EA, Ethics and Gov't Contractors

Ethical Advocate (EA), in conjunction with distinguished accounting and legal firms Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, facilitated an ethics seminar for federal government contractors on July 17^th in Vienna, VA.

By virtue of new Federal Acquisition Regulations, federal contractors are now mandated to have ethics and compliance trainings and programs in place after the awarding of certain types of federal contracts.

Led by EA president Jacob Blass, the seminar engaged participants in the following critical areas:

·   The cost and scope of unethical actions

·   Who is involved

·   The critical importance to employees – and the company - for its leaders to be ethically driven

·   Why an ethical culture trumps ethical policies

·   What can you directly and uniquely do to create and influence your company’s ethical culture

EA, as part of its focus to serve federal government contractors with its FISMA certified hotline services and ethics trainings, is working with increasing numbers of government contractors to bring them into compliance.

EA to Lead Ethics Seminar for Duke Management Team

Ethical Advocate, a leading risk, governance and compliance company, will facilitate a seminar for over 100 members of Duke University’s management team on May 20, 2008.

   The seminar, titled “Creating Values and Ethics in Your Company", will:

* Address how to deepen the ethical culture of your organization

* Assist participants in defining their own values and ethics

* Examine how people compromise their values and ethics, and

* Provide tools for avoiding such compromise

EA to Present to the Northern Virginia Government Contractors Council

Jacob Blass, President, Ethical Advocate, a leading risk, governance and compliance company,  will participate in a panel discussion for the Northern Virginia Government Contractors Council of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, on May 29, 2008.

New Federal Acquisitions regulations are requiring government contractors to have ethics programs of depth and substance.

   The seminar, titled “Ethics with Teeth” will:

* Address how to deepen the ethical culture of your organization

* Examine how people compromise their values and ethics, and

* Provide tools on how to avoid such compromise


Whistleblower Hotline Systems Provider Ethical Advocate Receives Industry-First FISMA Certification

CHAPEL HILL, NC--(Marketwire - December 18, 2007) - Ethical Advocate, a leading provider of confidential and anonymous incident reporting systems, often called Whistleblower systems, today announced that its EthicsVault reporting application has been certified as the first and only Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) compliant third-party hotline. Compliance with FISMA is mandated by law to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and systems that support the operations and assets of government agencies. Agencies failing to meet FISMA requirements face withholding of federal funds and withdrawal of contractor eligibility status.

FISMA requires federal agencies to develop, document, and implement agency-wide information security programs. All U.S. government federal agencies and qualifying organizations contracted on behalf of U.S. government agencies must conform to FISMA's mandatory processes.

FISMA certification addresses access control, physical and environmental protection, incident response and authentication. There are 158 FISMA control requirements, each with many corresponding specific obligations. "As the only FISMA-certified reporting system, this is the most complete and secure approach for whistleblower hotlines and systems in the government sector," said Janet Hankins, EthicsVault system manager. "With our systems housed at one of the most secure hosting facilities in the United States with guaranteed 99.99% uptime availability, EthicsVault delivers the required availability, security and integrity required to ensure confidential reporting."

The EthicsVault hotline supports the reporting of federal procurement fraud and meets the Department of Justice (DOJ) National Procurement Fraud Task Force recommendations that qualified government contractors be required to operate compliance programs with reporting mechanisms such as hotlines. These recommendations stipulate that contracts be denied to organizations without compliance programs.

Studies indicate that people are far more likely to use external hotline services such as EthicsVault to report issues due to guaranteed anonymity and diminished fear of repercussions. EthicsVault's unparalleled FISMA certified hotline makes this application the foremost choice for government agencies and contractors.

About Ethical Advocate

Ethical Advocate (EA) provides anonymous incident reporting systems to more than one million users in all sectors, including corporate, government and educational institutions. EA incident reporting supports FISMA, Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and many other regulatory and reporting requirements. Persons desiring to report incidents, indiscretions, or suggestions can do so securely, 24/7/365, multilingual, via the Internet and phone. For more information, visit www.ethicaladvocate.com or call (888) ETHICS6.

