Accountability: The Heart of Compliance

We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode we consider a recent example of the lack of accountability in the corporate world, Wells Fargo and the complete disconnect between what the (former) CEO was saying and the reality on the ground for employee. Some of the highlights include:

•  Why are there disconnects from what senior leadership says or believes and life in the trenches for employees?
• How does an organization turn things around?
• Is bringing in a new CEO enough or must an organization do more?
• Why is transparency is still the best disinfectant?

For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode we consider a recent example of accountability in the corporate world, courtesy of Delta Airlines. Some of the highlights include: ·     Accountability means ‘your problem is my problem’.·     Accountability means keeping your commitment to others. ·     When your organization is accountability to your community it inspires your employees.·     How accountability informs your core values. For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode we consider the process for building a culture of compliance. Some of the highlights include: ·     How to perform an accountability assessment?·     What is a core values evaluation?·     How can you both discover and assess your company’s core values?·     How can you establish core values?·     How can you disseminate your core values throughout your organization? For more information on Sam Silverstein’s Consulting and Organizational Development, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Accountability in Compliance, our hosts Sam Silverstein and Tom Fox and get into the details surrounding the recent speculation around KPMG for fraudulent conduct such as bribery to PCAOB employees to obtain audit schedules, and cheating scandals around ethics in compliance.

Stepping on the Accountability ScaleAs talked about on last week’s show, accountability is about showing commitment to people and to values. Sam finds it ironic that, on the KPMG website, the CEO states their core values but over the last few years, KPMG has been found guilty of many, many fraudulent conducts, which pretty much brings their so-called core values down to a lie. He questions the fact that people would still want to do business with liars even after the facts have been publicly exposed. Sam says the lack of accountability is not only to be blamed on KPMG; it is also on our society for allowing such an organization to continue.

Is Change Possible?According to Sam, if KPMG wants to make a change, first of all, the senior leadership has to believe in the supposed core values of the organization. If the senior leadership goes around the values, then everyone else in the organization will feel it is acceptable to go around the values, as well. As soon as you are making a decision that doesn’t connect to the values, you are sending out the message that value doesn’t count. Another – albeit more drastic – way to make a change is to not allow anyone who doesn’t share the values to stay in the organization at all, thus ensuring that everyone in the organization understands that values matter and so, there are no ethical problems encountered. It has to be a full-on commitment from the top down.

Building Trust AgainSam says in order for customers to regain trust in KPMG, the CEO has to first ‘clean the house from the top down’ and prove over time that they are changing things and that in the future, they make sure to hire people that are from the get-go aligned with the core values of the organization. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Silverstein and Tom Fox, hosts of the new offering from the Compliance Podcast Network, want to welcome you to Accountability: The Heart of Compliance. Tom asks Sam to share with listeners – why exactly is he so passionate about accountability?

A Little Foundation What is accountability? Sam explains it is the foundation for being the best we can be. He says we all got it all wrong: we tend to think accountability is a way of doing things, but it is actually a way of thinking things. Sam shares how he has discovered some amazing things through prioritizing accountability – especially commitment; keeping commitments to people, commitments to the truth, commitments to values. And as a leader, when you show commitment, employees want to show commitment back to you.

Integrity Is an All-Around Thing Sam notes that we often tend to think there’s a big difference between our personal lives and our professional lives but in reality, if we choose to live a life of integrity, that means all areas of our lives have to agree, have to align, whether at home, on the beach or in the business.

What Does it Mean for Business? There are a lot of organizations that operate with a lot of money but little integrity. Sam believes if you run a business with integrity, you will end up with much more money over the long haul, even if it takes more time. Treat your team members with integrity, and they will put in the work and in turn, they will treat your customers the right way. In small businesses, it can be easy for a leader to succumb to pressure, but it’s important to remember to keep making decisions based on what’s right and not based on money only.

What Are the Benefits of Accountability? Sam talks about the responsibilities of an employee: getting the job done and done right, on a timely basis. When a leader is committed to making every decision based on values, employees are inspired to want to make those same commitments in return, be more engaged and take a ‘rather-die-than-let-you-down’ attitude because they know that their leader has the same attitude towards them. Ultimately, he says the quality of work reflects the relationship between the leader and the employee. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode we post the recent Executive Forum on Ethics and Accountability. It focused on effectively expanding the effectiveness of your ethical program, how to use The Accountability Assessment™ to spot deficiencies, and how to build and protect your organization’s ethical culture. Finally how all of this tie directly into the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.

For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode Sam and myself discuss one of the most difficult issues in America today, policing. We consider it from the accountability perspective. Some of the highlights include: 

1. Can you hold everyone accountable?
2. What is the failure in leadership?
3. What is the commitment to “It’s All of Us” and why does it start there?
4. Why is the policing crisis in America an accountability crisis?
5. Why are problems now being tackled by local police departments across the country are not law enforcement issues. They are cultural issues.
6. Where did the Warrior Mentality/Shoot to Kill mindset come from?
7. How do they differ from the Guardian Mindset?
8. How do you turn things around on a law enforcement team that is having problems?

For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.

See Sam’s blog posts:

The George Floyd Moment: An Accountability Revolution

Policing in America: The Accountability Crisis

This Is Not a Law Enforcement Issue – It’s an Organizational Culture Issue

The Solution to the Accountability Crisis in Law Enforcement

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode Sam and I, talk about the Accountability Assessment. Some of the highlights include:

·      The Accountability Assessment creates a baseline by which you can create a roadmap.

·      You can benchmark against your Accountability Assessment for continuous improvement.

·      An Accountability Assessment can identify gaps in your corporate culture.

For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.

See Sam’s blog post, Corporate Culture: Accountability Means Acting on What You Stand For

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode Sam and I, talk about a recent example of accountability by Microsoft. Some of the highlights include: 

• Accountability can start with a written statement.
• Accountability must be followed up with actions.
• If you do not make decisions which align with your stated values, they are really not your stated values.

For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.

See Sam’s blog post, Corporate Culture: Accountability Means Acting on What You Stand For

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have been getting accountability all wrong in the compliance profession. It’s not a set of tasks – it’s a way of thinking and it has to come from the heart as well as the head. On Accountability: The Heart of Compliance Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein dig into what accountability means to the corporate compliance function and business organizations and most significantly, how to make it an integral part of your culture. In this episode Sam and I, talk about why accountability is good for the bottom line and why it will work for your organization. Some of the highlights include:

•  Accountability is even more during the time of Coronavirus.
• Accountability is a way of thinking and a way of acting.
• How does accountability help drive greater ROI and the bottom line.

For more information on Sam Silverstein and his work on accountability, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices