Many conferences, white papers and webinars have been dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI). Futurists, technologists, and innovators on the bleeding edge of technology have shared the seismic changes to the workplace the compliance industry should expect. The shift from linear growth to exponential growth and the elimination of administration has been on the tip of every tongue.

The rules for dealing with third parties used to be simple: perform due diligence, implement sanctions screening software, use reputable cloud providers, and ensure that everybody stays out of politics. Today, third-party risk is no longer limited to the wrath of the Department of Justice and Serious Fraud Office. Reputational risk has gone up exponentially with respect to third-party behavior.  

In January, the Russian government proposed to make some corrupt acts exempt from punishment in “unavoidable” circumstances. Decision-makers in today’s global organizations have been left wondering what that might mean for their own operations in the country. 

Incentivizing ethics has been one of the most heated topics in the compliance space for years. With the topic gaining even more exposure in 2018, it's time to review the positives and negatives of ethical incentives to learn how we can encourage truly ethical behavior and not a gaming of the system.