Dealing with red flags, internal reports and investigations in the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic

We live in a new reality shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. This new reality affects each of us personally as well as the organizations for which we work. As time passes, more and more commentators – including Harvard scientists in a new study published earlier this week in the journal Science – predict that the new reality is here to stay, at least to some degree, for the foreseeable future. 

The major hit on the global economy, including financial recession, increased competition and more pressure on bottom lines, along with cultural changes including remote working and social distancing, present multiple risks to corporate culture. In this world, the importance of robust and vigilant compliance has become even more important in maintaining corporations’ basic values of business integrity.

One of the key messages arising from our previous webinar in this series, Compliance leaders’ perspectives on COVID-19: Adjusting to the new reality, is that the current crisis must not be viewed as an opportunity to relax corporate commitment to compliance. Instead, it requires us to form clear corporate compliance continuation plans, and apply the necessary adjustments to our corporate compliance and control systems that are warranted to address the challenges we face.

In this upcoming webinar, we are delighted to share our perspectives, experience and plans on how to deal with red flags, internal reports and investigations in the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. What are the key challenges in spotting red flags in a world of social distancing? What do organizations experience with their incoming hotline reports? What are the key challenges in conducting internal investigations in times of crisis, and how can we address them?

The webinar was recorded on Thursday 23 April, at 15:00 CEST. In case of questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to us through: sharon.oded@nortonrosefulbright.com

Speakers:

	Fernando Morales Olivera - Vice President, Head of Legal Compliance at Philips
	Adam Mickley - Ethics and Compliance Counsel at VEON
	Roeland de Wit - Group Director Compliance - Investigations & Anti-Bribery at AkzoNobel
	Sharon Oded - Professor of Corporate Compliance and Enforcement at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Regulatory, Compliance and Investigations partner at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP