodwin is a certified meditation teacher, and the host of The Meditation Conversation Podcast. With a corporate background in IT and sales, Kara's journey into meditation began when she moved to Italy and discovered the transformative power of this practice. Since then, she has been helping people develop their meditation practice through coaching, retreats, and online courses. Through her work, she seeks to help individuals and organizations find balance, purpose, and fulfillment in their personal and professional lives.  You’ll hear Kara and Tom discuss: Meditation means something different to every person, but to Kara it's existing in a state that's beyond - beyond thoughts, beyond the body, beyond time, and beyond space. Meditation is getting to a state of higher consciousness, where the cycle of daily thoughts does not exist.  Developing a meditation practice changes the brain and the nervous system. It can also translate to a person's state outside of meditation, where they can have a higher perspective on things. It allows them to slow down and not get caught up in the minutiae of the day.  Being able to tell when you're off balance is simply taking mental stock of yourself. "It's just what's showing up for you in your world… It's becoming aware of how we feel and really even having a perspective that has a distance between what we feel and noticing what we feel," Kara says. You can't solve problems when you're operating in the same mindset they were created in. "When we're in problem-oriented consciousness, we're not necessarily going to find the solution for that problem in the same level of consciousness where the problem is," Kara remarks. "It's by raising ourselves into a higher level of consciousness that we can have access to more creative solutions, more holistic solutions, more win scenarios."  Meditation is becoming an important component of mental health for businesses and companies. Kara uses the example of the NFL using meditation tactics to keep themselves calm in the high-stress environment they deal with. In addition, employers caring for their employees can also do more to create better working conditions. Caring for their employees in more holistic ways and seeing them as fully formed human beings, will impact the quality of their work.  Meditation helps nurture whole-brain thinking. Nurturing whole brain thinking and allowing yourself space allows for higher consciousness, which promotes productivity and activity.  KEY QUOTE "When we're in problem-oriented consciousness, we're not necessarily going to find the solution for that problem in the same level of consciousness where the problem is." -  Kara Goodwin  “[Meditation] is really getting into that state of a higher mind where we're not so focused on the little ins and outs and details of the day and the cycles of our thoughts.” - Kara Goodwin "Most successful executives are well aware of meditation and the secret power of it, and that it has a competitive advantage because it can change the way they're thinking, access more levels of creativity and intuition." - Kara Goodwin Resources Kara Goodwin | Twitter | Instagram  The Meditation Conversation Podcast

In this insightful episode of the Innovation In Compliance podcast, Tom Fox welcomes Zachary Coseglia, the founder of the Ropes & Gray Insights Lab, to talk about the creation of the unique consultancy within the law firm. Zach dives into the challenges of building a team with diverse skill sets and backgrounds for a new function like the Insights Lab. He shares the value of data analytics for compliance, and how it can be used to improve investigations and understand patterns of behavior across the organization. Zach also highlights the complexities of working in-house, including managing relationships and understanding organizational intricacies.  With over a decade of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare, and life sciences, Zach Coseglia built a strong background in investigations, compliance analytics, and digital compliance. During his time as head of investigations in Asia Pacific for Pfizer, he came up with the idea to create an analytics and behavioral science consultancy within a law firm, which led to the birth of the Insights Lab. Key takeaways from the episode include: Building an analytics consultancy within a law firm or compliance department requires investment in technology and human capital. Zach brought together people with diverse skill sets, backgrounds, and experiences to build a team that reflects the needs of the consultancy being created. He combined subject matter expertise of compliance and data analytics to build the team for the Insights Lab. Zach believes that to build a successful analytics consultancy within compliance, it's important to bring in people who have done this work in other industries. He stresses that they can bring unique perspectives and experiences that can drive innovation and progress within the organization. The potential of data analytics to promote a better, stronger compliance program through identifying trends, patterns of behavior, and driving efficiencies. Zach reflects on his experience working in-house and highlights the challenges of managing relationships and understanding organizational intricacies. He stresses the importance of effective relationship building and an intentional and strategic approach to building new capabilities or functions within an organization. Compliance is a deeply human discipline that involves shaping human behavior through policies, procedures, training, and programs. Behavioral science, cultural psychology, and behavioral economics play a critical role in compliance and ethics work. Compliance programs that only focus on rules are short-sighted. Human-centered design is a powerful approach to building effective compliance programs that engage with people and amplify their voices. KEY QUOTES: "I think that there's a huge opportunity for us to embrace behavioral science, to embrace a more scientific point of view, to embrace the world of data in ways that actually advance our profession." - Zach Coseglia “With all of the data we had available to us, we have this opportunity to understand human behavior in ways that go beyond just the rules.” - Zach Coseglia “I have felt for a long time that compliance is being treated - has been treated - as this exclusively legal, regulatory, enforcement-related exercise oftentimes led by lawyers, when in fact, compliance is a deeply human discipline.” - Zach Coseglia Resources: Zach Coseglia at R&G Insights Lab | LinkedIn  Ropes & Gray Insights Lab | Podcast: There Has to Be a Better Way?

Jag Lamba and Jared Ezzell from Certa, join Tom Fox on the Innovation In Compliance podcast to explore the essential elements of a thriving third-party risk management program. They emphasize the significance of minimizing reliance on third-party self-disclosures by utilizing technology and data. They also highlight the importance of integrating due diligence, training, and ongoing monitoring to create a comprehensive approach to risk management. The conversation extends to payment controls, charitable donations, and the integration of the program into the overall third-party risk management lifecycle.  Jag is the founder and CEO of Certa. Jared Ezzell is the Chief Customer Officer. Certa is a third-party lifecycle management platform for procurement, compliance, and ESG. Their no-code platform provides an easy and efficient way to digitize and manage the lifecycle of all suppliers, partners, and customers. Certa's automated onboarding, contract lifecycle management, and ESG management eliminate the procurement bottleneck, allowing companies to onboard third parties three times faster. With their cutting-edge technology, Certa is transforming the way businesses manage their third-party relationships, ensuring compliance and sustainability at every step. Here are some key points Tom, Jag, and Jared talk about: Jared talks about his professional background and his role at the company Certa, their products, and their customers.  The hallmark of an effective anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance program is the concept of risk assessment. Jared discusses the nine elements developed by Certa for an effective compliance program. The three dimensions of a complete solution for compliance risk management are full spectrum risk management, the full life cycle of the third party, and the full spectrum of third parties. A successful technology transformation project should be a modular rollout, with a focus on solving the highest pain point within three months and continuously phasing the rollout to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Jag and Jared clarify that while the company doesn't play the role of creating the documentation, they provide input and help evidence the client's defensible positioning in support of the client's policies. Jag tells Tom that the ongoing monitoring of third-party relationships requires companies to have data sources and processes in place, have a controls framework to act on information, and automate controls to handle egregious alerts. KEY QUOTE: “The ability to systematically enforce payment controls is a key common practice in successful third-party risk management." - Jared Ezzell Resources: Jag Lamba on LinkedIn | Twitter  Jared Ezzell on LinkedIn  Certa

