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Does it look strange to anyone else that our Icon on the right for expanding/collapsing "Most Recent Posts" frame is like bright white?
It's not a huge deal but since all the rest of the buttons are on a brown theme, would it look better if this one was as well?
I'm just asking and maybe we want this button to stick out - although personally I would prefer it toned down because I don't change it after it's set.
Thanks again for all the efforts put into this awesome site!


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It's not hard to see how the smartphone — iPhones, BlackBerrys and their ilk — is changing the way we view the phone.
I t's not hard to see how the smartphone — iPhones, BlackBerrys and their ilk — is changing the way we view the phone. The latest versions transform the handset from a phone with a few extras into a true, untethered palm-sized computer, a vision first brought into being years ago, and only now bearing fruit.
But the smartphone's impact on the supplier side of the equation — the wireless carriers — may be just as far-reaching. Each of the country's four largest cellular carriers is upgrading its networks at great expense to cope with today's vastly increased usage and the expectation that capacity needs will only keep expanding by leaps and bounds.
The carriers are jockeying for bragging rights about which company will have the fastest network in the world of 4G, or fourth-generation mobile technology. At the heart of this push today and for the foreseeable future are the bandwidth needs of the smartphones and other devices and customer expectations of how well the devices should operate.
"Customers want speeds like they're used to having on their laptops and computers at home on their handheld device," said Mike Maxwell, vice president and general manager for the Pacific Northwest at AT&T.
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The iPhone has acted as the leading edge of that charge, with AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive wireless carrier, suffering widely reported bandwidth crunches on its 3G (third-generation) network. "It's a more intensive use. It requires a stronger network. Our data traffic levels have gone up considerably with the iPhone being out," Maxwell said.
And, as Monica Paolini, principal of Seattle-area consulting firm Senza Fili, said, "The problem is not going away, it's getting worse by the day."
That worries cellular carriers enough to commit tens of billions of dollars over the next few years to build more robust, faster 4G networks. The investment includes purchasing more spectrum to handle more simultaneous data in a given area, upgrading standards to squeeze more data out of data channels, and boosting so-called "backhaul" to carry all the additional bits and bytes from cell towers back to core networks and the Internet.
If all goes as expected, 4G speeds will be 4 to 8 times faster than 3G network rates today, with coverage available over broader areas.
But for all of 4G's promise, only a limited number of major U.S. markets will have access to 4G networks in 2010, and then largely only through data cards and 4G-to-Wi-Fi gateways.
The Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area is promised its first taste of 4G from Clearwire by year's end, updating a slower, less standardized technology currently in place. Clearwire will be followed almost surely by Verizon's 4G service in 2010, and AT&T in 2011 or 2012.
Each carrier's path
To implement 4G technology, each carrier is making its own path toward higher data-transmission rates with more robust service. AT&T and Verizon have spent about $20 billion securing former analog television-broadcasting spectrum to roll out LTE, a 4G technology called Long Term Evolution that can't be retrofit on current 3G spectrum owned by the firms.
Sprint has opted to go faster to market with WiMax, a technology that shares a fair amount in common with LTE, but which was farther along in hardware development when the carrier made its 4G commitment in 2006.
Sprint acquired a majority interest last year in a reconstituted Clearwire, once a competitor, to merge massive national spectrum holdings and leases. (For its part, Kirkland-based Clearwire faces the challenge both of building a national network nearly from scratch — securing tower rights, mounting gear, installing backhaul — and marketing a new brand name, Clear, and a set of offerings to customers that have never heard of the firm.)
Bellevue-based T-Mobile USA, caught with the smallest spectrum holdings, has a path that's far less clear and has been coy about 4G plans.
AT&T strategy
AT&T believes it has the best strategy among its competitors, using HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) as a relatively inexpensive bridge between current 3G speeds and its future 4G deployment.
The company is now doubling the raw speed of the downstream side of its HSPA network from 3.6 to 7.2 Mbps. Practically speaking, that's a jump from a range of a typical top rate of 1.7 Mbps up to as fast as 4.5 Mbps, based on reports from deployed networks in Europe. (AT&T isn't yet suggesting a typical speed for 7.2 Mbps networks.)
HSPA can be as simple as a software upgrade of a cell-base station, and uses the same amount of spectrum in faster flavors. AT&T plans to have six cities set with the 7.2 Mbps HSPA this year, 19 more markets in 2010 (a total of 25 of the top 30 markets), and 90 percent of its 3G footprint in 2011, the firm has said.
AT&T said in mid-September at an industry conference that it wouldn't be deploying another 3G technology, HSPA+, despite statements the firm made earlier this year. HSPA+ is commercially available in some countries at rates of 14 Mbps and 21 Mbps, but requires antenna upgrades and additional radio hardware.
For LTE, AT&T plans to overlay the technology on its existing 3G footprint, but the company is also expanding 3G coverage as it upgrades and expands cell network sites. Peter Rysavy, principal of Rysavy Research in Hood River, Ore., said in his analysis an LTE network of the type and spectrum allotment planned by AT&T and Verizon Wireless could deliver a wide range from 2 to 12 Mbps downstream.
Opting for LTE
Verizon Wireless put itself into a bit of a bind by opting for LTE. The company uses Qualcomm's CDMA technology for its 2G and 3G networks, and is switching to the dominant worldwide GSM path for LTE. By not opting for faster CDMA 3G flavors, Verizon's network effectively runs in a typical band from 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps.
That makes its move to much faster LTE far more critical, lest it fall behind its three competitors in meeting subscribers' need for speed and bandwidth. Verizon plans to deploy in 30 markets in 2010, reaching up to 100 million people, and full coverage where it now has 3G by 2013.
However, Verizon's early deployments will be focused on data for laptops, netbooks and gateways. LTE handsets aren't expected to be widely available until 2011.
AT&T's HSPA strategy plays in here, as faster flavors of HSPA are already deployed. "We're going to have at least six new devices that are built on the HSPA 7.2 platform," said AT&T's Maxwell.
Sprint is in the same boat as Verizon, having pinned its 4G plans on Clearwire's success in installing new WiMax service. Clearwire's plans put it on parity: It should cover roughly a similar population as the other carriers over the same period.
Updating technology
T-Mobile is already planning updates to its 3G HSPA technology to the faster 7.2 Mbps speed that AT&T is installing. The company has 3G service in about 222 U.S. markets, for a possible reach of 160 million people.
But two weeks ago, T-Mobile revealed at an industry conference that the firm had turned on 20 HSPA+ base stations in Philadelphia operating at a raw rate of 21 Mbps. It plans to offer that data rate nationally in 2010.
T-Mobile can't deploy LTE over its current spectrum holdings. That may help explain reports that T-Mobile's parent, Deutsche Telekom, was talking with Clearwire to resell that company's WiMax service.
T-Mobile lacks a true path to 4G, and may be short of spectrum to serve customers efficiently enough even at higher HSPA+ speeds.
The carriers have ambitious plans and can't afford to wait as smartphone users demand ever more data traveling through the air. Toronto-based Rogers Wireless carries the North American bandwidth flag with HSPA+ at 21 Mbps rolling in five Canadian cities. U.S. carriers are itching to snatch that pennant.
Glenn Fleishman, a freelance technology writer in Seattle, frequently contributes to The Seattle Times.

subset: commoncrawl


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Home :: Services/Compliance :: Recruiment :: How to Conduct a Search
Definitions and Terms:
Affirmative Action - Specific actions in recruitment, hiring, promotions and other areas designed to eliminate the present effects of past discrimination or to prevent discrimination. It is a proactive program where aggressive steps of outreach and support of community action programs that consider women and minorities currently not in the workforce are developed.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) - A system of employment practices under which individuals are not excluded from any participation, advancement, or benefits because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin or other factor that cannot lawfully be the basis for employment decision. An employment system in which neither intentional nor unintentional discrimination operates. Unlike affirmative action, EEO requires little or no action. It is a position/policy of non-discrimination.
Affirmative Recruitment - Special recruitment efforts undertaken to assure that qualified protected class members are well represented in the applicant pools for positions in which they have been historically excluded or substantially underutilized. Such efforts may include contacting organizations and media with known constituencies of protected class constituencies, and similar actions. Open job posting and advertising "Equal Opportunity Employer" statements may be necessary in many situations simply as a matter of nondiscrimination, rather than as measures of affirmative recruitment.
