Surveys

The Economy Compliance and Ethics: 2011 Report

Each year the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Health Care Compliance Association jointly conduct a survey of compliance and ethics professionals to determine the impact of the economy on compliance and ethics programs.

This year’s study reveals a brightening picture with more survey respondents than ever reporting an increase in spending. Yet, dark clouds remain with many concerned that the economy still increases the risk of a compliance failure.

 RAC Audit Survey

As outlined in the FY2010 Report to Congress on "Implementation of Recovery Auditing at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services," a Recovery Audit demonstration was conducted from March 2005 to March 2008, in six states, to determine if Recovery Auditors could effectively be used to identify improper payments for claims paid under Medicare Part A and Part B.

Due to the success of the Recovery Audit demonstration, the U.S Congress passed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which authorized the expansion of the Recovery Audit program nationwide by January 2010.

FY 2010 was the first year in which the Recovery Auditors began actively identifying and correcting improper payments under the National Recovery Audit program.

The Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) conducted a survey to gather information about how healthcare providers are responding to the RAC audits. Specifically we were seeking to determine the role of compliance professionals in the process, as well as the impact the RAC audits have on health care provider staffing and spending.

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Stress, Compliance, and Ethics

Compliance and ethics professionals are very much under stress. This survey reveals that new regulations, adversarial relationships and difficulty with groups such as sales are causing sleepless nights for most and leading a clear majority to consider leaving their jobs.

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Survey by SCCE and HCCA Reveals Little Impact of Dodd-Frank ActThe passage of the Dodd-Frank Act led many to fear that compliance and ethics programs would be subverted by the law’s incentives.

A new survey conducted jointly by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Health Care Compliance Association reveals that organizations are generally not making big changes to their programs.

In fact, the data reveals two potential positives from Dodd-Frank: more communication to employees about reporting opportunities, and more training of managers about how to handle allegations.

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The Health Care Compliance Association conducts online and hard copy surveys related to various industry trends. Topics have included Compliance Officer responsibilities, Privacy Officer duties, and HIPAA Privacy Rules Implementation. Please see below or click on the links Annual Surveys, or Other Surveys, to see the results from previous surveys conducted by the Health Care Compliance Association.

2011 Social Media Survey

As social media usage continues to expand, business continues to struggle to find a way to manage inappropriate usage of these web sites.  To assess what is being done to meet this challenge, the Society of Corporate Compliance and Health Care Compliance Association fielded a survey among compliance and ethics professionals.  The results show that more companies are drawing the line, but many others are taking a slower approach.  And, when it comes to auditing and monitoring corporate policies, there is still a long way to go.

Privacy and the Compliance Office

Over the last several years sensitivity by both consumers and organizations to the need for enhanced oversight of data privacy has grown exponentially. To assess the role that the compliance team is playing in managing expanding privacy regimes, the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and Health Care Compliance Association fielded a survey in January 2011. The purpose was to both identify compliance officers’ areas of responsibility as well as their assessment of the risk. 

Read the survey results.

Compliance Budgets and Staffing On the Upswing in 2010 Prognosis for 2011 is Bright

Since 2008 the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and Health Care Compliance Association have been annually surveying compliance and ethics professionals to determine the impact of the economy on budgets and staffing.

In a newly released survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2010, the data reveals greater feelings of security by compliance professionals, accompanied by rising budgets and staffing levels.  Download the survey to see:

• Trends in spending and staffing in 2010 vs. 2009
• Anticipated 2011 staffing and spending changes
• Management attitudes towards compliance and ethics
• Perceived job security by compliance and ethics professionals

Download Survey Results 

The Evolving Role of the Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer
For more than fifteen years the role of the compliance and ethics officer has been growing.  What was once an area of responsibility for a few individuals has grown to a full-fledged profession. 

Recent changes to the US Sentencing Guidelines are elevating the importance of the compliance officer even higher.  At the same time, there has been a growing movement, led in many ways by the US government, to move compliance out of the general counsel’s office and make it a separate function.  Such has been the case with several high profile settlements.

