As a sum of all presentations and in general terms, the conference focused on the future oversight and Governance regulations that will take place with regards to Financial and Legal responsibility starting with the responsibilities of corporate board members to the technicalities related to prudent Risk Management. Compliance also means that CEOs and their Boards will become increasingly dependent upon those people who see how the details of compliance fit into the larger business picture and can communicate this intelligibly.

EU shocked the accountancy community last month when it decided not to proceed with the fast track procedure to endorse the International Accounting Standards Board’s simplification of measurement of financial assets, IFRS 9. The delay came just as the new rules were introduced in most of the rest of the world outside the US. Brussels’ decision, which followed calls by the Group of 20 nations for clearer rules in response to the financial crisis, revealed a deep split among European financial institutions.

We have compiled a list of several International GRC related organizations standards and practices with their corresponding websites.

Please allow us to thank you for your fine cooperation in 2009 and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.

In this issue we focus on the various aspects of the Whistle Blower introductions. Several European Data Protection Agencies are now ready to consider applications from companies who want to introduce a whistleblower system.

The Audit Committee should be involved in setting policies and overseeing the ongoing implementation of the Whistleblower policies. It cannot be farmed out to a third party or delegated to the company. Periodic reports from management of the third party institutions are inadequate.

Various forms of fraud are detected 40 percent of the time by tips. Whistleblower systems are the leading method of detecting fraud. There is however the fear of retaliation by either peer groups, or by supervisors.

Here are some interesting statistics regarding whistle blowers.

Here you will find an interesting article from the Danish daily newspaper Børsen.

Please read Kersis thoughts on Governance, Risk, and Compliance.

• De globale krav til Rapportering, Risikostyring og Compliance
• Bravo Don Ø

The EU believes that if a fight breaks out in a bar, you don't attack the person who started it. You bash the person you don't like instead. Some analysts believe that the European Union's proposed Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive is disparaging.

Several International Banks made national and international headlines in 2008/9. Some of the banks were forcibly closed down by the regulators. Analysis shows that each bank owed their downfall to poor oversight by management and overly aggressive pursuit of commercial real estate loans.

In this and future newsletters we will focus on some of the IT Tools that are available on the market. You can continue to use MS Office and manage your compliance activities in an Excel spreadsheet, but use one of the IT Tools as a dats base for security and easy retrieval.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Nicolas Sarkozy and British leader Gordon Brown now support the idea of a tax on financial market transactions. The tax was first proposed by the American Nobel laureate James Tobin in 1971. After the financial crisis and the financing of the global climate agreement, it is once again on the agenda.

Once Corporate Governance, Risks and Compliance opportunities are clearly understood, a board can take the lead in developing and announcing an explicit GRC strategy on e.g. climate change as an integrated part of the company's business strategy.