Recruitment Plan - a narrative which contains the rationale for the search and a description of the search efforts, affirmative outreach activities, including but not limited to the placement of advertisements in publications or on web sites, use of conference visits, placements services, professional associations and other networks in increasing the pools of qualified applicants ensuring full participation of women and minorities currently not in the workforce.
Pre - Search Activities:
Job Development
Recruitment plan and outreach strategies
Consult with Office of Diversity and Affirmative Action (ODAA), the area AA/EEO committee and Human Resources (HR) for assistance as recruitment plan is being developed. The earlier that the collaboration occurs between these departments and the hiring area, the better! Develop the recruitment plan using these helpful hints:
Methods of Outreach:
Affirmative outreach methods are expansive and may vary depending on such variables as identified deficiencies and establishment of goals, labor force availability, as well as the position and the grade, salary and recruitment resources. Some outreach methods that have proven beneficial over the years are:
Selection Criteria and Evaluation Rating:


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ibm.com Community
GRC Maturity: From Disorganized to Integrated Risk and Performance - Part I
Liz Andrews 2700041WEU firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  grc risk openpages | 0 Comments | 1,902 Visits
This is the first in a series of four blog posts where we will present risk and compliance speaker and thought leader, Michael Rasmussen's, GRC maturity model. For more insightful information on GRC and to exchange ideas with risk and finance colleagues, come see us in Orlando at Vision 2012.
Success in today's dynamic business environment requires organizations to integrate, build and support business processes with an enterprise view of governance, risk management and compliance (GRC). Without an integrated view of risk and compliance, the scattered and nonintegrated approaches of the past fail and expose the business to unanticipated risk.
In a mature GRC program, the organization has an integrated process, information and technology architecture that provides visibility across risk and compliance domains. It offers an integrated approach for business managers and executives to leverage GRC data for risk-aware decision-making and resource allocation.
Inevitable Failure: Managing GRC in Silos
The multifaceted risk environment
Risk to the business is like the hydra in mythology — organizations combat risk, only to find more risk springing up to threaten them. Executives are constantly reacting to risk appearing around them and fail to actively manage and understand the interrelationship of risk across the enterprise.
The dynamic and global nature of business is particularly challenging to risk management. As organizations expand operations and business relationships (e.g., vendors, supply chain, outsourcers, service providers, consultants and staffing) their risk profile grows exponentially. Organizations need to stay on top of their game by monitoring risk to their business internally (e.g., strategy, processes and internal controls) and externally (e.g., competitive, economic, political, legal and geographic environments) to stay competitive in today's market. What may seem an insignificant risk in one area can have profound impact on others.
Organizations are increasingly aware of the critical need to link risk management and corporate performance management. To manage corporate performance, the organizations must understand risk and make risk-informed business decisions.
In the area of regulatory risk, organizations face an expanding regulatory environment with rapidly increasing requirements that burden the business. Organizations face expanding regulations, increased fines and sanctions, and aggressive regulators and prosecutors around the world. Reputation and brand protection is also a significant compliance and risk management issue in a global environment.
Isolated risk and compliance initiatives introduce greater risk
Managing GRC activities in disconnected silos leads the organization to inevitable failure. Reactive, document-centric and manual processes for GRC fail to actively manage risk in the context of business strategy and performance, and leave the organization blind to intricate relationships of risk across the business. Siloed GRC initiatives never see the big picture and fail to put GRC in the context of business strategy, objectives and performance, resulting in complexity, redundancy and failure. The organization is not thinking about how GRC processes and controls can be designed to meet a range of risk and compliance needs. An ad hoc approach to GRC results in poor visibility across the organization and its control environment, because there is no framework or architecture for managing risk and compliance as an integrated part of business. When the organization approaches risk in scattered silos that do not collaborate with each other, there is no possibility to be intelligent about risk and understand its impact on the organization.
A nonintegrated approach to GRC impacts business performance and how it is managed and executed, resulting in:
The pain organizations have expressed
Siloed GRC processes, though effective in their own silos, are ineffective at an aggregate level, as the organization does not have a complete view of GRC in the context of the business. Corporate Integrity finds organizations that lack a collaborative, integrated and enterprise approach to GRC have:
Continue on to Part II in this series: GRC Maturity — Measuring a New Paradigm for Risk and Compliance
Whistleblowing Worries On the Rise
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | Tags:  risk openpages dodd-frank grc sec whistleblowing | 0 Comments | 1,465 Visits
The SEC's final rules implementing Dodd-Frank's whistle blowing provisions failed to remove angst among compliance officers and general counsels. While there are some incentives for potential whistleblowers to first report alleged misconduct via internal reporting channels, there's no requirement to do so – and many are concerned the internal channels will be bypassed. And going outside is on the rise. It's been reported that in only seven weeks after the SEC's program began, there were 334 whistleblower filings. Compliance officer concerns are well founded – that bypassing internal channels will deprive the company of being able to investigate and fix problems before they grow, and company personnel will need to play catch up with investigations in reaction to SEC probes.
We can point to many resolved whistle blowing cases for clear evidence of the potential impact of the SEC's still relatively new program. One homeowner delinquent on her mortgage ultimately received $18 million for reporting suspected use of fraudulent documents in the bank's foreclosure process. It's said that in acting against this homeowner – an attorney and career insurance fraud investigator – the bank "picked the wrong person at the wrong time in the wrong place," but the robo-signing and other compliance failures were widespread and surfaced from a number of sources. Nonetheless, this individual was one of six whistleblowers receiving $46.5 million said to be part of the five-bank $25 billion settlement. In an unrelated case, a member of a major bank's quality control team who reportedly was displeased that the misconduct wasn't reported to regulators, decided to do so herself – ending up with a settlement of $31 million. And there are many more.
Worth noting is a recent survey that indicates more than one-third of American workers have seen misconduct on the job. While many instances of misconduct have been reported through internal channels, it appears the vast majority have not. Why? The survey shows it's because of fear of not being able to remain anonymous, and of retaliation. Those two factors, plus the possibility of monetary reward, are reported as key factors in incentivizing internal reporting. And the survey also shows two-thirds of respondents didn't know about the SEC's program – at least not yet.
Certainly it's in a company's interest to be first to know about alleged misconduct, and compliance officers are working hard to upgrade policies, training, communications, and the internal whistleblower systems, all to encourage internal reporting. Actions to ensure anonymity, with positive responses and nothing close to retaliation, are expected to help. Some companies have begun to pay bounties for valued reports. There are indications that when employees believe their reports will be taken seriously without adverse repercussions, there's increased likelihood for internal reporting. Law firms and others have provided guidance on which companies are acting. However, it remains to be seen the extent to which the possibility of a huge, life-changing payday by the SEC will be too much to resist. Time will tell.
FCPA Enforcers Expand Scope for Companies and Executives
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG firstname.lastname@example.com | | 0 Comments | 791 Visits
Regular readers of this blog undoubtedly are familiar with the FCPA and related Justice Department and SEC enforcement activities. On a personal note, I remember well when the FCPA was enacted, as I took on responsibility in my firm for providing our clients with analysis, guidance, and support materials to help deal with the new law. Emphasis was put as much on the Act's internal control provisions, which require (with somewhat different terminology) effective systems of internal control over financial reporting – this of course, long before SOX. Companies did look at their internal control systems for opportunities for strengthening, but without required management reporting or auditor involvement, we did not see the kind of focus that came in more recent years under SOX. Significant attention was given to the bribery provisions, though with little regulatory enforcement activity for many years, attention subsequently waned.
But life under the FCPA now is very different. It's reported that in the last four years 58 companies paid almost $4 billion in settlements – including Siemens (whose securities are traded in the U.S.) paying $800 million each to the German and U.S. regulators – and 42 individuals have been convicted. Early this year, for example, an oil company executive was sentenced to a two and one-half prison term. "I am truly sorry," he said, "I lost touch." At the moment some 78 companies are reportedly under investigation, including the likes of Alcoa, Avon, Goldman Sachs, HP, Pfizer, and Wal-Mart – it remains to be seen whether they will be formally charged. And we know that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, among others, is in regulators' sights.