Tom Fox’s guest in this episode of Innovation In compliance is Adrienne Bellehumeur. They discuss the significance of gap analysis in the design of internal controls, and why having a thorough understanding of design is critical to the success of gap analysis. They emphasize the importance of continuous improvement and avoiding a "pass-fail" approach to internal control programs. Adrienne also shares her five principles for creating high-value compliance programs. Adrienne Bellehumeur is the Director and Co-owner of Risk Oversight, a firm specializing in internal controls, internal audit, and compliance programs. She has written a book called The 24-Hour Rule and Other Secrets for Smarter Organizations: Including the 6 Steps of Dynamic Documentation, which is set to be published on March 7th and is geared towards managers who are seeking solutions through documentation. This book aims to provide a fun and foundational approach to documentation for the modern knowledge workforce and is the first mass-market book on documentation best practices. Some of the key points discussed during the show include: Adrienne's background and current role at her company, Risk Oversight, which specializes in delivering services to mid-sized oil and gas companies in the engineering sectors. The purpose of gap analysis is to identify areas for improvement in processes and controls to support operational effectiveness. Adrienne's belief that internal controls should focus on good habits, accountability, and continuous improvement rather than just ticking boxes. How Risk Oversight helps companies fulfill their obligation of oversight by providing entity-level control review and understanding best practices in governance. The two best practices for board minutes, the "Goldilocks principle" and the "business judgment rule." The Caremark doctrine in Delaware and the importance of documentation of major risk management decisions. Adrienne's book The 24-Hour Rule, which is a mass-market book on documentation aimed at managers looking to solve problems through documentation and is applicable to various industries. KEY QUOTATION: “Risk management is about action.” – Adrienne Bellehumeur  Resources  Adrienne Bellehumeur | LinkedIn | Twitter  Risk Oversight |  The 24-Hour Rule and Other Secrets for Smarter Organizations: Including the 6 Steps of Dynamic Documentation

Innovation comes in many forms, and compliance professionals need to not only be ready for it but also embrace it. In this episode, Tom Fox visits with Lisa Levy,  a thought leader renowned for her expertise in addressing succession planning challenges. We take a deep dive into this topic on this edition of Innovation in Compliance. Lisa believes that succession planning in 2024 is more important than ever due to the complexities introduced by having five generations in the workforce, each with diverse expectations and work ethics. Lisa advocates for embedding succession planning into company culture as a strategic, intentional exercise that involves understanding employees' skills, aspirations, and institutional knowledge to nurture and grow talent internally. She champions the use of technology, such as AI tools, to personalize growth plans and emphasizes the need for continuous evaluation, transparency, and communication to implement a successful succession planning framework, ensuring organizational resilience and smooth leadership transitions. We discuss how the younger generations, including millennials and Gen Z, have shifted the employment paradigm by seeking roles that align with their values. Lisa reflects on their own journey of becoming 'wholly unemployable' over 15 years and highlights how Gen Z entered the workforce during the pandemic, taking on gigs like Uber and DoorDash as traditional roles were shut down. This generational shift shows a move towards prioritizing personal fulfillment over conventional job security. Key Highlights: Lisa Levy on her Unemployable Journey Millennials and Value-Driven Careers The Paradigm Shift in Employment Gen Z's Workforce Entry During the Pandemic Resources: Lisa Levy on  LinkedIn  The Preferred Disruption and Innovation Catalyst Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter

What are some of the challenges facing board members in providing meaningful oversight? Christina Bresani, head of William Blair’s Corporate Advisory Team, is here to share her take. Host Tom Fox and Christina are going to delve into the current state of the corporate world, touching on the challenges faced by boards of directors. They'll also discuss the increase of unsolicited offers and the importance of being prepared for them. This is a thought-provoking conversation that will shed light on the current landscape of the corporate world. Christina Bresani is a seasoned investment banker with over 25 years of experience. She joined UBS right after graduation from Wellesley College where she studied economics and Spanish. After 20 years at UBS, she joined William Blair and currently leads the Corporate Advisory Team, a team that focuses on advising public companies on all things mergers and acquisitions. Key points you’ll hear them discuss: Christina tells Tom, “About 85% of the transactions that we're seeing right now start with an unsolicited proposal.” They are advising clients on being prepared for unsolicited proposals and valuations in an uncertain market. How William Blair works with clients to optimize their portfolio and their process for evaluating selling or spinning off businesses. ESG is a focus area for boards. It’s now considered a "must-have" and not a "nice-to-have". Boards and management teams focus on ESG as a day-to-day part of their decision-making process. Christina is happy to see companies take a more holistic oversight around ESG at the board level. There has been an increase in shareholder activism and companies are worried about it and seeking help in preparing for it. “Ultimately, what companies need to be thinking about is how to create shareholder value,” Christina tells listeners. This is what should be top of mind for boards going forward, she remarks. KEY QUOTE: “There are always intertwined relationships between boards and companies, and the real goal is to get all the brains together in a room to figure out if a deal makes sense for both sets of shareholders.” - Christina Bersani Resources Christina Bresani on LinkedIn William Blair

This week’s guests are Evgeny Likhoded, CEO and founder, and Vladimir Ershov, Head of Data Science, of Clausematch. They join Tom Fox to talk about a groundbreaking new innovation, the Digital Knowledge Graph in open source. Learn how this game-changer is revolutionizing the way compliance is managed and what it means for industries, companies, and governments around the world. Evgeny Likhoded is the CEO and founder of Clausematch, a global compliance and regulatory technology company. He started Clausematch to digitize and structure regulation and help regulators to innovate in the space. Jay has worked to solve a common problem in compliance - managing compliance documents and compliance content. He has brought all of the workflow and content management under one platform to provide compliance professionals a way to collaborate on content in real time. Vladimir Ershov is the head of Data Science at Clausematch. He has been working in the field of data science for four years and previously worked at Apple. Vladimir is passionate about semantic linkage for law documents and was excited to join Clausematch four years ago to continue his work in this field. You’ll hear them discuss: The process of developing the Clausematch Knowledge Graph took a year with involvement from multiple teams and experts in the regulatory field.The process included discussions with regulatory experts, data preparation, model training and evaluation, and integration with Clausematch's tools. The key idea behind Clausematch was to capture data in a structured form from the start, allowing for more to be done with the data. Clausematch was pitched to several financial services regulators, including FCA and ADGM, as a platform for tagging regulation text through expert work and machine learning models. The open source Knowledge Graph generated by Clausematch can be used by other companies and regulators to automatically analyze regulations. The structured regulations can also be applied to a financial institution's internal compliance documents to identify gaps and contradictions in their policies. The Knowledge Graph helps digitize the meaning of regulations.  The models can be used to look for patterns in regulations and to show regulators if internal policies are compliant with regulatory rules. The ultimate goal is a world where every regulation is structured and consumable via API. The release of the Knowledge Graph in open source will help reach the goal faster. Knowledge Graph technology is relevant to compliance technology. Historically, compliance solutions have been focused on formalizing rules and processes into a framework through manual means. Knowledge Graph technology automates the process of structuring data and extracts entities and obligations to form the framework. Neural network models or reinforcement learning agents can be run on top of the extracted graph to look for compliance patterns. The knowledge graph technology will be available on Clausematch.com and GitHub, and a scientific paper with more information will be released. The graph structure is important in compliance due to the need for exact inference in compliance, unlike the correlation approach in language models like GPT. KEY QUOTATIONS:  "There is a principal flow in the models like ChatGPT and other language models which are based on correlation approach... [but] in the compliance field we need causation, we need exact inference and that's why the graph structure is extremely important to be able to build the automation for the compliance." - Vladimir Ershov Resources  Evgeny Likhoded | LinkedIn  Vladimir Ershov | LinkedIn  Clausematch Knowledge Graph Information

