A Trend Toward Transparency

Since the implosion of such corporate giants as Enron and WorldCom, corporate accountability has been in the crosshairs of scrutiny. Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 to enforce standards of operation for all publicly held companies, and to increase the responsibility of executive boards. Phrases like "everybody does it that way" or "we’ve been doing it like this forever" don’t pass for policy.

David Steckler, a healthcare compliance/defense lawyer in New York, saw that the post-Enron wind was blowing toward his specialty, compliance. Its goal: "[to] monitor the ethics and legality of ongoing financial and operational activities," he says.

Steckler, 62, moved to Naples in 2005, and has directed his no-nonsense, Big Apple chutzpah to fast-track Florida Gulf Coast University’s new compliance specialist graduate certificate program.
"We’re training entry-level compliance people in a market that needs them and responding to a clear public need, not just in Florida but around the country," says Steckler, who continues to practice law in New York, and teach law and ethics at FGCU.

Before Enron, compliance programs were applied primarily in hospitals, defense-contracting firms, transportation agencies, universities and other highly regulated industries. Now, says Steckler, all businesses that insure their officers and directors, and that have risk-management programs and bank loans should have compliance programs.

A 2005 Christian & Timbers (known now as CTPartners) Hot Jobs list, which bumped Chief Compliance Officer to No. 3 from No. 9 the year before, and recent articles in The Wall Street Journal and on www­.smartmoney.com, confirm the demand for compliance professionals who "find and fix problems," says Roy Snell, CEO of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics. The profession has seen "ravenous hiring" in the past few years, he says.

A compliance program could be as simple as two physicians reviewing each others’ billing procedures, or a major corporate initiative. No matter the size or scope of the compliance program, it must include several key components in order to be effective, Steckler says:

1. A top-down commitment from the board of directors. "Legally and factually, you need an educated, active and well-organized board getting real-time reports from an active compliance department," says Steckler.
2. Appointment of a compliance officer. While a hospital or a securities firm typically has a compliance department, a smaller company might have a trained staff member or work with a compliance consultant.
3. Staff training. The company needs written documentation that staff members have received training and education. For example, bank personnel would be trained in lending policies, and sales staff in antitrust issues.
4. A system in place to react to violations and concerns. A procedure that includes documentation of an appropriate internal investigation is needed in case of some problem or accusation.
5. A system for ongoing monitoring and review. Steckler calls this a "real-time review" of routine conduct and documentation, which establishes commitment to the compliance program.
6. An internal 800 number for staff. Steckler doesn’t like the word "hotline" but he has seen cases in which a company could have avoided further trouble had it offered employees an anonymous way to report indiscretions or to vent.
7. Self-disclosure. If you discover an overpayment, pay the money back and disclose the mistake.
A strong compliance program can help prove that a problem is a one-time occurrence and not part of the system. "It’s a defense before you need a defense," he says. "A company’s reputation is only as good as tomorrow’s newspaper."