Key Takeaways:This week the DOJ published revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Policy designed to even further encourage companies to make voluntary self-disclosures of wrongdoing within their ranks, cooperate with investigations, and take remedial actions. The DOJ’s emphasis on the importance of cooperation as a tool to prevent corporate fraud comes on the heels of a widely circulated study suggesting that corporate securities fraud is widespread and on the rise. These policy revisions also make clear that it is critically important for companies to carefully and thoroughly identify and weigh the various cost-benefit considerations that accompany a decision to self-disclose. Be it as it may and irrespective of whether corporate fraud is on the rise, one prime point of the study is that corporate fraud exists. Thus, the current discussion of corporate fraud (in an environment of difficult economic times) as well as corporate cooperation and compliance serve as an important reminder for corporations of the high value of robust compliance programs.

Source: New York Times January 19, 2023 19:01 UTC