On February 8, the Fraud Section of the United States Department
of Justice (DOJ) posted on its website a document entitled
"Evaluation of Compliance Programs" (the
"Guidance"). This is the first formal guidance issued by
the Fraud Section of the DOJ since the Trump administration took
office. In the context of an investigation where your compliance
program must be evaluated, how would your company fare?
The DOJ recognizes that every business is different. The
Guidance provides a series of questions that captures the DOJ's
most current thinking on what constitutes best practices
in an effective compliance program. A compliance program should be
adapted to each company's unique culture and particular risks
– and the program needs to be supported by the words and
deeds of all of management. The Guidance clearly addresses this
issue, sometimes referred to as "tone at the
top". This isn't the only area in which companies
often fail the effectiveness test.