Tom Fox hosts Ben Seals, CEO of Thomas Eye Group, on this episode of Innovation In Compliance. They delve into the company’s innovative approach to employee, customer, and business process experience. They also talk about how technology is changing how businesses operate and how it will impact healthcare in the future.  As the CEO of Thomas Eye Group, a full-service eye care provider, Ben Seals brings a wealth of experience to the table. With a background in operations, customer service, payor/provider contract relations, and acquisition integration, he has a diverse set of skills that he leverages to oversee the execution of the company's strategic vision. At Thomas Eye Group, the mission is to provide a lifetime of outstanding eye care, with a focus on sustainable growth that prioritizes patient care.  Here are some key points Tom and Ben discuss: Ben talks about his professional background and his current role at Thomas Eye Group. Thomas Eye Group was recently awarded with the ModMed Innovation Award, for their innovation in healthcare and patient-centric approach. Ben tells Tom that they have improved customer communication by enabling patients to easily schedule and reschedule appointments online, streamlining the process and reducing time spent in the office. With ModMed, doctors can access patient data through a single platform, which addresses the issue of disparate information across several systems, allowing them to make better, more informed decisions and engage with patients during face-to-face conversations. Ben explains that ASC has improved customer experience by using the Modmed ASC platform. The need to transfer paperwork between different sites has been eliminated as it is fully integrated with the practice management system, allowing for seamless coordination of care and electronic consent forms to be shared with patients. Ben explains ModMed Pay and Text to Pay and what methods were used to be able to improve efficiency in the payment process, both in pre-visit and in post visit payments. By using a text message feature, patients are informed about their balance with insurance companies and asked for payments, resulting in a significant increase in the number of payments made. Ben describes what new innovations he sees down the road for Thomas Eye Group and ModMed.  KEY QUOTATION: “The ability to text patients real time, have a cadence of communication and ask for receipt of those payments delivered significant results for our revenue cycle team.” - Ben Seals Resources  Ben Seals | LinkedIn  Thomas Eye Group ModMed

Welcome to a special five-part podcast series on Operationalizing Your Compliance Program, sponsored by Broadcat LLC. Over this series, we consider a variety of ways to more fully operationalize your compliance regime, including the design and effectiveness of your communications, why the operationalization of compliance is a team sport, why simply data is not the answer and how to avoid being overwhelmed. In our Part 5 conclusion, I am joined by Taylor Edwards to discuss how compliance professionals can prevent from being overwhelmed by all of ‘this’. Highlights from this episode include: ·      Unpack your program through critical examination.  ·      Know your history and understand how you got where you are.  ·      Face data but do not be paralyzed by it. .  ·      It’s about being real and accountable.  For more information go to TheBroadcat.com

Welcome to a special five-part podcast series on Operationalizing Your Compliance Program, sponsored by Broadcat LLC. Over this series, we consider a variety of ways to more fully operationalize your compliance regime, including the design and effectiveness of your communications, why the operationalization of compliance is a team sport, why simply data is not the answer and how to avoid being overwhelmed. In Part 4, I am joined by Alex Klingelberger, CEO at Broadcat where we take a deep dive into effectiveness. Highlights from this episode include: ·      Compliance training must stay away from patronizing training material.  ·      The DOJ pronouncements on clawbacks puts the pressure on senior management.  ·      Bilateral communications is a critical component of a best practices compliance program.  ·      Compliance engagement is more than between your compliance function and employees. It is when employees engage each other about compliance topics as well.  For more information go to TheBroadcat.com

Welcome to a special five-part podcast series on Operationalizing Your Compliance Program, sponsored by Broadcat LLC. Over this series, we consider a variety of ways to more fully operationalize your compliance regime, including the design and effectiveness of your communications, why the operationalization of compliance is a team sport, why simply data is not the answer and how to avoid being overwhelmed. In Part 3, I am joined by Jaycee Dempsey to discuss operationalizing your compliance program through employee engagement and participation.  Highlights from this episode include: ·      Compliance is a team sport.  ·      The DOJ pronouncements on clawbacks puts the pressure on senior management.  ·      Middle managers is where the rubber meets the road.  ·      Document Document Document For more information go to TheBroadcat.com

Tom’s guest on this week’s episode of Innovation in Compliance, Richard Blundell, discusses the risks and opportunities associated with growth in the insurance industry. They talk about how to finance a company's growth by understanding its risks. Business financing is trending towards sustainability, and Tom and Richard explore how companies can access capital by implementing sustainable practices and strategies. A global environmental services and technology consultant with over 35 years of experience, Richard Blundell has extensive experience in senior executive management and consulting. Mergers and acquisitions, corporate and market development, and operations management are among his areas of expertise. His experience includes launching new businesses and managing growth-stage businesses around the world. He is also an advisor to the Prince of Wales Accounting for Sustainability charity. Here are some key points Tom and Richard talk about:  Richard talks about his professional background and current role as an advisor on sustainability. Richard believes that sustainability in business leads to lower costs, less waste, more resource efficiency, better quality jobs, better employee engagement, and more access to capital. In addition to improving access to capital, sustainability can also improve performance in public markets, lower capital costs, and lower debt costs. Richard highlights that materiality is a way for companies to determine priorities and goals for sustainability, decarbonization, and ESG by considering what is important for both the corporation and its stakeholders Quoting Paul Wellman, Richard tells Tom that working toward social, environmental, and economic outcomes can invigorate and energize an organization. Sustainability can be a life insurance policy for the planet. Companies without decarbonization plans may not have access to financing from banks and other financial institutions as they do not understand the risks associated with growth and may not be seen as providing a benefit to society, Richard tells Tom. Richard believes that the circular economy aims to eliminate waste by keeping inputs and outputs at their highest utility throughout their life cycle. Companies like Interface and Nike are committed to sustainability and continue to innovate and stretch their targets as they learn more about driving efficiency and process in the decarbonization journey. KEY QUOTE: "If I am going to finance a company's growth, I want to finance a company that's in the insurance industry as well. I want to finance the company's growth by understanding the risks associated with that growth.” - Richard Blundell Resources  Richard Blundell | LinkedIn

Welcome to a special five-part podcast series on Operationalizing Your Compliance Program, sponsored by Broadcat LLC. Over this series, we consider a variety of ways to more fully operationalize your compliance regime, including the design and effectiveness of your communications, why the operationalization of compliance is a team sport, why simply data is not the answer and how to avoid being overwhelmed. In Part 2, I am joined by Jennifer May and Xinia Pirkey to consider your compliance program design.  Highlights from this episode include: ·      Your communications should resonate with your employees.  ·      Aesthetic draws an employee in but content grabs their attention.  ·      Clarity and relevance are key elements.  ·      Document Document Document For more information go to TheBroadcat.com

Welcome to a special five-part podcast series on Operationalizing Your Compliance Program, sponsored by Broadcat LLC. We consider a variety of ways to more fully operationalize your compliance regime, including the design and effectiveness of your communications, why the operationalization of compliance is a team sport, why simply data is not the answer and how to avoid being overwhelmed. In Part 1, I am joined by Jennifer May to consider what is compliance program effectiveness.  Highlights from this episode include: ·      What is and is not effectiveness? ·      Identify silos and work through them.  ·      Compliance is not a closed book test.  ·      Document Document Document For more information go to TheBroadcat.com

