Author Archives: Justin Smulison

About Justin Smulison

Justin Smulison is the business content manager at RIMS and the host of RIMScast, the society's weekly podcast.
Для тех, кто интересуется безопасным доступом к онлайн-играм, наш партнер предлагает зеркало Вавады, которое позволяет обходить любые блокировки и сохранять доступ ко всем функциям казино.

Compliance in 2018: Q&A with James Reese of the SEC

Posted on by

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently named James Reese as the Chief Risk and Strategy Officer for the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), which also leads the Office of Risk and Strategy (ORS). These offices assess companies’ and products’ risk to the financial markets and influence the SEC’s rule-making initiatives, among other actions. OCIE conducts the SEC’s National Exam Program (NEP), which was created to protect investors, ensure market integrity and support responsible capital formation through risk-focused strategies that:

  • improve compliance
  • prevent fraud
  • monitor risk
  • inform policy

Risk Management Monitor reached out to Reese to find out what he has in store for his office and U.S. businesses.

Risk Management Monitor: Your office administers the NEP to businesses to ensure they are operating in compliance with the law and the SEC rules. Can you describe the information you gather and how it is used?

James Reese: During examinations, we may request and review policies and procedures, supervisory processes, trading activity or any other aspect of a registrant’s business. The results of the NEP’s examinations are used by the SEC to inform rule-making initiatives, identify and monitor risks, improve industry practices and pursue misconduct. The NEP maintains a critical presence among market participants by conducting thousands of exams annually. This provides us with timely, accurate, and reliable information to assist the program and SEC in fulfilling its mission.

buy cytotec online healthdirectionsinc.com/flash/swf/cytotec.html no prescription pharmacy

RMM: You had been OCIE’s acting chief since shortly after its inception. How has the office grown and what is your vision for the next five to 10 years?

JR: Now that we have built synergies across groups, the focus is turning more toward enhancing our risk assessments, providing better support to exam teams, improving our technology and using big data.

Centralizing the staff has led to a more cohesive approach to risk assessment and more opportunities to collaborate and take advantage of cross-discipline problem-solving.

buy renova online healthdirectionsinc.com/flash/swf/renova.html no prescription pharmacy

It has also helped us prioritize those areas where we can make the greatest impact on the NEP, allowing not only our office to maximize its limited resources but in turn also allowing us to focus on how we can provide exam teams tools and data to maximize their resources.

Ultimately, our office’s goals are wide-ranging and include:

  • identifying risks to investors, particularly retail investors, and the markets
  • assisting the home and regional offices in identifying exam candidates
  • developing technology tools and quantitative approaches that exams teams can use to, for example, identify potentially problematic practices at firms and more quickly analyze trading activity
  • monitoring and examining some of the largest financial firms to understand the various market and their operational risks

RMM: What risks are you closely monitoring (or are most influential)?

JR: Since 2013, OCIE has annually published its examination priorities, which generally reflect certain practices, products and services that OCIE believes may present a heightened risk to investors and/or the integrity of the financial markets. In 2018, as in prior years, we have prioritized matters of importance to retail investors, including seniors and those saving for retirement. This translates to pursuing examinations of firms that provide products and services directly to retail investors and focusing on the disclosure and sales practices associated with higher risk products.

buy lariam online healthdirectionsinc.com/flash/swf/lariam.html no prescription pharmacy

We are also focusing on risks to market infrastructure, cybersecurity as well as firms’ anti-money laundering requirements.

RMM: How has a risk manager’s role (and/or its importance) changed since you began at the SEC in 1999?

JR: I have seen more firms identify individuals to either serve as a chief risk officer or build out their risk management function. As SEC Chairman Jay Clayton noted in his recent remarks at the Equity Market Structure Symposium: “One of the few certainties of trading markets is that they continually evolve. New technologies spur new market mechanisms, which, in turn, lead to new trading practices.”

