The Network GRC Blog

Are You “Doing Compliance”?

May 15 2012

Cindy Knezevich, VP, Marketing Operations, The Network

Are you doing compliance, or getting compliance? There has been a lot of discussion around an article that recently appeared on Forbes.com called “Why Companies Shouldn’t ‘Do’ Compliance.” The author, Dov Seidman, advocates that the current GRC approach to ethics and compliance should evolve into a “GCL” approach, or “governance, compliance and leadership.”

His premise is that too many companies operate under the illusion that simply having a compliance program makes them a more compliant organization. This is a correct assumption if management takes a “check the box” attitude toward compliance and looks to meet the bare minimums needed for certification or a “passing…

Speaking Up and Being Heard

May 14 2012

Clark Bosley, EVP Global Account Management, The Network

Ethics Reporting Needs Dimension A few weeks back I found myself traveling down a somewhat unfamiliar road, in the dark of night and with a thunderstorm quickly approaching. The rain and wind began pelting down, and my wipers could barely keep up with the heavy downpour. The glare from passing cars only added to the fun. “Thank goodness,” I thought. “As long as I can see the white line painted along the side of my lane, I know I’m still on my side of the road.”

Ethics & compliance reminds me of that white line. Ethics is knowing that staying in my lane is important. The white line helps…

The FSGO and Your Ethics Program

May 08 2012

James Barrett, Sr. Marketing Communications & PR Manager, The Network

FSGO and Ethics Almost every enterprise, institution or government entity—public or private, large or small – faces risk in their endeavors. Ethics acts like a grounding rod to help us make the right decision in the face of that risk, and we all sometimes have to manage the balance of risk and reward. Two decades ago, the US government instituted the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) as a way of defining that grounding rod and shining a light on the fact that ethics & compliance programs are both required as well as useful tools toward mitigating risk.

Based on the feedback from an…

Knowing Right from Wrong

May 02 2012

James Barrett, Sr. Marketing Communications Manager, The Network

Knowing Right from Wrong Every now and then, we all need something to really make us think about who we really are and our place in our environment. Such was the case when I recently listened to a thought-provoking piece on NPR called “The Psychology of Fraud.” It tells the story of Toby Groves, who is serving time for bank fraud.

Groves isn’t a black-hearted thief, nor do his crimes rise to the level of a Bernie Madoff or Jeffrey Skilling. But he did commit a fraudulent act, which in turn was supported by his employees and even other partner companies and grew into a…

Is Global Bribery a Necessary Evil?

April 30 2012

Clark Bosley, EVP Global Account Management, The Network

Bribery Is bribery sometimes right? Do laws like the FCPA and Bribery Act actually do more harm than good? We define “bribery” as having a corrupting effect and therefore wrong, and that part is certainly true. But if you follow what one Harvard director has to say, (alleged) briberous companies such as WalMart should be prosecuted, but the laws mandating that prosecution are contrary to business and even national growth.

Writing for CNN, Jeffrey Miron contends it’s only unsophisticated companies that get caught for bribery and that bribery is taking place everyday, especially in developing countries, as standard business practice. Miron has a good point: payments that are…

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