Ethics in Government Contracting – “What it Means Now and What it May Mean in the New Normal Future”

Government contracts is a highly regulated business, with a range of laws, regulations, contract provisions, and written and unwritten policies and directives. These laws are also specific regarding ethics and contractor standards of conduct. Government contractors must not only navigate traditional ethics issues but also face unique legal ethics issues arising from these various statutory, regulatory and contractual provisions. And the stakes are high: both a company and its individual owners and employees face potential liability for ethics violations.

And, with the COVID-19 crisis threatening to pave new and uncertain roads from the standpoint of ethics compliance and potential procurement fraud investigations from what may prove to be a flood of COVID-related requests for equitable adjustment and other contract modifications, the importance of this topic increases dramatically.

The fact-filled program will focus on understanding the ethics compliance program requirements of the U.S. Government, to include understanding the basics of ethics in Government contracting, designing and implementing an ethics compliance program, conducting proper internal ethics investigations, addressing potential mandatory disclosure requirements, and managing audits and Government investigations regarding ethics-related issues. Finally, we will examine how these programs work in practice by discussing a few hot button and real-life ethics and compliance examples.

Topics Covered:

  • Understanding the legal framework of Government contract ethics and compliance
  • FAR/DFARS requirements for establishing, implementing and maintaining ethics compliance programs
  • Designing an “effective” Ethics Compliance Program
  • The FAR mandatory disclosure rules
  • The importance of proper and consistent employee disciplinary policies
  • Key statutory mandates such as the False Claims Act, the False Statements Act and Procurement Integrity Act
  • Penalties for non-compliance including suspension and debarment issues, and other civil and criminal penalties
  • Real life examples of ethics-related issues and cases
  • Potential COVID-related ethics issues

Learning Objectives:

This seminar will assist attendees in learning to:

  • Recognize and understand ethics compliance risk areas in Government contracts.
  • Analyze general and contact-specific risks in relation to your company, contracts, and program goals.
  • Design, draft, implement and maintain an effective Ethics Compliance Program
  • Conduct proper and effective internal audits to ensure your new or existing program meets all current requirements
  • Deal with specific compliance challenges, including dealing with Government contracting and enforcement personnel

Who Should Attend:

  • Contract managers and administrators
  • Compliance managers
  • Mid-to-senior executives
  • C-level executives
  • In-house counsel
  • Internal audit and finance personnel
  • Government acquisition personnel (COs, CORs, COTRs, program managers)
Some Things to Know About Our Virtual Classes

Important: Technology Requirements

You must have the following:

  • Mic and speakers OR a headset.  For the best audio experience, a headset is preferable.

In addition, for the most successful experience we strongly recommend:

  • Avoid using wireless internet network connections.  Wireless connections are inherently unstable and vulnerable to many factors outside the scope of our control.
  • Close down all major applications during virtual training
  • Recommended minimum bandwidth is 3 Mpbs.
  • You may download and install the Adobe Connect Add-in from below for a better classroom experience: For Windows  users: http://www.adobe.com/go/adobeconnect_9_addin_win For Mac users: http://www.adobe.com/go/adobeconnect_9_addin_mac 

 

Book now!


Course Number: WE03