Building Resilience into your Ethics & Compliance Efforts

Transcription

1 Building Resilience into your Ethics & Compliance Efforts Steve C. Morang CFE CIA CRMA Copyright 2016 Steve C. Morang All rights reserved.

2 Presentation Overview Introduction What is resilience? Why is it important to Ethics & Compliance? How to integrate resilience into key areas of your Ethics & Compliance efforts Conclusion Wrap up / Q&A 1

3 Introduction Learning objectives in this web conference include: Gain an better working knowledge of resilience Communicate the importance of resilience back to your organizations Enhance your current Ethics & Compliance programs by building resilience into key areas Use personal resilience techniques to strengthen your role and position in your organization 2

4 Introduction About Me: 20+ years working in public accounting and industry in Europe and the United States Background includes both Management and Sales & Marketing positions Over ten years experience working as a Big Four management consultant in the areas of governance, risk & compliance (GRC) Active member in the ACFE and IIA organizations. 3

5 Disclaimer The materials and opinions presented here are my own, and do not reflect the opinions of my employer, Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP or that of the SCCE. 4

6 What is resilience? Is it a measure of strength? Of courage? A type of Mindfullness? The ability to react 5

7 What is resilience? The ability to stay positive and effective in difficult or challenging circumstances and feel optimistic about the future. 6

8 Why do we care? Ethics & Compliance is an ongoing battle for most organizations. Although there are short term, mid term and long term objectives in any E&C program, there is never really an end to one. During their careers, E&C professionals will face a variety of challenges, obstacles and shifts in momentum and pressure. Building resilience into your E&C teams and the program itself will help ensure that you maintain top performance during these most challenging of times. 7

9 How do we build it? Make it personal. Resilience starts with you. Personal resilience needs to happen before you can further develop team or program resilience. By definition, resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity Let s be brutally honest, how often do we get discouraged as E&C professionals? Most likely we face some form of adversity on a regular basis. It s because of this that we need to start by focusing on ourselves. 8

10 How do we build it? Making it happen. Resilience can be learned. An integrated life strengthens resilience. Positive emotions, social connection and meaning all strengthen your resilience. Use of natural strengths and getting into flow increase performance and satisfaction. Your mindset is critical to success. Rituals help in changing the way we think and act. 9

11 An Integrated Life Strengthens Resilience Weakness in any of these areas it will undermine your resilience and your well-being. Strive to be moderate to strong in most areas. Going beyond Meaning and Volunteering/ Sprituality/ Purpose contributing Values Me at my best Positive Emotions Social Connection Strengths/ Accomplishment Biological Foundations Physical Activity Sleep Nutrition 10

12 Sources of Wellbeing Going beyond Overall wellbeing Me at my best Biological foundations 11

13 Building Resilience into the Ethics & Compliance Efforts Ethics & Compliance programs come in all shapes and sizes. They are constantly evolving and are truly a mixture of art and science. This training will take a look at four critical areas of an Ethics & Compliance program and how resilience can be used to improve each of these areas. The four areas we will be looking at today are: 1. Tone at the Top 2. Corporate Culture 3. Risk Assessments 4. Testing & Monitoring 12

14 Building Resilience into Tone at the Top The starting point for all world class ethics and compliance program is the board and senior management, and the sense of responsibility they have to protect the shareholders reputational and financial assets. The board and senior management should do more than just check the box to ethics and compliance. They need to act boldly to empower the individuals who have day to day responsibilities to mitigate risks and build organizational trust. Resiliency in action 1. Build into the communication words and phrases that evoke positive emotions and strengthen the feeling of community. 2. Focus on the positive impact that the program will make on the organization. 3. When holding team meetings, ensure that the tone remains positive and inclusive of multiple points of view and experience. 4. However your program is structured, be sure the proper amount of resources have been allocated to both effectively and efficiently run the program without unacceptable levels of stress. 13

15 Building Resilience into Corporate Culture A culture of integrity is key to any world class ethics and compliance program. Initiatives that do not clearly contribute to a culture of ethical and compliant behavior could be viewed as obligatory functions instilling controls that are impediments to driving value. Resiliency in action 1. Speaking up can cause anxiety. But that is exactly what you are asking employees to do if they see something questionable. Therefore, training should focus also on building a culture of trust in your ethics & compliance program, and thereby also developing the resiliency of potential whistleblowers. 2. Actions speak louder than words, be careful to monitor the cultural temperature of the organization and focus your efforts on maintaining the proper balance to promote resilience throughout. 14

16 Building Resilience into Risk Assessments Ethics and compliance risk assessments are not just about process they are also about understanding the risks that the organization faces. The ethics & compliance risk assessment should focus the board and senior management on those risks that are most significant within the E&C risk universe, and provides the basis for determining the actions necessary to avoid, mitigate, or remediate those risks. Resiliency in action 1. Risk assessments, while very valuable, can also be very stressful to some participants. Building trust is very important during this exercise. Whenever possible, try making this exercise fun and entertaining to help reduce anxiety in the group. 2. There is a tendency to roll over risks from prior periods and generally keep the same or similar risk rankings. As this happens, interest in and effectiveness of the risk assessment can wane. Challenge the group to question prior assumptions and bring new ideas into the assessment. 15

17 Building Resilience into Testing and Monitoring A robust testing and monitoring program can help ensure that the control environment is effective. The process begins with implementing appropriate controls, which should be tested and ultimately monitored and audited on a regular basis. Resiliency in action 1. Testing is often seen as a purely compliance driven exercise which is taking away critical resources from running the business. It can also be very repetitive and at times a drag. Be candid about the state of the testing in your organization and think about ways to improve it that would help those involved to become more resilient. For example, asking persons involved in testing to also provide recommendations on improving controls or processes will make the exercise inherently more interesting. 16

18 Final Thoughts 1. Resiliency starts with you. 2. It spreads to your teams. 3. And finally into your Ethics & Compliance program. 4. Thoughtfully adding resilience will make your organization stronger in times of adversity. 17

19 Thank You Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP certified public accountants Questions? Contact Information: Steve C. Morang, CFE CIA CRMA Fraud & Forensics Leader smorang@frankrimerman.com (Cell) Copyright 2016 Steve C. Morang All rights reserved.