Codes of Conduct: Are we honorable or are we hypocrites?



Richard L. Cassin Publisher and Editor
Jessica Tillipman Senior Editor
Elizabeth K. Spahn Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn Contributing Editor
Bill Waite Contributing Editor
Shruti J. Shah Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson Contributing Editor
Bill Steinman Contributing Editor
Aarti Maharaj Contributing Editor
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Here's the latest FCPA disclosure from oil field services firm Halliburton Company from its Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 7:
Michael Scher's post, The real code of conduct nobody mentions, brought this to mind.
We've been talking about codes of conduct for compliance officers. But let's face it. At too many companies, the true code is simple: Please Your Boss. The conflict resolution principle is Go Along to Get Along. In practice, at these companies compliance is subservient to the power and prerogatives of top management.
The discussion of a Code for Compliance Officers highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses of the compliance profession.
A compliance professional working in China posed this question: What is the role of a compliance professional?