On May 2, 2013, the RAND Corporation convened a symposium, "Culture, Compliance and the C-Suite: How Executives, Boards and Policy-Makers Can Better Safeguard Against Misconduct at the Top," to stimulate a broad conversation about the challenges posed by executive misconduct (e.g., episodes of fraud, malfeasance, unethical behavior) at the level of the chief executive, financial, and other officers (sometimes called the C-suite). The symposium conversation also focused on the risk factors that contribute to executive misconduct and on practical steps that could be taken to strengthen compliance and ethical tone at the C-suite level and the unique roles of directors, top executives, chief ethics and compliance officers (CECOs), and government regulators and policymakers in pursuing those steps. Prior to the symposium, several of the invited participants were asked to prepare and present formal remarks on corporate culture, compliance, and the C-suite. Their white papers, distributed in advance of the event, represent varied perspectives on law enforcement, organizational behavior, and compliance activity, all relating to instances of C-suite misconduct. The speakers presented their remarks during the first session of the symposium. The second and third sessions engaged the symposium participants in interactive discussions, launching from the foundational remarks initially offered by the white-paper authors. These proceedings summarize the discussion and include the white papers.