On this week’s episode, Tom’s guest Avi Singer talks about how to make it easier for employees to understand and complete compliance training. Compliance training refers to the process of educating employees on laws, regulations, and company policies that apply to their day-to-day job responsibilities. The goal is for everyone in an organization to have compliance training, and for it to be frictionless for employees to access and complete.  Avi Singer is the founder and CEO of Showd.me, a company that is helping organizations provide remote and on-demand compliance training solutions, specifically in the healthcare space. He is extremely passionate about highlighting the importance of compliance training, noting that it is often required in order for organizations to comply with regulations. He is described by his colleagues as a “bright professional who can understand complex business solutions and offer creative solutions to problems.”  Here are some key points Tom and Avi talk about: Avi explains how he persuades clients to utilize resources from his company Showd.me to have their employees take its compliance training.  Avi believes compliance training should be easy to understand and pass a quiz on.  The government expects targeted compliance training to address issues like racial sensitivity or harassment, Avi explains to Tom.  Avi highlights the importance of bystander intervention and mandated reporting in potentially harmful situations and the best way to execute it in a clear and nuanced fashion.  If additional training or intervention is required, Avi says, companies should have an HR person who can help address investigations and create policies around compliance. AVI discusses pronoun training, how it should be conducted in order to get the message to the right person, and how to ensure employees are addressed in an appropriate manner. The goal is for everyone in an organization to have compliance training, and for it to be frictionless for employees to access and complete, Avi says. Cost savings can be achieved by reducing liability and risk, as well as by making compliance part of the normal training process. KEY QUOTE: “You don't have to be perfect. I think that our training is not like, ‘Hey, you need to know the nuances of harassment or the nuances of what constitutes the mandatory reporter situation or what constitutes abuse’. It's more like, ‘The law says if you see this going on you have to do something’.” - Avi Singer Resources Avi Singer | LinkedIn | Twitter  showd.me

Innovation comes in many forms, and compliance professionals need to not only be ready for it but also embrace it. In this episode, Tom Fox visits with Jennifer Arnold, a seasoned anti-money laundering (AML) professional. Jennifer is a co-founder of Minerva, the sponsor of this episode. Minerva is an innovative investigation and screening platform. Minerva is an invaluable tool for financial investigators, enabling quick and efficient data analysis to support informed decision-making. She discusses Minerva’s capability to search for critical data, such as adverse media and criminal activity, enhancing the investigator’s role through automation and speed. By combining the expertise of skilled investigators with advanced data science, Minerva significantly maximizes the effectiveness of AML investigations in today’s data-rich environment. We take a deep dive into how Minerva integrates AI into its processes for detecting financial crime. The technology employs simple data aggregation to target relevant data sources, performing entity resolution for a nuanced and accurate view of clients. This approach minimizes false positives, streamlines work for the Financial Intelligence Unit and ensures that information examined is meaningful and precise. Key Highlights: Introduction to Minerva’s AI Integration Data Aggregation and Intelligence Entity Resolution and Contextual Data Accurate Client Risk Assessment Reducing False Positives Resources: Jennifer Arnold on  LinkedIn  Minerva Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn

Tom’s guest in this episode of Innovation In Compliance is Dale Waterman, who popularized the phrase “data sovereignty” in the compliance space. The sovereignty of data, or data sovereignty, is the idea that the laws of the country where the organization is based still apply to the data regardless of where it moves across borders. He explains that both cloud computing and the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies like AI and IoT drove the data sovereignty movement.  Dale Waterman is a Managing Director of Breakwater Solutions, a consulting firm with a focus on global data privacy, cybersecurity, information governance, and investigations. He is passionate about helping organizations implement digital transformation objectives by assessing and managing legal, regulatory, and compliance challenges. He helps organizations collect, use, manage and protect personal data in a pragmatic and compliant manner that enables data-driven business strategies.  Here are some key points Tom and Dale talk about:  Dale talks about his professional background and his role at Breakwater Solutions.  Dale defines data sovereignty, localization, and the impact on global data privacy and cybersecurity. Dale and Tom discuss and compare how data sovereignty issues and privacy laws are viewed in MENA (Middle East, North Africa) as opposed to Europe and the United States.  Most of the problems with data sovereignty stem from mistrust of big tech and concerns about government access to data, specifically with the US government, Dale tells Tom. To help organizations comply with ever-changing data sovereignty laws, Dale suggests that companies get to know data and laws, classification, data minimization, and management of third parties. Dale highlights some key challenges your clients may face in the Middle East and North Africa in 2023. Dale describes how Breakwater Solutions helps clients tackle issues like data sovereignty, cross-border data transfers, and evolving data protection laws. KEY QUOTE: “The sovereignty of data refers to the fact that no matter where the data moves across borders, ... you still apply the laws of the country where the organization is based.” - Dale Waterman Resources Dale Waterman | LinkedIn | Breakwater Solutions

Tom Fox's guest on this week’s show is DeeJae Durante. DeeJae is a livestream strategist and coach, helping individuals with disabilities get their messages out through marketing tools like podcasts and livestreams. She joins Tom to talk about creating accessibility for disabled individuals in the corporate world, and the true meaning of inclusion.   DeeJae's Mission Tom asks DeeJae what started her on the path of disability advocacy. DeeJae gives an anecdote about watching her father navigate life after a traumatic brain injury. It sparked the advocacy within her. She is very passionate about helping businesses realize the importance of providing diversity options for people with disabilities, as well as being open and considerate of everyone.  The True Meaning of Inclusion  There is no inclusion without accessibility. It is impossible to be inclusive or diverse in an organization if there is no consideration for disabled people. DeeJae talks about helping businesses create systems that accommodate disabled people and building different types of accessibility. "That's why I really focus on accessibility and understanding what that concept is, because that will lead to inclusion," she tells Tom. Creating different options for individuals within the organization to access information is another key component of accessibility. "Communication is so fundamental, and accessibility to information is communication." Accessibility Builds Loyalty  "By having a policy of accessibility and inclusion for disabled employees, you not only create a very loyal workforce, but you can actually make your business better," Tom remarks. This holds true for every aspect of business. Accessibility builds up social worth in your employees. Taking the initiative to be observant about the processes in your businesses and making sure that they are accessible to everyone is going to enhance your business. There is no excuse anymore, and there is no other option than to be accessible. "It's something that we really need to implement into our businesses and our processes as soon as possible. The sooner that we do that, the better off we're going to be and the more beneficial it will be to our business," DeeJae stresses.  Resources DeeJae Durante | LinkedIn | Twitter

David Simon is a Partner at Foley & Lardner in the firm’s litigation department and a member of their Government Enforcement/Compliance/White Collar Defense Practice Group, Antitrust Practice Group, and Health Industry Team. He specializes in investigations, corporate governance, and government enforcement defense law. He and Tom Fox discuss David's article "The G in ESG" and the role of compliance in ESG, specifically in the governance aspect of compliance. The Meta Contract, Governance & Company Culture An organization's meta contract represents what the company is truly about to the public. David tells Tom the meta contract is what the company does, who the company is, and what the company isn't. Governance comes into play by keeping the company on the right track and making sure that it operates in the way it said it would. Culture informs the way an organization adheres to its meta contract, and it starts from the corporate level. Who you hire, who you promote, policies, and internal protocols and procedures all play key parts in this.  Being Authentic  "One of the things that I see that I'm a little skeptical of is every organization trying to fit itself into the same ESG vision or model," David remarks. Every organization is different so there’s no one-size-fits-all ESG model. A company’s meta contract sets the expectations on how they present themselves to the world. True value lies in "being authentic and maintaining integrity over how you're presenting your organization, and what your values are, and who your stakeholders are, and how you rank them in terms of priority," David remarks.  ESG and Compliance One of the great things about ESG is it allows compliance to broaden its thinking. A lot of times compliance is only focused on regulatory compliance, but David tells Tom that needs to change. "Compliance professionals need to think more broadly than just the laws and the regulatory framework, to more about what their organizational meta contract is, and they need to take steps to protect their organizations from violating it because it can be disastrous when they do," David says.  Resources  David Simon on LinkedIn The G in ESG