Yet, this also raises the risks for compliance officers.  They may appear to senior leadership to be a potential challenge to their control of what the board sees.  To assess the impact of these forces have had on the compliance office, and the protection being afforded to the compliance officer, the SCCE and HCCA jointly fielded a survey of compliance and ethics professionals.  The research focused on the protection accorded through severance agreements.  It also examined where in the organizational chart the compliance office is located. Download Survey Results 

The Importance of Ethical Culture: Increasing Trust and Driving Down Risks

We like to believe that, as adults, we make decisions independently and are far beyond
succumbing to peer pressure. But social science research tells us that is simply
not the case. Study after study confirms it: the vast majority of people act based on
the circumstances in their environment and the standards set by their leaders and
peers, even if it means compromising their personal moral ideals. "Good" people do
bad things if they are put in an environment that doesn't value values, if pressured
to believe that they don't have any choice but to get the job done—whatever it takes.

This report, sponsored by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE), is published by the Ethics Resource Center (ERC). Download a Copy Now!  Download Survey Results

The Relationship Between the Board of Directors and the Compliance and Ethics Officer
The proper relationship between the board and the chief compliance and ethics officer (CECO) is critical to an effective compliance program. Without board access, the compliance officer may be impended in his or her efforts to prevent, identify and correct
wrongdoing, especially if laws or policies are violated by senior management. Download Survey Results

The Economy, Compliance and Ethics:  2010 Report
What has been the impact of the economy on compliance and ethics?  And what will it be in 2010?  This survey reveals how compliance spending and staffing were impacted in 2009 and expectations for 2010. Download Survey Results

Healthcare Fraud 2009:  A Rising Risk
The current economy appears to have significantly raised the risk of health care fraud. This brief HCCA survey, conducted during November and December 2009, reports that that actual or attempted fraud in health care is on the rise.  Download Survey Results 

Compliance, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

To help determine what employers are doing to manage worker usage of social networking sites, the SCCE and HCCA conducted a survey among compliance and ethics professionals.  The results show that while one-fourth of companies have already had to discipline an employee, only 10% have a policy addressing social network sites.  In addition, monitoring of online activity is still underdeveloped.

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Compensation, Performance, Compliance and Ethics

Companies for years have sought to align their compensation, incentive, and performance evaluation programs with individual and corporate goals. New research among compliance and ethics professionals conducted jointly by the Society of Corporate Com­pliance and Ethics and the Health Care Compliance Association reveals that when it comes to compliance and ethics metrics, very little has been done to incent ethical behavior.  Download the survey results.

Download Survey Results 

Corporate Gifts & Entertainment A Survey of Practices

Despite the reports of lavish executive pay, when it comes to entertainment and gift giving, the business world may be far less generous than people think.   A survey of compliance and ethics professionals revealed that, on the whole, business is fairly restrictive of the gifts employees can give and receive and how they can entertain.  About two-thirds (63%) either ban gifts to employees or require that they be modest or at a price less than $50.  And, with the comparable numbers for entertainment comparable at 62%, the data does not suggest that business is on an entertainment spree.

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Third Party Risk Management:  A Long Way To Go

Despite the proliferation of third party relationships in business, relatively few companies set ethics and compliance expectations on the companies that they rely on to act on their behalf.

The SCCE survey found that only about half of companies (47%) disseminate their internal, employee code of conduct to third parties.  Just 26% require that third parties certify to their codes of conduct, and only 17% of organization have a code of conduct that is applicable to third parties.

These relatively weak controls pose a great risk in the current enforcement environment.

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The Economy, Compliance and Ethics

See Where you Stand

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Get Results of Survey conducted by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and Health Care Compliance Association

HCCA 10th Annual Survey
Profile of Health Care Compliance Officers (PDF 6mb)
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May 2008