There has been pushback by business, saying regulators have been overzealous and thereby stifling legitimate business initiatives – especially so with their going after not only companies but individual executives as well. The United States Chamber of Commerce is looking to have the law amended, with a Chamber official recently noting "The last time I checked, we were not living in a police state." But enforcement officials don't seem to be perturbed, with the assistant Attorney General making clear that the Department is expanding its staff and enforcement actions are on the rise. With that said, discussions between the groups have begun, and desired guidance may be forthcoming.
What to do? Clearly there's no silver bullet. Close attention needs to be paid to ensuring strong compliance programs – which, importantly, the DOJ has said it will look to in a positive way when considering enforcement actions. Yes, further clarity has been requested from the Department in that regard, and we know about concerns with Dodd-Frank's whistleblower provisions, but that shouldn't stop compliance officers and senior managements from continuing efforts to strengthen internal programs. Many law and other firms have provided guidance on identifying high-risk areas and steps to be taken, which certainly are worth serious consideration. Among important areas of focus are risk assessment, policy management, clear authorities and fixed responsibility among line managers, real time communication, close monitoring by line management as well as compliance and internal audit personnel, and immediate and decisive action when red flags appear. It's not easy, but with the Act in place and regulators expanding scope, close attention is critical.
IBM Watson found a job as a risk expert!
Erwin Boeren 270002C43V email@example.com | | Tags:  watson erwin risk governance grc compliance management ii business analytics solvency ibm boeren basel | 0 Comments | 2,228 Visits
IBM Watson found a job as a risk expert!
IBM Watson goes to work in financial services as a risk expert. One of the largest Financial Services institutes and IBM now partner to enhance and simplify the consumer banking experience with faster, more accurate decisions, better risk assessment, and more targeted customer offers.
IBM Watson is transforming expectations for how technology can help individuals live and work in better ways. Its ability to make sense of vast quantities of unstructured information, communicate in natural human language, learn from experience, and offer confidence weighted responses is already a game changer in healthcare. Focusing these capabilities on financial services brings new possibilities for higher service levels to an expanded set of users.
For those who do
not know IBM Watson, Watson is an artificial intelligence computer system
capable of answering questions posed in natural language, developed in IBM's
DeepQA project. As a test of its abilities, Watson competed on the quiz show
Jeopardy!, in the show's only huma
Now what will that bring to our Financial Service clients? Potentially as an assistant to client service professionals to help deliver evidence-based recommendations across multiple areas of the bank, including: credit card; private banking; wealth management; and call centers. Since IBM Watson can think faster than any human being it is able to make cross checks, prevent fraud, determine risk, etc. It is able to analyze data such as client information, online news reports, blogs, Twitter feeds, analyst reports, regulations, credit ratings, and government securities filings which can help to suggest options targeted to a consumers' individual circumstances.
Blog post by Erwin Boeren
Senior Governance, Risk & Compliance specialist IBM
The Fed's New Proposed Rules on Risk Management
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | Tags:  dodd-frank risk risk_management openpages | 0 Comments | 1,241 Visits
If you're in or work with the financial services industry, you probably know about the late December holiday "gift" from the U.S. Federal Reserve – proposed rules implementing provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act which could have a profound effect on how boards and managements deal with risk. In any event, you'll want to keep in mind that the Fed is accepting comments only for the next month – until March 31.
The proposed rules are far-reaching, including requirements for risk-based capital and leverage, liquidity, stress tests, sing
The risk committee is required to "document and oversee, on an enterprise-wide basis, the risk-management practices of the company's worldwide operations." The committee would be chaired by an independent director, and at least one member needs to have risk-management expertise commensurate with the company's size, complexity, and other risk-related factors. Further, its members are expected to understand risk-management principles and practices relevant to the company, with specified experience in risk management. And there are rules for a committee charter, meetings, and documentation.
The committee's responsibilities include reviewing and approving an appropriate risk-management framework commensurate with the company's size and other factors. The framework's scope is outlined, including requirements for risk limits appropriate to each line of business, policies and procedures for risk-management practices, processes for identifying and reporting risks, monitoring compliance with risk limits and procedures, and specification of management's authority and independence to carry out risk-management responsibilities. Additionally, the larger covered companies will need to appoint a chief risk officer in charge of implementing and maintaining the risk-management framework and practices approved by the risk committee, with the rules specifying responsibilities and qualifications for the CRO and reporting relationships.
If not already under way, now is the time to analyze the proposal and its implication, and let the Fed know what changes are needed. If interested, you might want to tune into the upcoming IBM OpenPages webinar where I'll be discussing the proposed rules, their implications and the challenges they present – March 8, 2:00 pm Eastern Time.
Smarter Project Risk
Erwin Boeren 270002C43V firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  compliance governance grc smarter manufacturing energy&utilities openpages risk enterprise deloitte project | 0 Comments | 2,105 Visits
Smarter Project Risk
Last week I came across project risk, and not for the first time! So, time to spend some words on this topic.
Especially organizations in Energy&Utilities and Manufacturing have huge risks in their assets and in their projects. You think you have all risks identified through the standard risk identification process and you just missed that elephant?! This might impact your yearly financial result or worse!
This is why more and more clients start to look at Project Risk methodologies. My client happened to use the PMBOK methodology. In this methodology you consider standard project phases including standard risks and controls. This is great, since you have most of the standard risks covered. But what about that risk that is just not standard? This is where gate reviews will help you. These gate reviews are held after every project phase. Each gate review contains questions used to identify risks, holds monitoring methodologies to check status and behavior and contains audit like activities. Key element here is that all findings roll up to top level so no significant risk can be missed.
all works for what we call manageable risks, but what about risks that you
cannot manage? How will you anticipate on this? Well these risks can be covered
by sensitivity analysis, simulations and business continuity management.
Especially sensitivity analysis and business continuity analysis will help you.
For simulations you will need data, and a significant amount of data. Only in
case you have many similar projects running in a regular cycle you will be able
to generate enough risk identifications and losses to be able to make a sensible
calculation like
Now the system is in place, and now we are in control? Wrong! This is where the real work starts. How do I get my organization to adopt risk in her daily business? How do I get input with the right quality? How do I make everyone a risk manager? This takes time and effort. Guide your people in how to make the assessments and make them part of it. Give them back where they contributed to, and make their life easier. That is what we call Smarter Risk.
IBM OpenPages and Deloitte have put together a Risk Methodology for project risk where all these technologic and organizational aspects come together and can be integrated in your enterprise risk platform.
Blog post by Erwin Boeren
Senior Governance, Risk & Compliance specialist IBM
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LinkedIn : http
Misunderstanding the CRO's Role at MF Global
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | Tags:  global cro mf risk | 0 Comments | 1,208 Visits
A recent Congressional hearing on MF Global has shed more light on how well the company did, or didn't, handle its risk management responsibilities. A couple of weeks ago the House Financial Service Committee's oversight panel heard testimony from the firm's chief risk officers. As CRO, Michael Roseman in 2010 raised concerns about the firm's European Sovereign debt positions, reportedly clashing with top executives but in any event seeing to it that the board of directors was informed of what was going on. (For more on this, you can look back to my December 15 posting.) Then in early 2011 MF Global hired a new chief risk officer, Michael Stockman, who like CEO Jon Corzine was a former Goldman guy. One Congressman reportedly said it appeared "Stockman was hired to tell Mr. Corzine what he wanted to hear," and another called him a "yes man." Whether that's fair or not is debatable, though one wonders why the change of CROs was made in the first place. In defense, Stockman said that for the first several months of his tenure he believed the firm's "risk profile associated with the company's European sovereign debt position was acceptable in light of then-prevailing market conditions," but "as credit markets deteriorated in the summer of 2011, I came to the view that it would be prudent for the company to mitigate the increased risks." Whether his initial assessment was justified and whether he pushed hard and timely enough with management and the board certainly is questionable.