Tom Fox's guest on this week’s show is Roxanne Petraeus. She is the CEO of Ethena, a compliance program for technology companies focusing on engagement and transparency. She and Tom talk about her career journey and what she and Ethena are bringing to the compliance sphere.  Ethena The training Ethena offers covers everything related to compliance as a broad topic. The company seeks to answer ‘Why compliance?’ and goes deep on the concept of design. For example, how would you design your compliance solutions to prevent certain issues?  What models would you look at that is similar? Roxanne tells Tom, "We just asked a fundamentally different design question: how do you iterate on the same model and make small tweaks but don't fundamentally change the way it's delivered or the key components of it?"  Employee Engagement and Engaging Training  Tom asks Roxanne how Ethena encourages employee engagement and employee training that is engaging. Employee training across any business has to be able to keep an employee's attention. "If someone has tuned out, no matter how good your content, they're not learning," Roxanne remarks. A way Ethena drives engagement is by implementing feedback. Employees are able to rate training, and this feedback tells the leaders what needs to be improved. "The reason we've made really good training is because we're forced to," Roxanne says. The employee rating data is tangible evidence of what Ethena is doing right and what it's doing wrong, so the content team can very quickly respond to that and make training better.  Train To Improve Culture  Training can't simply be seen as a part of a company's culture but also as something to improve a company's culture. The key to achieving this is to make training a valuable part of the employee experience. Training can help a company create a holistic and healthy workplace environment and show employees that the business is serious about improving.  Resources Roxanne Petraeus | LinkedIn | Twitter  Ethena

Tom Fox's guest on this week’s show is Toby DeRoche, a professional auditor and Senior Manager of Risk Management at Verizon. He and Tom talk about the importance of risk assessment and how it has changed in recent years.  Agile Audit Agile Audit is simply auditing the things that matter at the current moment. It's an iterative approach, going through the entire audit lifecycle and compressing it down to the essentials. "We're saying, so here's everything that I could audit, but here's what's most important to the organization today," Toby tells Tom. "It's this continual cycle… giving you the answers to what's the most burning question you have related to risk and control in your organization today.”  Focus on The Highest Risk If an audit plan isn't focused on relevant issues, or the highest risk, no one is going to care how well the auditing plan was executed. Focusing on low-risk issues wastes everyone's time. "We should be focusing on the things that are the highest risk and only those things," Toby says. If internal auditors aren't focused on management support, strategic objectives, and challenges, then they aren't doing their jobs.  Communicating Vs Reporting Tom asks Toby to differentiate between communicating and reporting results as an internal auditor. Giving reports is not communication, he responds; it’s just regurgitating facts. "A much more effective way of getting the information across is to make it more digestible," Toby remarks, because it’s much more impactful, and people can more easily grasp what you're trying to say.  Looking Ahead Companies in the future will have no choice but to use the concepts of risk assessment, continuous improvement, and continuous risk assessment. Auditing must be part of the company's objectives. "Anything that we're doing that's not focused on what matters to management and the highest risk to them achieving their goals right now, then we're completely missing the picture," Toby stresses.  Resources Toby DeRoche | LinkedIn   Only Audit What Matters

Welcome to a special podcast series entitled, Corporate Case Management in the Era of the DoJ's Monaco Memo, sponsored by i-Sight Software Solutions. Over this five-part podcast series, I visit with Jakub Ficner, Director of Partnership Development at i-SIght. In this series we consider how the Monaco Doctrine and Monaco Memo have impacted compliance in several key areas. In this concluding Part 5, we consider how data and data analytics are even more critical after the Monaco Memo and how using data can drive prevention as well as detection. Highlights include: How does ongoing monitoring lead to continuous improvement and how does it relate to investigations? How your investigative protocol can supplement ongoing monitoring. How the outlays for your investigative process are a critical step going forward.  Employing root cause analysis, corrective actions, preventative action recommendations, can provide valuable data from a holistic perspective For more information check out i-Sight here.

Welcome to a special podcast series entitled, Corporate Case Management in the Era of the DoJ's Monaco Memo, sponsored by i-Sight Software Solutions. Over this five-part podcast series, I visit with Jakub Ficner, Director of Partnership Development at i-SIght. In this series we consider how the Monaco Doctrine and Monaco Memo have impacted compliance in several key areas. In this Part 4, we look consider the Fair Process Doctrine and how the Monaco Memo emphasized the requirements as laid out under the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs and its Update. Highlights include: What are DOJ expectations? The stakeholders needed to be involved with determining, recommending, and implementing that outcome based on your investigation.    Why consistently applying the same disciplinary actions based on the nature of substantiated elements is critical. What is the Fair Process Doctrine? Following the Fair Process Doctrine is critical for the credibility of your investigative protocol.  For more information check out i-Sight here.

Welcome to a special podcast series entitled, Corporate Case Management in the Era of the DoJ's Monaco Memo, sponsored by i-Sight Software Solutions. Over this five-part podcast series, I speak with Jakub Ficner, Director of Partnership Development at i-Sight. In this series we consider how the Monaco Doctrine and Monaco Memo have impacted compliance in several key areas. In this Part 3, we look at ethical investigations and how to allow your organization to meet the strictures of the Monaco Memo. Highlights include: How did the Monaco Memo impact investigations? The importance of keeping the reporter informed. Why consistency and transparency are key aspects of the investigative process. Creating an audit trail are in your investigation protocol. For more information check out i-Sight here.

Welcome to a special podcast series, Corporate Case Management in the Era of the DoJ’s Monaco Memo, sponsored by i-Sight Software Solutions. In this series, I am joined by Jakub Ficner, Director of Partnership Development at i-Sight. Over this series, we detail the changes wrought by the Monaco Memo and how compliance professionals can respond to these new challenges. In this Part 2, we look at the need for active triage in your investigative protocol to allow your organization to meet the strictures of the Monaco Memo. Some of the highlights include: What is triage in a best practices compliance program? Why triage is as important as the original report coming in. How to document triage for regulators. What to do when new issues are discovered Why is the ability to ultimately learn from your collected data a key outcome? For more information, check out i-Sight here.

Erica Toelle is the Senior Product Marketing Manager on the Microsoft Purview product team. Her focus is on growing the Data Lifecycle and Records Management business and listening to customers and partners to make solutions better. She and Tom Fox discuss her podcast, her book, and the relationship between technology and humans. Relaunching the Uncovering Hidden Risks Podcast Tom asks Erica why she relaunched her podcast. Erica explains that she hopes to target chief security officers, and people in compliance leadership roles, and provide information on topics they are interested in learning about. In particular, the podcast explores how enterprises can reduce their risk by moving to a more holistic approach to data protection. The world of compliance is rapidly changing, with new regulations and privacy laws being implemented regularly, and the leaders want to know and understand how their peers successfully comply. Erica says that her podcast will bring these stories to life, “so that we can all learn from the best practices and success and hopefully apply them in our own situation.” Technology Requires Humans Tom comments that a common theme on Erica’s podcast is the human element. Erica explains that technology cannot function without the human element. Technology takes care of collecting data and presenting it in a way that would help people make the best business decisions. However, no algorithm can replace the human ability to weigh, analyze and make a decision when it comes to identifying and managing risks, and driving compliance.  Microsoft 365 Compliance Erica wrote a book entitled Microsoft 365 Compliance; Tom asks what inspired her to write this book and who is her intended audience. When the pandemic hit, Erica responds, she was working as a consultant at Microsoft helping customers deploy compliance tools. She was one of the only Microsoft Teams compliance experts in the world. It was a stressful period as she was trying to keep governments and business afloat and online. This situation taught her that there was a need for more compliance experts who were familiar with Microsoft’s compliance technology. Therefore, she decided to write a book to make the assimilation into the job and online compliance sphere easier for her successors.  Looking Ahead In the future, Erica would like to address more topics her listeners would like to hear about related to compliance. Additionally, she would like to interview more diverse guests to get a broader perspective on what is happening in the compliance space outside of Microsoft. Resources  Erica Toelle | LinkedIn | Twitter  Uncovering Hidden Risks Podcast | Microsoft 365 Compliance: A Practical Guide to Managing Risk 

