Year in Review 2012
1 Bribery and corruption
In 2012, Australia saw the first conviction under Australia’s Crimes Act for bribery related matters. However, an OECD report issued in October 2012 gave Australia a poor rating with regard to the levels of enforcement activity and the investigation of alleged corrupt conduct. This has increased the pressure on Australian regulatory authorities to review prosecution practices. In response, the Australian Federal Police announced in January 2013 that it will reopen several bribery and corruption cases.The investigations of Morgan Stanley and Hercules Offshore by US authorities during 2012 have revealed the benefits to businesses of investing in robust anti-corruption compliance and training programs. US Federal authorities decided not to pursue enforcement action against both companies for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on the basis of their strong internal control systems, amongst other things. From our experience in West Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific we note that the tone set by local management is a critical element in tackling the inherent bribery and corruption risk associated with operating in a high risk country.
Read more in the article: Anti-bribery and corruption – How effective is your program? Our overseas experience
2 Investigations - risky business
The Tchenguiz example highlights that even experienced investigators and legal advisors need to be cognisant of the risks associated with conducting investigations.
Read more about the tips to consider when undertaking an investigation in the article: Investigations – risky business
3 How comfortable is today’s Boardroom?
In recent times, we have seen several themes occupying an increasing amount of time on the agendas of Boards including:+ the tone at the top - how management’s attitude and beliefs may impact on employees’ ethics and integrity;
+ risk appetite - why front line businesses need to understand their accountabilities and be supported by effective and commercial assurance solutions; and
+ corporate governance - do risk and assurance teams have clearly articulated plans and execution strategies?
How comfortable are you that the bases are covered and that all information, including the bad news, is making its way into the Boardroom?
Read more about what actions you can take in the article:How comfortable is today’s Boardroom?
4 Risk management - volatility, uncertainty, and regulation
In 2012, further intensification of the European debt crisis and rising concerns in relation to the US “fiscal cliff” weighed on the minds of Directors and Senior Executives. Most of them recognise that world markets are likely to remain volatile, with low growth and tighter credit markets. These issues, together with increasing regulation and regulatory scrutiny, as well as greater activity from hungry class action lawyers, have refocused Directors’ attention on their ever growing obligations.Read more about the challenges facing Australian Board members in relation to: market volatility and uncertainty; low or negative growth; access to finance markets; and increasing regulation and regulatory scrutiny in the article: Volatility, uncertainty and regulation.
5 How risk can be mitigated in the Cloud
The trend of companies moving IT processing and storage to the Cloud is growing rapidly and organisations need to give due and proper consideration to the legal, privacy and security implications of this change in the IT service model.Rapid growth in the Cloud computing industry has resulted in more providers to choose from. The quality of service and infrastructure offered by a provider could have profound risks to the security and accessibility of your data.
Read more about possible pitfalls with storing data in the Cloud in the article: How can risk be mitigated in the Cloud?
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