Fascinating here is what was said by the Congressmen doing the questioning, reportedly saying to Stockman that it was up to the chief risk officer to "rein in their bosses risk taking." If that indeed was said, then it shows a sad lack of understanding of what a chief risk officer's role truly is. In highly summarized form, if the role is structured well, the CRO is responsible for establishing a process within the organization where managers timely identify, analyze, and manage risk, with communications systems in place to ensure appropriate upstream reporting. The reporting element is critical, not only within the organizational infrastructure but also going to the very top. The CRO needs to be sure top management and ultimately the board of directors are fully apprised of significant risks. And if management refuses to inform the board, then the CRO has to do it him/herself. CRO Roseman seems to have made sure the board was apprised.
A CRO's job is not easy, especially when a company takes on what can only be deemed unusually high risk positions. The CRO needs to be sure the risks are identified, analyzed and reported, which seems to be the case here. The board was apprised of the risks when Roseman was CRO, and we're told the directors considered the risks and acquiesced. A board of course should probe deeply enough to truly understand the risks and surrounding circumstances. If those actions occurred, and the CRO was convinced the board had sufficient understanding and insight, then he has done his job – which does not, as the Congressmen asserted, include the CRO himself reining in the risks.
No doubt more insights will emerge and the picture of what happened will become clearer. Investigators might even find out what happened to the more than $1 billion (one estimate is as high as $1.6 billion) of "missing" customer money, and whether internal controls were faulty or overridden as the firm was about to go under. In any event, it's important that the different roles of a CEO, CRO and board be fully understood. The CRO does not and cannot be responsible for the ultimate actions of a CEO and board of directors. The CRO's role includes seeing that top management and the board understand the risks and make well-informed judgments. And yes, those judgments may ultimately prove to be bad, or even fatal as was the case with MF Global.
How to make the right GRC software selection?
Erwin Boeren 270002C43V firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  compliance enterprise egrc iii management grc software solvency audit selection openpages risk tooling governance ii basel and | 0 Comments | 3,140 Visits
Governance, Risk and Compliance software selection process
A client of mine recently asked me about what I have seen as the most effective way to run a selection process. Now I know this may seems a conflict of interest, a GRC solution vendor writing on the GRC software selection process and the need for a GRC platform. Still I think I can give you some dos and donts on a GRC software selection process since I have been there many times.
Let's start with the need for a GRC software platform. Why do you need such?
Of course investing in a solution needs a compelling event. Either the cost for risk management and compliance becomes very high, or the process takes too long to be responsive to stakeholders or the 'in control' statement cannot be guaranteed any longer. Also external regulators can advise you to implement software.
Before you start thinking about a GRC platform carefully review the risk and compliance maturity level of your organization and the scope of the problem. This will help you make the judgment between 2 approaches. First approach is what we call 'point solution', second approach is 'enterprise solution'.
The first approach, Point Solution, is best when the compelling event is there but the scope is limited to one area. On a single point of your GRC activities you have a pain that must be resolved in a fairly short term. In this case you can search for specific capabilities with specific knowledge. You can make a selection of vendors that operate in the area where you have the pain and select the partner that understands your area. Of course you might want to consider your ambition on the long term. If your long term ambition is Enterprise wide GRC integration you might still look at enterprise vendors and use the specific area as a 'pilot' for further extension.
The second approach, Enterprise Solution, is best when the compelling event is on the integration of Governance, Risk and Compliance. The term risk and control convergence often comes up here. This approach requires a lot more work than the point solution and may have cultural impact. You might consider a second party to help you go through this project. A second party (consulting firm) can help you in making critical decisions and in reviewing your current (silo based) approach to GRC. They can keep the holistic view for you. Every silo needs to be reviewed and mapped to the enterprise approach. This will not come without discussions and sacrifices!
So the need is there, now how to make your selection?
In the first point solution approach there are just two considerations, short term or long term? In case of the short term do NOT select an enterprise vendor and go for the right point solution. Advantages are lower cost and shorter implementation time. Second consideration, long term, means a selection between enterprise GRC software vendors and consider the first phase as a pilot for the enterprise approach. Still you might want to involve a consulting firm with specific knowledge.
In the second enterprise approach you will go for an enterprise vendor. This is where you want to be careful in setting up your selection. I personally have seen many of these selection processes since I have been in such selections. And this is where I want to give you some guidance to save you a lot of time and money.
First do NOT expect the enterprise vendors to differentiate on functionality. The GRC software market has made an evolution in the last 10 years that have resulted in a fairly high mature software market. So a 'beauty contest' is a waste of money and resources. Outcome will be equal for all vendors and you will be stuck between your user community and the vendors in the process. You might get questions from your management team why you spend so much time and resources without any outcome.
Secondly involve your end users in the selection process early, but do not expect 20 people working in silos to come to one single conclusion. Again you will end up in a long discussion with no outcome. Have a small group of people (3 preferably) to make the selection.
Thirdly make your selection criteria known upfront and make them measurable. Also involve the vendors in the process and be open to them. If you are open and honest you will get transparent, open and honest answers. If you hide, vendors will hide! Criteria should be based on experience in your market, understanding of your organization, size and financial stability, ability to deliver in time and within budget, alignment of implementation approach to your implementation methodology and the cultural fit.
Again this may look preaching to the choir but I hope I just saved you time and money that you can invest in your implementation.
Blog post by Erwin Boeren, Senior Governance, Risk & Compliance specialist IBM
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Santa's Gift from COSO
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  erm coso | 0 Comments | 946 Visits
In case you were too busy watching your kids open their holiday presents you might have missed a "gift" for you – COSO's updated internal control framework. During the holiday season the draft was exposed for public comment, so if you haven't already done so, you might want to get your hands on it and tell COSO what you think, and how it might be further improved.
In looking over the draft you'll see that the fundamental concepts and structure remain. The definition of internal control, the five components, and the COSO cube are unchanged. So are the three categories of objectives, except that the reporting category is expanded to include all reporting by an entity: financial and non-financial, internal and external. This brings the internal control framework in line with how the reporting category of objectives is defined in COSO's Enterprise Risk Mana
Other enhancements include:
You'll see the term "ICEFR" (pronounced ice-eh-fer), which is the acronym for internal control over external financial reporting. Because of the importance of the internal control framework for reporting under such requirements as Sarbanes-Oxley, COSO decided to offer a separate guidance document highlighting how the framework can be effectively applied for that purpose. It's organized around the five internal control components, containing approaches for and examples of their application, with direct linkage to the principles and attributes in the framework. It's important to keep in mind that the ICEFR guidance is just that, guidance; it will neither replace nor modify the framework. It will be exposed for comment later on this spring.
Well, it's a case of speak now, or…. If you're involved in any way with internal control, you'll want to provide your input on the document. By the way, I'm biased in a positive way – for full disclosure, I was the lead PwC project partner of the team that developed the original Framework, played a similar role with the COSO ERM framework, and advised the project team that developed this updated framework. But you may have different views, and it's important to make them known. The comment period ends March 31.
Keys to Detecting Management Fraud
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  fraud risk_management | 0 Comments | 1,046 Visits
We know the Olympus Corp. suffered a major management fraud. Financial statements were manipulated to hide huge losses, resulting in its stock price dropping like a rock and jeopardizing the company's listing status and indeed existence in its current form. For more on the fraud, you may want to look at my October 15, 2011 blog posting.
Those looking at this fiasco may well be asking why this fraud, which had been going on for more than a decade, wasn't brought to light any sooner – that is, before newly appointed CEO Michael Woodford began to smell a rat. Well, now it's come out that one critical element in detecting and possibly preventing fraud at the highest management levels – which is having an effective whisleblowing process – wasn't in place at Olympus. Sure, they had a process, but now it's reported that the very executives perpetrating the fraud were in charge of the hotline! It's said that the company's internal auditors and other employees wanted the whistleblower system to be run by outside parties, but at least one of the executives alleged to have been driving the fraud objected and won out. According to an independent panel investigating the fraud, the corporate atmosphere was such that the hotline was "significantly disabled." Is it essential to have the hotline outsourced? No. But it is critical that company personnel feel comfortable that their communications will not come back to haunt them, which is said not to be the case at Olympus.