Innovation comes in many forms, and compliance professionals need to not only be ready for it but also embrace it. In this episode, Tom Fox interviews Lori Darley, a former professional dancer and current leadership coach. Lori shares her career evolution from dance to founding Conscious Leaders, a coaching firm specializing in leadership development. She discusses the principles of self-awareness, personal responsibility, and the clearing process, which are central to her coaching philosophy. Lori also emphasizes the importance of intentional leadership in fostering a positive corporate culture and touches on her experience in the compliance arena. Additionally, she talks about her book, ‘Dancing Naked,’ which explores her journey and insights as a conscious leader. Key Highlights: Lori Darley’s Professional Journey What is Conscious Leaders? The Clearing Process Explained Conscious Leaders Wisdom Circle Impact on Corporate Culture Generational Tensions and Coaching Benefits Resources: Lori Darley on  LinkedIn  Conscious Leaders Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn

Welcome to a special podcast series entitled, Corporate Case Management in the Era of the DoJ's Monaco Memo, sponsored by i-Sight Software Solutions.  In this series I am joined by Jake Finer, Director of Partnership Development at i-Sight.Over this series, we not only detail the changes wrought by the Monaco Memo but how compliance professionals can respond to these new challenges. In this Part 1, we look at the role of a speak up culture in responding to the DOJ changes set out in the Monaco Memo. Highlights include: What did the Monaco Memo say about corporate culture? What is a 'speak-up culture'? How do we encourage and foster a speak up culture?   Why is setting expectations is critical to creating and maintaining a speak up culture. How a speak up culture can provide valuable compliance and business operations information. For more information check out i-Sight here.

Jay Rosen is the Vice President of Business Development at Affiliated Monitors, Inc., a company that helps businesses face certain types of ethics and compliance challenges. Tom Fox and Jay talk about the power of podcasting as a new component of marketing for Affiliated Monitors in this week’s show.  Getting The Message Out Tom asks Jay to elaborate on how he's been able to help people within his organization become more comfortable with having short and direct messages to send out about Affiliated Monitors. "My message - and our message internally to our folks - is that they are just so well versed and so talented, there's nothing to be afraid of," Jay says. He adds that they are removing barriers of entry and letting employees know that no matter what level of staff they're at, they have a story to tell. "Personalize your experience at AMI, and that enthusiasm will come through to the people who want to watch." The Beauty of Evergreen Jay talks about previous podcast series he's had with Tom and explains that AMI was able to evolve its thinking around podcasts because the previous series was evergreen. The beauty of evergreen podcast content is that you're able to repurpose it, repackage it, and use it in your target marketing. "It exists on the AMI website, and it's still valuable content as well as an incredibly cost-effective tool for you because if you want to slice and dice something you did a couple of years ago in a different way, for a different reason, today, it doesn't cost you anything but your time," Tom adds.  Podcasts As a Channel Tool A podcast you make lives somewhere, such as your website or Apple Podcast. Your podcast connects you digitally to people you've never met in person and that's a powerful networking tool. You're connecting companies and services.  Resources Jay Rosen | LinkedIn | Twitter  Affiliated Monitors, Inc Podcast for Business 

Catherine Bell is the founder of The Awakened Company, a business that focuses on helping companies create healthy corporate cultures. She is also a partner in the newly launched Awakenly app, as well as a collaborator with Enneagram thought leader Russ Hudson. Tom Fox welcomes Catherine to this week’s show to talk about how we can create healthier cultures in our organizations, and awaken ourselves, our relationships, our teams, and our communities. Let It Be Meaningful  In the current work culture and climate, people are looking for more meaningful experiences. "There is an invitation for us all to become more simple in our lives because it's not actually all the things that we acquire that actually provide our life force with fuel," Catherine says. When work has meaning and significance, and when people have control over their work, that is what keeps them engaged. People are now looking for something deeper from their work. As such, businesses need to offer meaning and substance to their employees' lives, solve challenges, and do so without causing harm to either humanity or the planet.  Strategy With A Soul Tom asks Catherine how leaders can create a strategy that has soul. Catherine iterates that this means making sure people in the organization understand what role they play in the company. What is the vision? What are the goals? What are the metrics surrounding those goals? What are the values? How are you building community and connection with people? These are all vital questions that need to be asked to create a strategy that works for the whole organization and everyone in it.  Establish Trust  To create an open corporate culture where everyone feels free to be themselves and to ask questions, there needs to be a healthy amount of trust. "Trust makes everything go faster, but when there's a lack of trust… it makes everything slower," Catherine remarks. Defining the roles, ensuring everyone understands the part they have to play in the company and cultivating relationships beyond those roles are the first steps in establishing healthy trust. Spending one on one time with your team members and being genuinely interested in their lives, and having conversations beyond just work, go a long way. "We need to treat ourselves more tenderly and our relationships more tenderly, and that builds trust. You get more of a vocal communication," Catherine tells Tom.  Looking Ahead Tom asks Catherine where she sees the topic of an awakened company going in the future. Currently, The Awakened Company is being incorporated into a business school as a degree program. The adoption of this mindset is already in motion, Catherine responds. She emphasizes that we need to learn from the past and build better. Asking yourself how are you showing up as a leader, how are you cultivating relationships, and how are you building community are important questions. "The invitation for the future is really to use our awareness and attention to build something magnificent, a healthy forest for our families, for our communities, and for our world." Resources Catherine Bell | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram  The Awakened Company The Awakened Company by Catherine Bell  Awakenly

Megan Dougherty is the co-founder of One Stone Creative, a company that works with business owners to get more podcast listeners in less time so they can focus on strategy and engagement. Tom Fox welcomes her to this week’s show to talk about the power of podcasts, how they can impact and grow your business, and the upcoming Podcasting for Business Conference in November.    Build Passion and Relationships A podcast is the perfect outlet for a business to share ideas they are passionate about. It allows you to grow your business and build relationships with like-minded people. "One of the biggest benefits that we've both noticed in podcasting is the networking and relationship-building aspect of it," Megan says. "Who you know in podcasting is everything." Podcasting is a unique and very valuable part of your social media marketing and allows you to create content and build relationships consistently. You're also able to feed all the other areas of your business through this one channel.  Podcasting Builds Intimacy Tom remarks on the way the podcast format builds intimacy. "Podcasters are in people's heads,” he tells Megan. “That's really an intimacy that you don't get in other forms of marketing or social media marketing.” The strategies you can use to get your message across also vary, he adds. When you podcast, your message is out there forever. Furthermore, you can repurpose it in various ways for different platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter. The podcast format is an effective resource for getting your message out. PFB: Feature Presentations Tom and Megan go through the list of key speakers for the upcoming Podcasting for Business event in November, and share a few of the topics they will be presenting on. Tom specifically mentions Ariel Nissenblatt, who will be doing a presentation on podcast newsletters. Podcast newsletters are effective ways for you to talk not just about your podcast but also any other valuable information you may think listeners would need. Another featured presentation centers around leveraging and growing your podcast and understanding your brand. Your brand is your promise to deliver on a type of message. If you want to start a podcast, authenticity is all that matters. Simply be yourself. Megan also adds that podcasting allows for other businesses to take advantage of free PR. "You're offering them exposure to your own audience. It's free PR. That equalizes conversations in a really big way, and that makes it a lot easier for people to reach out." Resources Megan Dougherty | LinkedIn   One Stone Creative Podcast for Business

