Resisting Temptation in a Crisis: Making Sure Ethics and Compliance Don't Get Diluted Under Financial Strain

As the pandemic crisis begins its long process of receding, near the top of mind in companies of all sizes is how to thrive, or even survive, with the economy in turmoil. With such pressures, it would be easy for business executives to let compliance issues drop down on their list of priorities. Although good compliance professionals will resist any loosening of the reins, they need to be realistic that their resources will be more limited than in the past. At the same time, compliance issues and breaches could even be worse during the pandemic and its aftermath, in light of, to cite just one example, governments' relaxing their procurement rules to make emergency relief easier to achieve. And, once the brunt of the crisis is over, businesses will likely see spikes in sales, which could in turn lead to additional issues or breaches.

With all that in mind, the authors came together in late May for a webinar sponsored by the New York City Bar Association. The goal was not just to kick around ideas, but rather to give the more than 150 attendees ten concrete takeaways—issues we thought would be the most salient on which to focus limited resources, and the most fruitful.