Much has been written about management fraud, and what internal controls are needed to prevent or detect it. But my experience is that it really comes down to four key factors. One is having a culture of integrity and ethical values, with the "right" tone at the top of the organization and open communication channels. Another is a board of directors (and audit committee) that is independent and providing effective oversight. One more is an effective internal audit function. And then there's an effective whistleblower process. Based on what's been reported, Olympus evidently didn't have any of these big four – we don't know much about the functioning of its internal audit function, but now learn that the company is suing the former internal auditor along with two other executives who an independent panel said "orchestrated the scheme." So is it surprising that such a fraud could have existed for so long? In light of its governance, risk management and internal control processes, the answer is "not really."
When we look at the potential of management fraud, it's critical to look at these four elements. If even one is missing, the chance of fraud going undetected increases greatly. And no one should proceed with the odds stacked in favor of bad actors.
Solvency II and the need for Operational Risk
Erwin Boeren 270002C43V firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  risk operational grc compliance ibm openpages solvency governance | 0 Comments | 1,910 Visits
Solvency II and the need for Operational Risk
Blog post from Erwin Boeren, Governance Risk &
Blog post from Erwin Boeren, Governance Risk &
Risk Management Simplified
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | Tags:  risk_management | 0 Comments | 790 Visits
We know that senior executives, especially chief executive officers, look to drive their organizations' growth initiatives. Many are hard-driving, proactive, and intently focused on doing what needed to carry out strategic plans. Optimism is a typical trait, which can be contagious in getting others in the organization to work in sync towards established goals. This is what CEOs are charged to do, and a key reason why those who do it successfully get the big bucks.
With that said, experience shows that many CEOs are not sufficiently attentive to what can go wrong – that is, what future events could keep their organizations from successfully carrying out the established initiatives. Of course many CEOs and their C-suite teams do focus on such risks, and their organizations benefit from doing so. One such company is Mazor Robotics, a medical technology company based in Israel, whose CEO Ori Hadomi recently was interviewed. He makes a number of interesting observations, one of which is especially insightful – describing risk management in a particularly understandable and compelling way. He associates risk management with ensuring there's a devil's advocate involved in key decision-making.
He says: "One of the most obvious mistakes we found is that too often we choose to believe in an optimistic scenario — we think too positively. Positive thinking is important to a certain extent when you want to motivate people, when you want to show them possibilities for the future. But it's very dangerous when you plan based on that. So one of our takeaways from that was to appoint one of the executive members as a devil's advocate." Hadomi expands on how that works, emphasizing that the assigned executive knows the right questions, and asks them in challenging assumptions and pointing out a need to be "more humble with our assumptions." Hadomi notes that the most surprising thing is that this devil's advocate is the V.P. of sales for international markets: "You would expect the V.P. of sales to be pie-in-the-sky all the time. But he has a very strong, critical way of thinking, and it is so constructive," adding that one of the pitfalls of leadership is "thinking too positively when you plan and set expectations."
I've worked with many large companies, and certainly smaller company executives learn from them. But the reverse also is true. In this case, the CEO of Mazor Robotics provides useful insight into how risk management can be effectively conceptualized and applied. Of course, there's much more to risk management, including capturing the identified risks, analyzing them, and managing them with accountability for needed actions, follow up, etc. But the concept of a devil's advocate is powerful, especially for executives who may be struggling with what risk management is about.
What Makes Risk Management Work – or Not
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | Tags:  grc risk_management | 0 Comments | 1,304 Visits
We know that MF Global, the firm run by Jon S. Corzine, recently imploded under the weight of bad bets and huge leverage. Reports say that Corzine, former U.S. Senator, Governor of New Jersey, and co-head of Goldman Sachs, did at MF Global what he did at GS – and that's take large risks in trading. How, one could ask, could it have turned out so wrong?
Effective risk management processes have at their core identifying, analyzing and managing risks. It will be a while before we know all the details of MF Global's risk management process, but it appears to have worked reasonably well. Wait, what – is that a misprint? Probably not.
Based on reports, Corzine knew the risks he was taking. Basically, he bet that the European leaders would act in a way to alleviate the sovereign debt crisis. He put over $6 billion of the firm's money at risk, which with the associated leverage put the firm's existence at risk. And the firm's risk officers also knew, and they seemed to have done what they were supposed to – they brought the matter to the board of directors. Reports say a senior risk officer described the situation and the risks to the board, with Corzine present. The risk officer pointed out not only the nature and size of the risks, but also that risks included both potential defaults on the sovereign debt and the bonds losing sufficient value to cause a liquidity crisis at the firm. The directors listened, and decided to approve what Corzine was doing.
Now, we weren't in the room with the directors, or inside their heads, so we don't know whether they made a thoughtful and rational business judgment, or whether they rolled over under Corzine's undue influence. If the latter, then they failed in their job. But if the former, then they determined that they and the firm had a risk appetite large enough to "bet the ranch."
So, whether this is a failure of risk management will be decided as the investigations continue and more facts emerge. And of course the missing "segregated" client funds is another matter, likely centered on specific internal controls over that money and what control activities might have been overridden by more senior executives. Also at issue is whether regulators did their job effectively. It will be interesting, indeed, to learn more, as no doubt we will as the investigations unfold.
Avoiding Crisis Management with Effective Risk Management
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | 0 Comments | 715 Visits
You may have heard the news about an SAT cheating scandal, where students were accused of accepting payments or paying others to take the test for them. It seems to have started at Great Neck North High School on Long Island, New York, which I happen to know well – it's where I went to the high school, which has a proud heritage of being regularly rated among the top high schools in the nation, with a high percentage of graduates going on to top colleges. Rumors of the cheating is reported to have sounded alarms with the school principal, who did the right thing in reporting to the proper authorities.
What's relevant from a risk management and control perspective is what the College Board, which owns the SAT, and the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the tests, have done. Based on reports, prosecutors relayed that the first thing ETS said was that there's no problem – the cheating was an "isolated incident," and the SAT is "secure." At a state senate meeting, where legislators and school officials accused both the College Board and ETS of having lax security and a system that failed to punish cheats, ETS said if cheating is discovered the score is cancelled, and the student can get a fee refund and retake the test – that's it! No one, not the high school nor any college, is notified. ETS claimed that state law prohibits it from releasing information about cheating, but prosecutors say that's just not so. ETS's approach of downplaying the problem is all the more surprising in light of past problems. Media reports speak to extensive incorrect scoring of tests and losing test results in England in 2008, with the UK Parliament calling their operation a "shambles." And going back to 1983, cheating was suspected in California.
We can learn lessons from what's happened here. Importantly, as with ETS, this isn't the first time the College Board has had a serious problem with the SAT. Regular readers of this blog may remember my posting of a year ago that highlighted what the College Board did when it learned of problems with incorrect scoring of test results. At that time the president said, to the dismay of many, that it wasn't necessary to look back to see what caused the incorrect scoring – that it would take too long, and in any event it was sufficient only to re-score the tests results. There was no interest in looking at the risks related to incorrect scoring and determining how they could be managed going forward! There was no attempt at risk identification, analysis and mitigation to deal with potential future problems; rather, it was like putting the organization's collective head in the sand. Well, maybe the College Board has learned something – when this cheating scandal broke, the College Board president said it has hired a former FBI director to investigate security matters.
There's little doubt that for both the College Board and ETS their reputations and indeed survival may well depend on academic communities having confidence in their ability to identify in advance what could go wrong, and take prudent actions to proactively prevent problems – to ensure the test results are those of the identified students and accurately reflect their performance. Anything less is unacceptable. And those organizations must fully understand that reputations are intertwined. Although the College Board outsources SAT test administration to ETS, that of course doesn't mean it removes responsibility, certainly not in the eyes of the marketplace. It doesn't work that way. It's critical that these organizations get their risk management and crisis management right, with an appropriate level of coordination.
Governance. Risk and compliance on the iPad
Erwin Boeren 270002C43V email@example.com | | Tags:  openpages grc ipad solvency reporting | 0 Comments | 1,670 Visits
With Cognos 10.1.1 released you must have noticed the ability of having your reports and dashboards on mobile devices like iPad and iPhone.
With these mobile capabilities CROs (Chief Risk Officers) will now have the ability to measure risk from their mobile devices. For volatile risk areas like Market and Credit Risk this can make a huge difference.