Linda Fisk is an award-winning author, speaker, and university professor. Her mission is to amplify and extend the success of other high-caliber business leaders. She is the CEO and Founder of LeadHERship Global, a community of unstoppable women enhancing their leadership blueprint and embracing their power to be the best version of themselves. In this week’s episode, she and Tom Fox discuss the challenges that come with leadership and how to overcome them.  Leadership Is a Passion  Tom asks Linda why she is so passionate about leadership and teaching others how to be effective leaders. She explains that throughout her career she has had the privilege to serve as the CEO or the CMO. From this position, she has witnessed first-hand “the transformational power of leaders coming together to solve problems, to advance solutions, to be able to tackle some of the most daunting issues our planet is facing today”. She explains that good leadership will always be the driving force behind a successful organization. She began studying leadership because she realized it was about making meaningful contributions to people's lives. She believes that while there are natural-born leaders – anyone can be an excellent leader. Origins of LeadHERship Tom asks what led to Linda founding LeadHERship Global. While working in the C-suite, she responds, she witnessed the magnitude of what stellar leadership does for the success of the organization. Linda wanted to create “a haven for women in leadership” – a community where all women could be successful, despite their race, background, religion, or socioeconomic position. She says, “All women around the world are worthy of being considered valuable, and they should be honored, and they should be allowed to advance their success.” Her company provides all the resources, tools, learning, and connections for these women to level the playing field with their male counterparts and achieve success. The Intervention of a Leadership Coach Tom asks, “When should I hire a leadership coach?” Linda believes that you should hire a leadership coach when you: need help navigating through real and potential conflict;  are trying to cultivate your executive presence; are polishing your leadership skills; are fostering a greater sense of work-life integration; or  want to create sustainable leadership practices.  Becoming a better leader means learning and practicing leadership skills. Hiring a coach means that you can get honest and objective feedback on the way your employees experience you as a leader.  Resources  Linda Fisk | LinkedIn | Twitter LeadHERship Global 

Tomell Ceasar is the Group Head of Ethics and Compliance at Careem (An Uber Company). He is one of the founders of the Middle East and Africa Compliance Association (MEACA). This organization strives to raise awareness on business ethics and provides tools to build stronger and more responsible businesses. Essentially, they promote global regulatory compliance and effective governance in the Middle East and Africa. In this week’s episode, he explains to Tom the intricacies of practicing compliance outside the US, specifically the EAME.  Compliance Practice in the EAME Tom asks Tomell to describe what it is like practicing compliance in EAME. Tomell responds that it's difficult to make broad generalizations on compliance region-wide since the EAME is such a huge territory. Compliance is a “Western value in terms of the way one approaches international business”, Tomell remarks, so adoption would take some time. However, appreciation of compliance roles and professionals grew exponentially over the past decade. International companies are seeing compliance through the US lens, and “they identified values of compliance being important enough to them to adopt similar frameworks and ideological perspectives as it relates to commercial enterprise, to be equivalent to the United States,” Tomell remarks. The Birth of the MEACA  As a co-founder of the Middle East and Africa Compliance Association, Tom wants to know how Tomell came up with the idea for the MEACA. Tomell explains that “the values of compliance have traditionally not been a staple of commercial enterprises in these regions.” Compliance has had a real maturation process over the last 10 years, and Tomell and his team saw a major opportunity to support the development and growth towards that end. There was a need for an organization willing to serve the distinct purpose of “serving and supporting the compliance community and to give them an avenue to connect, to network, to broaden their skill set.” Thus, the MEACA was born. To this day, they help companies promote and catalyze the compliance movement toward fighting corruption in companies and society.  Resources  Tomell Ceasar | LinkedIn The Middle East and Africa Compliance Association

Mollie Nichols is the co-founder and CEO at Redgrave Data, a technology solutions provider. Redgrave Data aims to re-explore how data is analyzed and utilized to drive effective business and legal solutions. Mollie’s legal career spans 3 decades; her mission, she tells Tom Fox, is to provide services at the intersection of law, technology, and science. She and Tom discuss her company, as well as the importance of data governance and ESG.  Technology Helps Her stint as assistant to the Texas Attorney General in the late 1990s aroused Mollie’s interest in how data and technology could impact the practice of law. Mollie found an analytics tool that did exactly what they needed to have a breakthrough in the investigation. She remarks, “For me, it was like an ‘Aha!’ moment that showed how powerful technology could be in the practice of law. I literally changed my career at that moment in time, to focus on technology and how it could help clients deal with legal matters.”  Automating Regulatory Processes Tom asks Mollie what led her to co-found Redgrave Data and what are the data analytic abilities of the organization. Redgrave Data is associated with Redgrave LLP, a law firm that focuses on information law. Mollie explains that she left Redgrave LLP to focus more on data. She had previously worked as the Head of Advanced Data Solutions, and she had an exceptional team that was able to build a program to deal with client data issues; this program enhanced lawyers’ ability to help their clients. She re-assembled this team to execute the same mission at Redgrave Data.  Previously, lawyers had to search regulatory websites to assist their clients with regulatory needs. She and the team automated the entire process, making it less costly and more accessible for lawyers. She describes how they use commercial and cloud tools to do content analytics as well as communication analysis. This allows them to develop a sound legal strategy.  Data Governance and ESG Tom asks how Redgrave Data helps a company in the area of data governance as it relates to ESG. Mollie explains that data is crucial as it helps them make better business decisions by tracking trends, results, and KPIs. Data also can guide legal decisions. Mollie observes that data governance is important to both businesses and lawyers as it intersects information governance, data privacy, cybersecurity, and e-discovery. From a data governance and corporate governance perspective, businesses need to be transparent about what’s going on within the organization, how to find specific data, and how to measure success. Redgrave Data can assist with finding these data points, and pull the data to a dashboard so it can be viewed and analyzed.  Resources Mollie Nichols | LinkedIn | Redgrave Data

Connor Borrego is the Chief Executive Officer at Emergent Digital. He is an expert in data warehousing, artificial intelligence, and business applications, with over 10 years of experience in the digital marketing industry. “The highlight of my career was landing at Google, where I did a two-year stint coaching startups that have raised between $5 and $50 million on how to profitably use Google Ads to grow their business,” he tells Tom Fox. Currently, he is building a Web 3.0-powered productivity and growth marketing tool for content creators to help them fully own the value of their first-party data. He joins Tom on this week’s show to explore the world of NFTs, Web 3.0, what it means for business professionals, and how Emergent Digital handles the changing technological landscape.   What is Web 3.0  Connor explains that Web 3.0 is the next iteration of the internet and online technologies. To fully understand Web 3.0, you should first understand Web 1.0 and 2.0, he tells Tom. Web 1.0 is the ‘read and post internet’: only the tech-savvy could have a website or app with minimum functionality that other users could access. Web 2.0 is ‘the social Internet’, with the emergence of social media platforms and cloud-driven technology that make it easier for internet users to create content and tools for other users. Web 3.0, Connor remarks, is “focused on a user-owned internet … if we provide users with a standard socket to encrypt and hold their data, they can plug it into any application or website they use, giving them privacy and protection… without losing the functionality of today's modern technologies.” The Role of Emergent Digital Tom asks how Emergent Digital ties these together for the content creator. Connor explains that Emergent Digital is a marketing agency that is prepared for the shift to Web 3.0. He says that if you are a brand or artist that is interested in making NFTs, Emergent Digital can provide web or application development and digital marketing. UniPro, their software tool currently under development, is going to be the cryptocurrency wallet that would host their first-party data to allow the user to plug it into additional applications. First-party data, he explains, is data a company keeps about its own operations. He contrasts this with third-party data and comments on the privacy issues arising from third-party data. Driving Stakeholder Engagement “An integrated metaverse can drive stakeholder engagement,” Tom remarks. He and Connor discuss the idea of a headless brand. He says, “It's the idea that someone's putting an image, a brand aesthetic as well as values out there and creating a community of stakeholders around that concept, and giving them ownership in the development of that brand and the use cases and application of that brand.” This has the potential to amplify the voice of customers and brand advocates, ultimately improving the company's image and market share.  Tom asks how he helps creatives develop a long-term strategy. Connor explains that it starts with his first-party data strategy paired with paid advertising analytics. Creators often give digital products away for free, usually in the form of an image, video, or audio clip. The company has an efficient, non-invasive method using their proprietary tool that raises valuable engagement from the customer on behalf of the creative. “We are working to build your first-party data because all of that … data is useful to analyze what … content on your site is driving the most performance… allowing you to double down where your success is. At the same time, each level you achieve increases the probability that you're making money on your advertising investment, which is the ultimate goal.” Connor explains. Resources Connor Borrego | LinkedIn |  Emergent Digital  UniPr0.com

