Why Compliance Officers Are Nervous

Eight out 10 are “at least somewhat concerned” about the change in tone in Washington, and about two out of three aren not confident they are getting the resources they need to do the job right. These are among the findings of DLA Piper’s recently released survey, the “2016 Compliance & Risk Report: CCOs Under Scrutiny.” The survey was done in the context of the DOJ’s Yates Memo, released late last year, the appointment of Hui Chen as DOJ’s first compliance counsel, and guidance from Andrew Ceresney, the SEC’s director of enforcement. Taken together, these developments “seemed to signal a new era of scrutiny and personal liability for senior executives and compliance officers.” The survey looked at reporting and governance issues, budgets, training, and attitudes about risk, as well as how risk is being addressed. One specific finding: Half the respondents said their organizations had cyber insurance, and of those ten percent had filed a claim.