Creating a Culture of Compliance

“Cell phone markets in Central America and South East Asia were booming early in the decade and Alcatel SA paid dearly to get in on the action, in more ways than one.  The French telecommunications giant doled out $8 million in bribes to ‘consultants’ to gain access to key government officials awarding lucrative contracts in four countries.  When its actions came to light, subsequent prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) led to fines estimated to exceed $130 million.

In December, the US Federal Government cited a ‘lax corporate control environment’ at Alcatel, which extended right up to the CEO and CFO, as a primary cause of the scandal.  It was a finding that more companies should take to heart.”

‘Top of the tone’ is an overused phase, but if companies want to mitigate fraud, senior leaders need to speak up forcefully.

CFO.com interviewed more than a dozen experts and examined several notable legal cases and compliance failures to determine the five most effective things finance executives can do to prevent risky or illegal activities.

Please click here to view a copy of Kimberly Blanton’s article published in CFO.com.

CSNZ confirms Technical Briefs qualify for CPD unstructured credits.