Historically, many companies failed to create and implement anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and sexual harassment compliance and training programs. Their reasons were manifold. A sampling of objections we’ve heard over time are below:

  • “We’re so busy that we can’t take time away from making money to address this.”
  • “We’ve had no problems in the past, so there’s no urgent need to make the effort.”
  • “If we ever have trouble, we’ll do it then.”
  • “The money we spend on implementing a program isn’t worth it—no amount of training can assure submission by corrupt employees.”
  • “Our people know the right way to do business.”

Fortunately, these attitudes are waning as companies understand a stark reality: a compliance and training program is synonymous with an insurance policy. No one expects your company offices to catch fire and burn down, but you pay the insurance premiums just in case. As case decisions show, not having a good compliance program can cost millions or shutter the business entirely. Just ask the U.S. company fined over $90 million last year for not maintaining an effective anti-money-laundering compliance program.