EA President Presents at The Directors' Education Institute at Duke University

   Jacob Blass, President, Ethical Advocate, a leading risk, governance and compliance company,  participated on a distinguished panel at The Directors' Education Institute at Duke University on November 9th.

   The panel, titled “Enlightened Self-Interest: The Ethical Well-Being of Your Company” addressed the following critical questions: Are boards subject to ethical obligations that transcend their legal obligations?  What is the source of, and how to define, ethical norms?  How to address ethical concerns about environmental issues, working conditions and the interests of local communities and other stakeholders.

   DEI is an ISS-accredited, intensive, innovative two-day program developed by the Duke Global Capital Markets Center with the support of the New York Stock Exchange Foundation to address the recent developments in corporate governance. This program is designed for board chairs, corporate directors and senior executive officers of publicly traded corporations.

For more information visit www.gcmc.duke.edu

Ethical Advocate President Addresses South Carolina State Internal Auditors Association

Ethical Advocate President Jacob Blass addressed the most highly attended meeting in recent history of the South Carolina State Internal Auditors Association  on August 24, 2007.  He facilitated a three hour presentation on Enlightened Self-interest: How You Influence Fraud in Your Company and the 3-5 Things You Can Do About It.

This is the third in a series of presentations Mr. Blass is providing for Internal Auditors Association chapters.

Whistleblowing Is Now Allowed

Ethical Advocate president Jacob Blass is interviewed in the Durham Herald Sun regarding the importance of anonymous and confidential incident reporting solutions

Ethical Advocate Receives High-Level Security Certification

Ethical Advocate, a Chapel Hill based leading provider of governance and risk management services, announced that it received a high-level security certification for its anonymous and confidential incident reporting services, designed to meet compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, Section 301.

Ethical Advocate underwent a rigorous data security audit conducted by a third party auditor, AppSec Consulting, based on the credit card industry’s stringent standards (PCI-DSS) designed to protect consumer information.

The testing of the Ethical Advocate website within the framework of PCI-DSS to assure the security and privacy of sensitive data and confidential information transmitted, processed and stored by the application, resulted in Ethical Advocate receiving the high-level security certification.

According to Jacob Blass, President of Ethical Advocate, “We are pleased to announce another step to ensure our client’s trust in knowing that all data is maintained and communicated within the highest security systems available. This places Ethical Advocate right at the top of providing IT security.”

EA President to Present at Special IIA Seminar
Jacob Blass, President of Ethical Advocate will present a special seminar to the Institute of Internal Auditors in Charleston, SC on March 14th. The session is being sponsored by the Charleston chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Mr. Blass will cover a number of pertinent topics with a focus on the extent of fraud in the workplace, and then lead the attendees through a hands-on workshop on “The Five Action Steps You Can Initiate to Prevent Fraud in Your Workplace.”

Ethical Advocate President to Participate on Institute of Internal Auditors Panel with Cynthia Cooper
On October 17, 2006, Ethical Advocate President Jacob Blass will participate in a Panel Discussion at the Mid-Atlantic Region  Institute of Internal Auditors Conference, "Corporate Fraud and Ethics".  Other panel participants and guest speakers include Cynthia Cooper, who will speak about her role in uncovering the corporate fraud at WorldCom – to date the largest corporate fraud in history.  This event is sponsored by the Raleigh-Durham Chapter and will be held at the FridayCenter Chapel Hill, NC.  Participation is $150 for members and non-members.



Ethical Advocate Founder Receives Prestigious Award

Ethical Advocate Founder and KJAS President Janet Hankins has been selected to receive the Triangle Business Journal prestigious 40 under 40 award.  Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Leadership Award program recognizes business people under the age of 40 who have already found success in their careers, take time to give back to their communities and show promise for continued future success.