Compliance And Ethics

Today’s government contractors, especially those just realizing that they are government contractors, face a compliance and ethics requirements environment significantly different from that of strictly commercial companies. To address the unique compliance and ethics needs of government contractors, panelists will provide an update on recent suspension and debarment matters, awards from the False Claims Act and the lessons government contractors can learn from those decisions. This session will review the Federal Acquisition Regulations on codes of conduct and compliance programs for government contractors. Panelists will also identify strategic ways to demonstrate due diligence in managing risk to government customers, regulators and the U.S. Department of Justice.

We all have lists of policies and procedures we'd like to see updated, revised or implemented. But how do you prioritize a long list of must-haves, knowing that in reality you won't get to all of them right away? Is a document retention policy more or less important than a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act policy? What about policies that depend on other organizations, but often involve (or are driven by) legal, like information security and privacy policies, business continuity plans, etc.? Which ones can be safely patched together or temporarily left alone, and which need to be addressed immediately? This session will give you the information to prioritize policy needs for your company so that you don’t look back and second-guess your choices.

Executive compensation remains a hot issue. This program will discuss the following: (1) proxy advisors say-on-pay assessment process and voting outcome; (2) lawsuits claiming breach of fiduciary duty resulting from failed say-on-pay votes; (3) compliance with Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m); (4) shareholder outreach to discuss company pay practices, compensation plans and decisions; (5) Dodd-Frank rules on compensation committee and advisor independence; and (6) pending Dodd-Frank regulations relating to compensation, including pay for performance, pay disparity and clawbacks.