Risk managers face an increasingly difficult task of identifying and triaging these changes, and also having to be proactive. Trying to look around corners, identify emerging issues and spot trends before they metastasize within an organization is the cornerstone of any good risk organization and ORS spends a great deal of time on those activities, as well.

National Safety Month Targets Preventable Deaths

Posted on by

Hazardous work zones, insufficient planning, prescription and illegal drugs and distracted driving continue to affect the careers and companies of employees in the United States. According to the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Injury Facts, the lifetime odds for the top three accidental causes of death are motor vehicle crashes (1 in 102), opioid and painkiller use (1 in 109) and falls (1 in 119).

To demonstrate that “knowing the odds is the first step in beating them,” the NSC launched its No 1 Gets Hurt campaign as part of National Safety Month, which begins June 1.
“Preventable injuries are the third leading cause of death for the first time in United States history,” NSC president and CEO Debbie Hersman told Risk Management Monitor. “Sadly, our national opioid epidemic and the sudden recent increase in motor vehicle deaths have propelled preventable injuries past chronic lower respiratory disease and stroke in terms of how many lives are lost each year. Every single unintentional injury could have been prevented.”

The numbers tell the story. In 2015 there were 214,008 injury-related deaths in the U.S., 69% of which were unintentional.

buy ocuflox online www.delineation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/ocuflox.html no prescription pharmacy

Slightly more than half of those unintentional deaths occurred at home, while the remainder were classified as motor vehicle nonwork (24%), public (22%) and work-related (3%). Although the latter had the smallest number – 4,190 – that still equates to nearly 11.5 preventable work-related deaths per day.

NSC data also indicates that, on average, an additional 12,100 at-work injuries occur each day.

buy aricept online www.delineation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/aricept.html no prescription pharmacy

The cost of these injuries was estimated at nearly $142.5 billion in 2015, equivalent to 15 cents of every dollar of corporate dividends to stockholders, 7 cents of every dollar of pretax corporate profits and exceeds the combined profits reported by the nine largest Fortune 500 companies.

NSC statistics indicate that since 1900, death rates in the U.

buy hydroxychloroquine online www.delineation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/hydroxychloroquine.html no prescription pharmacy

S. have decreased by 71.1%. Preventable causes of death are also down by nearly 45% in the same time period but have been steadily increasing since 1992, which marked its lowest point (60.5%).

No 1 Gets Hurt aims to identify safety risks and prevent the leading causes of injuries and deaths at work and at home. Each week in June will focus on a different overarching cause of injuries and fatalities in the U.S.:

  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Wellness
  • Falls
  • Driving

“This year’s theme, No One Gets Hurt, encourages everyone to make at least one change for safety during June,” Hersman said. “Small actions—creating an emergency escape plan, avoiding using your phone while walking, or wearing your seat belt, for example—can make all the difference.”

To help accomplish thus, tip sheets and articles are available in English and Spanish. NSC members will also have access to other materials, including checklists, 5-Minute Safety Talks, games and best practices. As with other safety-themed campaigns, NSC encourages employers to use these resources during the designated weeks, or create a schedule that works best for their organization.

The NSC made these suggestions to keep workers, families, and communities thinking about safety in June and beyond.

  • Distribute the downloadable National Safety Month materials
  • Create bulletin boards, newsletters or blog posts
  • Encourage others to take the SafeAtWork pledge at nsc.org/workpledge
  • Share posts on your social media channels using #No1GetsHurt
  • Provide safety training
  • Host a safety fair, lunch ‘n learn, trivia contest or celebratory luncheon

“Employers look to NSC for resources to help employees understand safety risks, and we are committed to helping them provide that education—not just in June, but year-round,” Hersman said.