IBM developed a risk monitoring system for CROs where one single version of the truth is provided of different risk areas like Credit Risk, Market Risk, Counterparty Credit Risk, Liquidity Risk, Basel II, Solvency II and Operational Risk. Not only does a CRO have the ability to monitor all these risk areas but he can also monitor the correlation between those risk areas and he is able to respond immediately to changes. Responses can immediately be formulated in the integrated social media platform.
One version of the truth and guaranteed quality of your data is simple to say but how do you govern this? This is where IBMs investment in data models starts to pay off. Since decades IBM develops and maintains data models for financial services including out of the box technical and business definitions. This enables organizations to come to one definition of risk over the entire organization. Taking definitions centrally will add value in the process of taking down the silod approach we spoke about in earlier articles. It will also help you in the accountability process of the business. Finally it is the business that should own the business definitions.
As discussed in our previous published blog (The convergence of GRC and Performance Management) Business Analytics capabilities like risk forecasting, risk adjusted profitability calculations, scenario planning and predictive risk analysis are part of this risk monitoring system called FIRM (Finance Integrated Risk Management).
The new regulation for Insurance companies, Solvency II requires organizations to plan their risk assessments and capital requirements 2 to 5 years ahead and to reflect impact on financial positions when a risk materializes. All this means that an integrated approach to risk management is a must. In next blogs we will go deeper into the Solvency II regulation.
Convergence of Risk Management and Performance Mangement
Erwin Boeren 270002C43V firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  analytics grc busness management openpages ibm erwin boeren performance risk | 0 Comments | 1,774 Visits
Last year IBM acquired OpenPages as a strategic move into the area of Governance, Risk and Compliance. The lasest announcement to acquire Algorithmics (quantitative risk management) shows the continuous commitment of IBM in the GRC market. GRC software will integrate into the Business Analytics Software group, the area where the former acquisitions like Cognos, SPSS and Clarity systems already resides.
Now that Risk Management is evolving, more and more organizations are starting an enterprise approach to risk management. And this is where I see the need for Risk and Performance Management convergence.
In past Risk Management implementations I see that a major portion of time and budget was spent on Risk Reporting and Dashboarding. Especially the need for self service reporting, where users can ad hoc create their own risk reports, is growing. We do not want to wait in the queue waiting for our report to be created. 2 days later you missed the opportunity to respond and the loss is there.
With this self service capability the question automatically pops up 'can I trust my data'. And now we are back in the area of data governance. This is exactly where the area of Performance Management is today.
Apart from these reporting and dashboarding capabilities Enterprise Risk Management means alignment of risks and controls to the strategic initiatives of the organization. What will prevent me from reaching my business goals? Isn't this defined as a risk? And how will we prevent this from happening? Wasn't that defined as a control?
Even more interesting are questions like, 'What if I was able to perform risk scenario planning?', 'What if I could predict risks from happening?' or 'What is the correlation between the risks that have materialized?'.
And there is the proof that Risk Management and Performance Management have lots in common and should be integrated. Lets call it Business Analytics.
Erwin Boeren
Governance, Risk & Compliance Leader
IBM IOT Southwest Europe
Risk Appetite at the RMA Annual Conference
John Kelly 270004J7VQ email@example.com | | Tags:  grc enterprise operational risk | 0 Comments | 2,910 Visits
This week I had the pleasure (aside from the Sunday morning flight) of attending the RMA Annual Risk Management Conference in Washington, DC. Based on the standing room only crowd (even in the second repeat session), I'd have to say one of the most popular topics was "Developing a Risk Appetite" delivered by Bill Perotti of Frost Bank and Bob Rose of Brookline Bank. The duo defined Risk Appetite as "the amount of risk you will take in pursuit of a desired financial return", which makes sense, but an effective risk appetite exercise, the presenters emphasized, really needs to be taken to the next level to reflect risk tolerance in all key areas of enterprise risk management (operational risk, credit risk, reputation risk, compliance risk, liquidity risk, sustainability, etc.).
Several examples were provided for how to develop a risk appetite statement for each of these key areas. One example included Operational risk and provided an example of how to create a risk appetite statement:
Operational Risk Appetite example:
We are committed to implementing practices and controls that will minimize financial losses from failures of systems, people and processes.
Quantitative measure examples:
Most importantly, risk appetite statements should reflect your company's mission statement and values. Benefits outlined in the session included:
Of course the direction and communication on risk appetite needs to start at the top with the board of directors and CEO and be communicated and demonstrated throughout the organization. Looking forward to more informative sessions.
New Way to Lose at Poker
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | 0 Comments | 753 Visits
If you're into playing poker or watching it on TV, you probably know the name Full Tilt Poker – the web site for playing Texas hold 'em and presumably other poker games. You may know of Howard "The Professor" Lederer and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and have seen them on TV wearing Full Tilt Poker hats. On-line players put real money into supposedly secure accounts to use as they gambled on line on this company's and other off shore web sites. One analyst estimates U.S. players alone bet $14 billion each year in on-line poker.
Add a New Name to the Rogues Gallery
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | 0 Comments | 402 Visits
The name is Kweku Adoboli, and you'll be hearing a lot more about him. He works – or rather, worked – at UBS, Switzerland's largest bank. He graduated from the well-regarded University of Nottingham, and moved up at UBS. What did he do? Well, UBS executives say he engaged in unauthorized investment trades, and cost the bank $2 billion! We're no longer talking in terms of millions, or even hundreds of millions – but billions of dollars – enough to wipe out the bank's profit for the entire quarter and send its stock price tumbling.
Hurricanes Show the Essence of Risk Management
Richard Steinberg 270004HRBG email@example.com | | 0 Comments | 351 Visits
Two recent events involving hurricanes provide insight into what risk management is about. Many of us who live in on the east coast of the U.S. know all too well the damage wrought by Irene. And many in the Florida are dealing with damage to the University of Miami "Hurricanes" football team.


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ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar has been named as the most powerful women in business in India for the second consecutive year by Fortune Magazine.
Mallika Srinivasan of TAFE and Aruna Jayanthi of Capgemini India follow Kochhar in the second and third place, respectively.
In the Fortune list of 50 most powerful businesswomen, there are six new entrants. While 19 have moved up their places, 17 have witnessed a decline in their rankings.
"... despite surprises and upsets, what hasn't changed is the overwhelming influence women have on India Inc," Fortune India Editor Dibyendra Nath Mukerjea said.
The six new entrants this year includes Prabha Parameswaran, MD, Colgate-Palmolive India; Aisha De Sequeira, MD, Morgan Stanley India Investment Banking; Debjani Ghosh, MD, Sales & Marketing Group, Intel South Asia; Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Country Head, Diageo India; Anjali Bansal, Managing Partner, Spencer Stuart and Asha Gupta, MD, Tupperware India.
The other women who figure in the top 10 of the Fortune India's 50 most powerful women in business are - Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO, Axis Bank; Vinita Bali, Managing Director, Britannia Industries; Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson, HT Media; Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospital Enterprises; Zia Mody, Co-founder, AZB Partners; Chitra Ramkrishna, Joint Managing Director, NSE; and Roopa Kudva, Managing Director & CEO, CRISIL.
"Fortune India's Most Powerful Women in Business is the only currency that not just lists but ranks the most influential businesswomen in the country," Fortune India National Advertising Director Anita Mazumdar said.
Others in the top 15 of the Fortune India's 50 most powerful women in business, include -- Kirthiga Reddy, India Head, Facebook; Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head, HSBC India; Harshbeena Zaveri, MD and President, NRB Bearings; Amrita Patel, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board and Kalpana Morparia, CEO, JP Morgan India.
Kavery Kalanithi remains highest paid business woman: Fortune
(PTI) Kavery Kalanithi of Sun TV Group has retained her position as country's top paid business woman although her pay package declined to Rs 57 crore in 2012, according to Fortune magazine.
Kavery Kalanithi, Executive Director of Sun TV Network and wife of Kalanithi Maran, pay packet declined to Rs 57 crore in 2012 from around Rs 72 crore (USD 13.09 million) last year.
In the Fortune list of top 10 most paid business women, Peninsula Land chairperson Urvi A Piramal bagged the second rank with an annual pay package of Rs 7.3 crore.
