A forthcoming DOJ policy will require Chief Compliance Officers to certify representations about their companies’ compliance programs in settlement agreements with the DOJ. Similar to the requirement set forth in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that CEOs and CFOs must certify their companies’ SEC disclosures, and much like current end-of-monitorship certifications, the policy will require CCOs and CEOs to certify that their companies’ compliance programs have been “reasonably designed” to prevent future violations. The policy is meant to ensure CCOs have “adequate visibility and access to information” about their companies’ business activities and compliance programs. In that sense, Lauren Kootman of the DOJ’s Fraud Section said it is DOJ’s goal that the new policy will “empower” CCOs, rather than target or punish them.
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