Lava Threatens Hawaii’s Land, Economy and Ecology

Posted on by

Activity from the Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii, in Lava Zones 1 and 2—deemed the most dangerous of the island’s nine zones—continues into its third week. As previously reported, aftershocks, lava flow and lingering hazardous fumes in Lanipuna spilled into nearby areas. About 1,800 people living in surrounding neighborhoods were ordered to be evacuated earlier this month by Hawaii County. The one serious injury reported was of a man sitting on this front porch, who sustained a leg injury caused by lava splatter.

Experts warn that more powerful explosions may follow the 30,000-foot ash cloud that engulfed the sky on May 17. Since then, breathing masks have been distributed to local residents and workers.

On May 18, the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) issued a press release aiming to quell fears about safety on other parts of the island. The statement explained that the only affected region is “a remote area along the Lower East Rift Zone on the island, Kilauea Summit and surrounding areas.” The steam and ash outbursts from Halema’uma’u crater are occurring in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is about 40 miles from the Lower East Rift Zone. This is a natural occurrence as rocks fall into the crater and magma interacts with groundwater.

An “aviation red alert” was issued last week due to the potential that aircraft routes could be impacted by the ash, but flights and normal operations have apparently not been impacted and the HTA maintained that there is “no reason for visitors planning a trip to the Hawaiian Islands to change or alter their leisure or business travel plans.”

Reports indicate, however, that as of last week, cancellations from May through July added up to at least $5 million and bookings for hotels and other outdoors activities have declined by 50%.

And while the tourism and transportation industries are integral to the state’s economy, the risk to its ecology is becoming more evident and immediate. In addition to the falling ashes, air near the site contains sulfur dioxide, which some breathing masks cannot protect against.

Several fissures combined created two lava flows that have entered the ocean off Highway 137 near MacKenzie State Park, according to the Island of Hawaii’s Civil Defense. Highway 137 is a critical stretch along the coast that is the site of several problems for residents. A two-story lava wall emerged on parts of the highway, essentially cutting off a portion of the escape and evacuation route. Authorities have since opened an alternate escape route via Highway 11, which was blocked by almost a mile of lava in 2014.

The lava oozing into the Pacific Ocean has short- and long-term effects on the local ecology. While it is certain to harm or repel marine life, the chemical reaction when mixed with water also affects the air.

A Hawaii county spokesman said recently:

“The lava has entered the ocean. Be aware of the laze (lava haze) hazard and stay away from any ocean plume. Laze is formed when hot lava hits the ocean sending hydrochloric acid and steam with fine glass particles into the air.

As one can imagine, since the laze is in the air, lungs, eyes and skin are particularly susceptible to irritation and it can change direction quickly since it travels with the wind.”

Information on ash hazards and how to prepare for ashfall can be found here.

Although the K volcano has been active for decades, this most recent surge in activity could be attributed to the 6.9-magnitude earthquake on May 4, the strongest quake to hit Hawaii in more than 40 years. The earthquake was one of hundreds to be felt recently on the Big Island, although none of them caused any notable threat to life or property.

Uptick Charted in Telemedicine Cyberrisk

Posted on by

Advances in telemedicine have benefited patients, but, as with any emerging technology, they also create exposure to cybersecurity risk.

buy xenical online thecifhw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/xenical.html no prescription pharmacy

In addition to patients’ data, monitoring and diagnostic devices that can provide treatment from a distance can be compromised due to a variety of causes—from hackers to employee error.

Because of a drastic increase in internal threats, cyber events have become a prevalent threat—with alarming consequences for employers and patients. While malicious actors are perceived as a major threat, 43% of healthcare cyber events are the result of internal threats, according to The Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2017 Annual Data Breach Year-End Review.

The study found that hacking continues to rank highest in the type of attack, at 59.

buy tenormin online thecifhw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/tenormin.html no prescription pharmacy

4 % of breaches—an increase of 3.2% over 2016 figures. Overall, the Review indicates a drastic upturn, with a 44.7% increase over the record high figures reported for 2016.

buy seroquel online thecifhw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/seroquel.html no prescription pharmacy

Here’s more information on cyber breaches and other potentially damaging threats: