Goldman Fined $15M Over Short-Sale Reviews

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $15 million to settle charges it failed to perform adequate review of securities that customers had asked it to “locate” for short sales.Federal regulations bar brokerages from accepting short sale orders unless they have borrowed the security, entered into a bona ...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 18, 2016

Fraud Analyst Found Liable for Insider Trading

A former Capital One Financial analyst has been found liable for insider trading in a case that hinged on whether the non-public sales data he used to trade in retail stocks was “material.”A Philadelphia jury agreed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Nan Huang enjoyed a “signif...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 13, 2016

Feds Move to Curb Real Estate Secrecy

In a move to curb money laundering, the U.S. government will temporarily bar buyers of high-end properties in New York City and Miami from hiding behind shell companies.The Treasury Department’s financial crimes enforcement network, FinCEN, on Wednesday issued geographic targeting orders (GTOs) r...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 13, 2016

Using Captives For Cyber Risk Management

Mary A. Chaput Imagine owning an insurance company that you can control, that reduces the cost of your insurance by eliminating underwriting expenses, and that tailors the cost to your own identified risks and risk appetite. And that’s all while reducing your tax burden by allowing the write-off ...

By Mary A. Chaput • Jan. 11, 2016

Appeals Slowing Down SEC’s ‘Fast-Track’ Process

While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is referring more enforcement cases to its in-house court, that may be adding to a logjam of appeals before commissioners.Mary Jo White Using enhanced powers granted under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the SEC has stepped up its use of the ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 22, 2015

Are You Prepared for a Downturn?

Economic cycles are a given, so it is inevitable that an economic slowdown is approaching. Be warned: it could pose serious problems for companies that have allowed their financial strategies to become too lax.John Cryan Capital structureThere are several fundamental warning signs. For one, the m...

By Allison Cavasino and John Cryan • Dec. 16, 2015

FAA Launches Online Drone Registration

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has launched a “streamlined and user-friendly” online registration system for drone operators.The program is intended to help operators comply with federal law effective Dec. 21 that requires registration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Drone operators...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 14, 2015

SEC Fines Research Firm $375K Over Compliance

Political research firm Marwood Group has agreed to pay $375,000 to settle charges that it failed to take sufficient steps to prevent misuse of nonpublic information obtained from government agencies.Marwood provides hedge funds and other clients with regulatory updates and analysis about future ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 30, 2015

Supplier Audits Rise to the Fore — At Least, They Should

As a company’s supply chain grows, so does its exposure to risk. Experts recommend that companies periodically audit their supply chains to identify vulnerable links, but the value that such audits actually deliver is up for debate, for a variety of reasons.For one thing, an expanding list of ris...

By David McCann • Nov. 23, 2015

Special Report: Supply Chain Update

The notion of “globalization” as it applies to commerce is old hat now. But as multinational companies continue to grow, their global supply chains necessarily continue to grow more complex in tandem. That such firms have an ever-more-compelling motivation to keep a close eye on their overseas su...

By David McCann • Nov. 23, 2015

Novartis Settles Kickback Charges for $370M

A judge on Friday approved a $370 million settlement against Novartis over fraud charges that the Swiss drug maker paid kickbacks to specialty pharmacies in return for recommending two of its medications.The case originated with whistleblower allegations from a former Novartis sales manager invol...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 20, 2015

New York Cracks Down on Fantasy Sports Sites

In a significant setback for the fantasy sports industry, New York’s attorney general has ordered DraftKings and FanDuel to stop accepting bets from New York residents, saying their operations amount to illegal gambling.Fantasy sports companies argue that their games are not gambling because they...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 11, 2015

Chinese Citizens Accused of Insider Trading

A former TPG Capital employee and his cousin have been charged with generating more than $300,000 in illicit profits by trading on inside information about health care takeovers involving the private-equity firm.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a civil complaint there was “stro...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 11, 2015

Scottish Man Accused of Stock Fraud by Tweet

In an alleged case of securities fraud through social media, U.S. authorities have charged a Scottish man with making false statements in tweets about two companies in order to manipulate their stock price for his own benefit.The Securities and Exchange Commission said James Alan Craig posted the...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 6, 2015

Is China Hacker Deal Failing to Protect U.S. Companies?

Despite an agreement by President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China that neither country would condone cyberattacks against companies in the other country, the computer systems of at least seven U.S. companies have been subject to “intrusions from actors … affiliated with the Chinese govern...

By David Katz • Oct. 22, 2015

Electronic Payments 10 Times Cheaper Than Checks

Using paper checks to make payments is considerably more expensive for businesses than some electronic payment methods, according to a new survey.The Association for Finance Professionals said in its inaugural 2015 Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey that the estimated median cost of a check transa...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 12, 2015

Three Sources of Big Data to Curb Supply Chain Risk

Although good CFOs never take their eyes off spending, you need to be very careful about trying to wring too much cost out of your supply chain.This is where Big Data analytics can go awry. Many CFOs deploy Big Data analytics to drive out supply chain costs, and often they’re rewarded on that met...

By Jeffrey A. Burchill • Oct. 6, 2015

Special Report: Big Data’s Challenges

After years of treating Big Data almost exclusively as a way to aid marketers and boost revenue, companies are starting to understand the risks of amassing and using overwhelming amounts of information. Yet as they become aware of Big Data’s dark side, they are also finding it a substantial resou...

By David Katz • Oct. 5, 2015

Big Data, Smaller Risk

“Think back to eighth grade, when we had to diagram sentences on the chalk board,” Brian Murrow says, reaching into his past for an analogy to explain how a field of computer science can detect whether call-center employees are bullying customers. Technology used in that field, called “natural la...

By David Katz • Oct. 5, 2015

Big Data and Biometrics: Money Well Spent?

Recent advances in data–storage technology, high resolution imaging, and Big Data analytics have made biometrics a viable option for companies looking for new ways to manage risk, engage with customers, and enhance their customers’ experiences.Biometrics is the practice of using a digital represe...

By Jeffrey Neuburger • Oct. 5, 2015

Whistleblower Showdown Heads to Supreme Court

A recent decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has staged a showdown for the Supreme Court to decide what protections whistleblowers should receive when they report illegal activity internally and an employer retaliates as a result. However the Supreme Court decides, corpora...

By Eric Havian • Sept. 29, 2015

Three Questions for Managing Third-Party Risk

Michele Sullivan In light of increased outsourcing and third-party involvement in day-to-day business operations, financial management functions in all organizations play an important role in third-party risk management programs. A thoughtful approach to better risk management can facilitate redu...

By Michele Sullivan • Sept. 28, 2015

EPA Accuses VW of Cheating on Smog Tests

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has accused Volkswagen of including software in some of its diesel models that enabled them to circumvent EPA emissions standards for certain air pollutants.In a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act issued to Volkswagen on Friday, the regulator said th...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 21, 2015

Fraud Costing Retailers Bigger Chunk of Sales

Retail fraud losses are on the rise and merchants are spending a lot to try to prevent them, according to a LexisNexis survey.The True Cost of Fraud survey of more than 950 merchants found that retailers lost 1.32% of revenue to fraud in 2015, compared with 0.68% in 2014.While all merchant segmen...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 18, 2015

Cyber Insurance Market to Triple by 2020

The cyber insurance market will triple in size to $7.5 billion in annual premiums by 2020 but the high cost of coverage and restrictive conditions on policies may restrict growth, according to a new PwC survey.PwC said businesses across all sectors are beginning to recognize the importance of cyb...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 14, 2015