Apollo Hospital Enterprises Managing Director Preetha Reddy scored the third


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Wise Buddah Talent
Wise Buddah Talent is proud to manage a first-rate roster combining some of the finest established broadcasters and exciting young talent the UK has to offer.
Our highly thought of management team is dedicated to working hard alongside our talent to forge them successful and lasting careers in the media. You can find out more about our team following the links on the left-hand side of this page.
Our agency is made up of the following four key areas:
- Our roster of TV Talent which represents a variety of high-quality television presenters, and experts, ranging from young fresh, exciting new talent to established and experienced presenters.
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Please follow the links on the left-hand side to find out more or contact us on +44 (0)20 7307 7435 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
If you are an aspiring TV or Radio presenter, please send all reels or examples of your work to email@example.com. If you are a voice over artist please send your voice reel to firstname.lastname@example.com.
We do receive a lot of submissions so don't worry if we don't get back to you immediately - we do consider everything we get sent.


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Pot Activists Strike Back Over LA Dispensaries
Pot Activists Strike Back Over LA Dispensaries
Los Angeles' pro-pot activists have struck back against city lawmakers in the ongoing battle over medical marijuana dispensaries. An initiative to keep some medical pot shops open there—against the wishes of the council—garnered enough signatures (41,138) by Wednesday night to qualify for the city's mayoral ballot in May. This latest development follows the city council's reversal of its total ban on storefront MMJ sales last fall, when activists also gathered enough support to place a repeal on the primary ballot in March. City lawmakers now have three options: enact the initiative, call a special election, or allow voters to decide in the mayoral election. City Councilman Paul Koretz tells the LA Times that the new ballot drives have "forced our hand." He hopes that the council and the pot activists will reach an agreement, noting that the initiative only calls for 100 dispensaries to remain open, out of a total of over 700.
An alternative measure, which would allow a much larger number of dispensaries to operate in LA, could also appear on May's ballot. Advocates of the initiative that was approved Wednesday seek to preserve only dispensaries that were open prior to 2007. But the more liberal initiative would allow dispensaries that opened at any time, subject to certain requirements. An advocate for the compromise option says: "Our initiative is something that would be more desirable for the community." But supporters of the more liberal measure see it as a free enterprise issue, arguing that backers of the first initiative "want to create a small monopoly for themselves."


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Through Foodbuzz, I'm super excited to have the opportunity to enter to win a trip to Greece, sponsored by FAGE. Traveling to Greece has been a dream of mine for a long time, so I jumped at the chance to participate. I'm writing this post about the Greek tradition of "good living," and what it means in my life. Scroll to the bottom of this post for more details and find out how you can also enter to win a Greek getaway!
Most people go crazy for pumpkin this time of year, but my favorite thing about fall is that it's finally apple season! And now that we live in some of the best apple-growing country around, we had to take advantage of it. Last weekend, my boyfriend and I took a little road trip up to Michigan to go apple picking. We went to an orchard in Fennville and spent the day eating incredibly tasty food at their restaurant and out in the orchard picking apples.
The weather was perfect and the orchard was absolutely gorgeous. After living in the heart of Chicago for the past almost six months (wow!), it was kind of a culture shock to stand in the middle of a field and see nothing but apple trees and land for miles around, and hear nothing but the wind blowing through the leaves. It was perfect.
Not to mention the apple butter bread, fresh-milled apple cider, apple cake, and apple cider donuts we tasted at the restaurant. And the ten pounds of apples we ended up taking home! That weekend, to me, perfectly illustrates what "good living" means to me. Seizing the moment and having an adventure. Spending time with people you care about. And, of course, sharing good, fresh, homemade food.
As you can probably deduce from reading my blog, one of the most important parts of my life and living well is cooking and eating well. The main goal of last weekend was to come home with apples—and to then enjoy the fruits of our labor. This is just the first of several apple recipes I'm sure you'll see on the blog in the coming weeks. I was inspired by FAGE and Foodbuzz's contest and decided to put a Greek twist on my first apple recipe this season.
Baklava! For those of you that don't know, baklava is a traditional Greek dessert made with flaky phyllo dough, nuts (traditionally, walnuts and pistachios), honey, and cinnamon. It's super rich and super sweet, but it's so incredibly tasty. I decided to create a variation that married the flavors of apple pie with a traditional baklava because—well, why not? It's a match made in heaven: apples, toasted walnuts and pecans, cinnamon, honey, nutmeg, cloves. Perfection.
Baklava isn't the easiest dessert to make simply because of the phyllo dough, which is notoriously hard to work with. You have to work very quickly and keep the paper-thin dough sheets moist. The payoff, however, is totally worth any hassle. It's light, flaky, buttery, and totally delicious.
My secret? Instead of brushing every layer (50 total!) with melted butter, as is traditional, I used butter-flavored cooking spray. It accomplishes the exact same thing, but with a fraction of the fat, calories, and cholesterol. Baklava is still not a health food by any means, but I like to lighten up where I can. Feel free to use melted butter instead! Here's how to make it.
Preheat your oven to 350º, then start with nuts. Walnuts and pecans. You can also use pistachios or almonds, but I thought that walnuts and pecans are just perfect with apples. Spread them out on a baking sheet and toast at 350º for 5 to 10 minutes or until fragrant.
Throw them in your food processor with 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Pulse several times until…
…it looks like this. Kind of a fine gravel texture. Set this mixture aside.
Next, you'll need an apple. Any kind you like. I'm not sure what kind this was—I wish we'd kept better track of what we were picking!
Slice thinly—as thin as you can get 'em. The slices don't have to be pretty, just thin. Cover in plastic wrap or squeeze some lemon juice on these slices so they don't brown as you assemble your baklava.
Now, for the phyllo/fillo/however-you-want-to-spell-it dough. A package usually comes with two rolls; for this recipe, you'll use one roll. Freeze the other for later use!
To work with your phyllo dough, you'll need to completely thaw it. Follow the directions on the box to make sure you're doing it correctly. Then, unroll it and lay it out flat and cover in plastic wrap.
Then, cover with a damp kitchen towel. When you're using the dough sheets, take them out one by one and quickly re-cover so the dough doesn't dry out.
You'll also need this. Or melted butter and a pastry brush.
Spray an 8×8″ baking dish with your butter-flavored spray. You can also easily double this recipe for a 9×13″ pan. Take one dough sheet and fold it in half in the bottom of the baking dish. There will be 1/8″ to 1/4″ extra on the sides—just fold the excess in (you can see this in the above photo). Spray. Repeat four more times (five sheets or 10 layers total), spraying after each sheet is in place.
Spread a thin layer of your nut mixture over the dough. Then place about half your apple slices in an even layer on top of the nuts. Top with more nuts, using about 1/3 of your nut mixture total.
Repeat the dough layer.
And the nuts and apples layer.
Another dough layer.
And a final layer of the nut mixture, using the last third of the mixture. No apples in this layer.
Finish it off by repeating the dough layer one final time.
Using a very sharp knife, cut into 16 squares. If you're making a double batch, you can cut these into 32 triangles. It'll be pretty obnoxious to cut after it's baked, so it's much easier to do it now before the dough puffs and becomes flaky. Bake in your preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until the dough is golden-brown.
While the baklava is baking, make your honey syrup. Start with honey, of course!
Combine honey, water, sugar, a cinnamon stick, and a dash each of ground nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Then, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and cool completely. Remove the cinnamon stick before using!
Pour your cool syrup evenly over the hot baklava. Let the baklava cool to room temperature before serving.
If apple pie and baklava got married, this would be the insanely delicious result. Sweet, crunchy, flaky, buttery, with all the flavors of apple pie. So, so good.
If you've never had baklava before, let me warn you that it's crazy addictive. That's why it's great to bring to parties. Or gift to a friend. Or bring into work…before you eat it all!
This shows how truly beautiful all these little layers are. You must try this. Do you know how much baklava I'd eat if I won a trip to Greece? I could only dream!
Apple Baklava
Adapted from various traditional baklava recipes
Makes 16 squares
For the baklava.
For the syrup
For the syrup
Combine all syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Lower heat to medium-low and continue to boil until reduced by half. Transfer to bowl and cool completely.
