NACD Helps Corporate Boards Navigate High-Stakes Compliance and Ethical Risks

WASHINGTON, March 09, 2016 -- In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would aggressively focus on individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing. To help directors better understand the board’s role in oversight of their organizations’ compliance and ethics programs, the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), the advocate for the profession of directorship, recently released Director Essentials: Strengthening Compliance and Ethics Oversight. The report outlines key questions directors should ask management when assessing whether their company’s compliance and ethics programs are having a real impact on business conduct.

Director Essentials: Strengthening Compliance and Ethics Oversight describes the compliance-oriented risks and requirements facing boards and directors in clear, easy-to-understand language. It provides

• a guide to the director’s role in compliance and ethics, which focuses on an overview of key legislation, policies, and standards;
• a compliance- and ethics-oversight questionnaire, with questions directors can use to generate and guide positive discussions with their executive teams; and
• a summary of regulators’ expectations, based on the specific language used by U.S. regulators in setting expectations with regard to compliance, ethics programs, and corporate conduct.

“The recent media coverage of high-profile companies that ran afoul of compliance and ethics regulations puts a spotlight on the need for boards to reassess their roles in compliance oversight,” said NACD CEO Ken Daly. “Our new report helps directors better understand the risks inherent in their companies’ operations and provides specific questions to ask management to evaluate the effectiveness of their organizations’ programs.”

Director Essentials: Strengthening Compliance and Ethics Oversight is available exclusively to NACD members and can be found at www.NACDonline.org/Compliance.

About NACD

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) helps more than 17,000 directors lead with confidence. As the recognized authority on leading boardroom practices, NACD aspires to a world where businesses are sustainable, profitable, and respected, and where stakeholders trust directors to develop strategies that create long-term value and provide effective oversight. World-class boards join NACD to elevate performance, gain foresight, and instill confidence. Fostering collaboration among directors, investors, and governance stakeholders, NACD has been shaping the future of board leadership for more than 35 years. To learn more about NACD, visit www.NACDonline.org. To become an NACD member, please contact Steve Kalan at [email protected] or 202-572-2089. If you are already a member, contact your NACD Concierge at [email protected] to ensure that you are receiving the best value from your membership.

Media Contact: 
Henry Stoever
Chief Marketing Officer
202-775-0509
[email protected]