David Smyth recently spoke with law.about.com about the increased attention companies are paying to compliance issues, which can partially be attributed to the growing number of financial regulations being issued, as well as stricter enforcement.
An excerpt from the article by attorney and writer Lori Tripoli can be found below.
Those working in this area can, in part, thank certain bad actors, such as Bernie Madoff, for the increased attention devoted to compliance. Madoff, of course, was the financial wizard who just happened to run the largest Ponzi scheme ever discovered. “Bernie Madoff certainly put many aspects of the financial industry on notice with respect to their compliance responsibilities,” says David Smyth, a partner at Brooks Pierce in Raleigh, N.C. He is also a former assistant director in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division.
Smyth also touched on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act later in the article.
Greater enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act “is one example of an area that has forced companies operating in global markets to get a grip on how they secure international business,” says Smyth.