US Sentencing Guidelines: Benchmark for an Effective Compliance and Ethics Program

Summary

Compliance is a system that helps companies, organizations, and their employees conduct business and actions ethically and in conformity with regulations and the law. Companies create compliance and ethics programs by putting together a set of guidelines to promote a culture of compliance as well as to prevent and deter misconduct. Such programs are necessary for all companies engaging in business today, not only to enable management to learn of and redress problems, but also to prevent corrupt conduct. Furthermore, having a robust program can work to reduce penalties if a company is ever investigated for a criminal offense. Lastly, compliance and ethics programs are not only important from a best practices standpoint, but are also required by agencies such as the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, as well as Delaware corporate law. See In re Caremark Int'l, 698 A.2d 959 (Del. Ch. 1996) (directors of corporations based in Delaware owe a good faith duty to have an adequate reporting ...