James Shannon is the founder and CEO of Xone, a mixed reality platform that makes it easy to build, share and interact inside virtual worlds. Their mission is to create a bridge into the metaverse using familiar social media interfaces and immersive environments, to onboard creators into Web 3.0. He and Tom Fox talk about Xone, and its place in the current technological sphere and metaverse.  Defining Web 3.0 Terminology  James defines key Web 3.0 terms, including NFT, metaverse, and augmented reality social media platforms. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are attached to digital assets to make them scarce using blockchain technology. The metaverse, he says, is “an interconnected series of virtual worlds that can be accessed through mixed reality devices and blockchain technology”. He explains that “augmented reality is overlaying digital information on top of the physical world”. Thus augmented reality social media will be a combination of augmented reality and social media interfaces.  Bridging the Gap Tom asks James how Xone integrates NFTs, the metaverse, Web 3.0, and augmented reality social media in a coherent framework. James responds that the biggest challenge with the Web 3.0 world is its newness: only 1% of internet users are familiar with it, and it's quite difficult to use. He wants to make Web 3.0 more accessible and suggests that developers should help new users adopt this new technology through applications they already use, such as TikTok. “Xone is trying to bridge the gap between those social media platforms we know so well and the Web 3.0 technology that we don't,” he tells Tom. “It merges the familiar interfaces that we’re used to on current social media apps with immersive and blockchain technology.”  Are NFTs the Future? James believes that NFTs would always have a place in Web 3.0 as they are the “gateway to the metaverse”. However, users aren't going to have the same relationship with NFTs as they do now. “In the next 2 to 5 years, NFTs will have evolved dramatically,” he predicts. Companies, brands, and strategies would combine the NFT token with a use case. For example, musicians could sell them to fans and they would provide access to an exclusive fan club that unlocks special content, backstage passes, and discounts on future shows.  Resources  James Shannon | LinkedIn | Twitter Xone

Jared Connors and Daniel Zamora join Tom Fox in the final episode of the Supply Chain and ESG – What You Need to Know series, to discuss how market expectations have evolved with regards to due diligence in the responsible sourcing field. Due diligence used to be a data collection exercise where you get transparency into your supply chain, but now it's all about what you do with that information after you collect data - how a company can move from being reactive to being proactive. The first step to making this move is collecting data more efficiently; this allows you to have the resources in place to perform risk management within your supply chain. You need to know who’s on your supply chain, and you need to have a specific program in place to identify the risks of smelters. Under the Biden administration, there has been a major focus on critical minerals when it comes to sanctions and regulations. Critical minerals are not specifically tied to the Dodd-Frank Act, but this focus has emphasized to stakeholders in the industry to be vigilant about them in general. Having an entity in your supply chain that is tied to a sanction puts you at risk no matter how direct or indirect that linkage is.  Resources Assent

Innovation comes in many forms, and compliance professionals need to not only be ready for it but also embrace it. Curious about Compliance as a Service and AI integration? If so, this episode is for you as Tom Fox interviews Matt Lowe, Chief Strategy Officer at MasterControl. Matt shares his professional background, details MasterControl’s role in the quality management and life sciences markets, and discusses the company’s incorporation of AI in their software solutions. The conversation delves into how AI is transforming compliance and quality assurance in the life sciences, the benefits and challenges of implementing AI, and the future outlook of AI in the industry. Matt also touches on risk-based approaches to AI deployment and the evolving discussions around AI in industry consortia. Key Highlights: Incorporating AI in Compliance Training Generative AI in Quality Management Quality Assurance and Compliance AI’s Role in Compliance and Risk Management Implementing AI in Life Sciences Future of AI in Life Sciences Resources: Matt Lowe on LinkedIn  Master Control Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn

In part 4 of the Supply Chain and ESG - What You Need to Know series,Tom Fox is joined by Devin O’Herron and Jared Connors of Assent to discuss Scope 3 emissions reporting as the key to disclosure success. They talk about the importance of accounting for Scope 3 in your emissions strategy. There are three scope levels within the emissions reporting strategy: Scope 1 refers to things like your vehicle or things you’re doing around your facility; Scope 2 is the purchased heat or electricity powering your facility; and Scope 3 is all those variables outside your four walls. The most important aspect of Scope 3 is purchased goods. This has a large impact on organizations that may not necessarily take in raw materials and directly manufacture those raw materials into a finished good. The supply chain is a very significant factor to consider when coming up with the emissions strategy as a company. A recent study found that Scope 3 emissions are typically 11 times larger than an organization's Scope 1 and 2 emissions combined. As mandatory climate disclosure legislation progresses into the future, the overall emissions strategy needs to start accounting for Scope 3 as much as possible.  Resources Assent

In part 3 of the Supply Chain and ESG - What You Need to Know series, Cally Edgren and Devin O’Herron join Tom Fox to discuss product compliance and sustainability. They explore how the two worlds are starting to intersect. This series is sponsored by Assent Compliance. Making sure products meet regulatory requirements is what product compliance is all about. In recent years, the requirements have been changing. There used to be a focus on safety features like mechanical and electrical safety, but things changed with the RoHS Directive in 2002. That directive was meant to make sure electronic waste from third-world countries was safe. It was one of the first times a regulatory rule had more to do with sustainability than traditional product safety. Manufacturers need to understand that their customers are no longer just concerned with what they hold in their hands at the end of the process - they want to make sure that their suppliers are using responsible processes. The two worlds of operations compliance and product compliance are starting to connect. As we become increasingly aware of the importance and relevance of the social and environmental costs associated with manufacturing processes and the barrier they present towards sustainability, ESG metrics represent another way of managing and measuring these externalities.  Resources Assent

Tom Fox welcomes Travis Miller and Jamie Wallisch to part 2 of the Supply Chain and ESG - What You Need to Know podcast series, sponsored by Assent. In this episode, they talk about the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), and how it impacts the way companies do business across the supply chain. The UFLPA is a United States federal law that stops companies from importing products made with forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China, or any other part of China with forced labor by workers or other minorities. This law is important because it makes sure that companies are aware of what is happening and take steps to stop it. The UFLPA makes companies use processes that already exist in their business. To follow the UFLPA, your company would need to have a compliance program in place. Jamie also explains how regulators could assess companies' compliance programs using the UFLPA.  For ESG to succeed, ESG is important for companies to do well. Each company out there affects more than just the people who work there. It's not just about who you choose to do business with, but also who you choose to profit from. You can't just condemn bad business practices verbally. You have to be actively engaged in ethical behavior.  Resources Assent