For the baklava
Preheat oven to 350º. Spread nuts out in single layer on baking sheet. Toast in oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until fragrant. Transfer to food processor. Add brown sugar and cinnamon. Pulse until the mixture has a medium-fine texture.
Spray 8×8″ baking dish with butter-flavored spray. Lay phyllo sheets out flat and cover with plastic wrap, then with a damp kitchen towel. Working quickly, take one sheet and fold in half in the bottom of the baking dish. Spray with cooking spray. Repeat stacking and spraying with four more sheets. Spread about 1/4 of the nut mixture on top of the dough layer. Place half of the apple slices in a single, even layer on top of the nuts. Cover with another thin layer of nuts, using about 1/3 of the nut mixture total.
Repeat this process a second time. Then repeat a third time, leaving out the apples. Top with another 5 sheets of dough and cooking spray. Using a sharp knife, cut into 16 equal squares. Bake until dough is light golden-brown, about 45 minutes. Pour cooled syrup over hot baklava. Cool to room temperature before serving.
As part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program, I have been entered for the chance to win a trip to Greece courtesy of FAGE. You too can enter to win one of three trips to Greece by entering the FAGE Plain Extraordinary Greek Getaway here: http://www.fageusa.com/community/fage-greek-getaway


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Gunplay was facing life in prison. During an interview with New York radio station Power 105.1, the Triple C's rapper said what he was thinking about while fighting charges stemming from an October 2012 incident where he allegedly robbed his accountant at gunpoint.
"You just talk to your son and your thinking these are your last moments," Gunplay said during an interview with The Breakfast Club Thursday (June 13). "You always got to cherish them. You're talking to your mom and usually I'd be like, 'Aight, mom. I'll call you back.' This time I'd sit there and listen for a hour."
The charges against Gunplay were dropped due to the victim not cooperating with authorities, even though the alleged act was caught on a surveillance camera. The Miami rapper repeatedly expressed gratitude and appreciation for his freedom during the interview. "I don't get upset no more," he said. "I smile a lot."
The Maybach Music Group rapper also discussed the aftermath of his acquittal, a failed marriage, parenting, spirituality, and his relationship with 50 Cent during The Breakfast Club interview. Gunplay and 50 Cent were involved in a backstage brawl at the 2012 BET Hip Hop awards. Gunplay's chain was reportedly stolen during the confrontation and a similar chain appeared in 50 Cent's "Major Distribution" video featuring Snoop Dogg and Young Jeezy.
Even though Gunplay Tweeted 50 Cent and asked him to download his mixtape, he had he had no problems with 50 Cent, but that he wouldn't necessarily back down from another altercation with 50 Cent, even given his recent legal situation.
Hey you @50cent go DL my shit B!! [New Mixtape] @GUNPLAYMMG #ACQUITTED http://t.co/Qnxqaouu84 pic.twitter.com/NY8eE2pzVe Y~,Y~,Y~Y~
— ADOLF SNIFFLER (@GUNPLAYMMG) June 11, 2013
"At the end of the day I'm a man first, I aint gonna get tried by nobody," Gunplay says. "I don't care how much money you got, how many people you killed, we on the same thing. That's not going to happen...But I'm not looking for no trouble. I'm good. I haven't frowned. I haven't raised my voice in a minute. I've been smiles, moving forward getting this music done, focusing on this the album now."
The MMG rapper's forthcoming solo album, originally titled Medellin, will now be called Living Legend. The Triple C's member said that the name change was inspired by his recent legal issues. "Not many people, or rappers for that matter...go through what I went through while in the public eye and bounced back from it, bounced back stronger than ever," he says. "I did that and I think I'm a living legend and I don't give a fuck if you don't feel it."
On Monday (June 10), Gunplay released his Acquitted mixtape, which features the song "Bible On The Dash."
RELATED: Gunplay Changes Solo Debut Album Title From Medellin To Living Legend


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As Steven Soderbergh gets ready to unveil "Contagion" in Venice, and shoot "Magic Mike" next month, his slate of projects before he retires is dwindling with only "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "Liberace" left. As we reported last fall, longtime Soderbergh pal and collaborator Clooney was lined up to lead 'U.N.C.L.E.' but it appears that is no longer in the cards.
Deadline reports that Clooney is exiting the picture, though reasons why aren't clear just yet. The project is gearing up to shoot in February 2012 when Clooney will likely be stumping hard for his awards season contender "Ides Of March" with the Oscars arriving right at the end of the month. You might recall, that Warner Bros. had to push Clint Eastwood's "A Star Is Born" from its planned start -- also in February -- due to Beyoncé's pregnancy and it's unlikely they wanted to mess up their calendar any more by moving 'U.N.C.L.E.'
Based on the 1960s television show, the franchise is one that WB has been trying to get off the ground for years. The approach for this version is to start from scratch, with writer Scott Z. Burns ("Contagion," "The Informant!") tossing the previous scripts (various iterations penned by Max Borenstein and David Campbell Wilson once for David Dobkin -- now a producer on the project -- and Doug Liman who eventually passed) and going for a fresh start. The project won't contemporize the setting, but instead, as Burns recently told CinemaBlend, it will use a real life event from the era as the focus. "I think if people know the show they'll recognize tiny little things," Burns said. "All those shows are called, like, 'The Terbuf Affair' or whatever. Our affair comes from something that was actually going on in the world at the time."
With Clooney out, we'll have to see whether or not Soderbergh will stick around minus his pal or line up someone else. Undoubtedly, he has his pick of actors, but Clooney leaves some big shoes to fill and there aren't many actors of his age/calibre/stature who can get a period based franchise film greenlit. We'll be curious to see how this all plays out.


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The Foundling Museum
The Foundling Museum explores the history of the Foundling Hospital, the UK's first children's charity and first public art gallery, and through a dynamic programme of events and exhibitions celebrates the ways in which artists of all disciplines have helped improve children's lives for over 275 years.
The Foundling Hospital, which continues today as the children's charity Coram, was established in 1739 by the philanthropist Captain Thomas Coram, as 'a hospital for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children'. Instrumental in helping Coram realise his vision were the artist, William Hogarth, who encouraged all the leading artists of the day to donate work and the composer, George Frideric Handel, who gave annual benefit concerts of the Messiah. In doing so, they created London's first public art gallery and set the template for the way that the arts could support philanthropy. The Foundling Museum celebrates their vision and continues their work, by enabling artists, musicians and writers to work alongside vulnerable young people and cast new light on the histories we tell.
Venue Type:
Museum, Gallery, Heritage site, Historic house or home
Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00 - 17.00
Sunday, 11.00 - 17.00
Monday closed
Permanent collection
£8.25* Adults
£5.50* Concessions
£4.25* National Trust members
FREE Children (U16), Foundling Friends & Art Fund members
Permanent collection + exhibition
£10.25* Adults
£7.50* Concessions
£6.25* National Trust members
£2 Art Fund members
FREE Children (U16), Foundling Friends
*Ticket prices include a voluntary Gift Aid donation
- International Council of Museums
- National Trust
- National Art Pass
Rail: Euston, St Pancras, King's Cross (10 mins walk)
Tube: Russell Square (2 mins walk) , King's Cross, St Pancras
Bus: 59, 68, 91, 168, 188 to Southampton Row or Russell Square
17 (not evenings), 45, 46 to Gray's Inn Road
10, 18, 30, 73 to Euston Road; 19, 38, 55, 243 to Theobalds Road
Additional info
At the Museum you can see:
* Poignant social history gallery telling the story of London's first home for abandoned children, including personal histories, artefacts, photographs and recordings;
* London's first art gallery featuring works by Hogarth, Rysbrack, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Roubiliac, Hudson, Ramsay and Wilson;
* Fine eighteenth-century, Rococo and Georgian interiors; and
* Gerald Cook Handel collection of Handel memorabilia.
Collection details
Archives, Decorative and Applied Art, Fine Art, Music, Personalities, Social History
Key artists and exhibits
- London's first children's home
- Rococo interior
- Georgian interior
- Coram
- Hogarth
- Rysbrack
- Gainsborough
- Reynolds
- Roubiliac
- Hudson
- Ramsay
- Wilson
- Handel
- 27 May — 4 September 2016 *on now
Combining new and existing work with found objects kept for their significance, this major exhibition unfolds throughout the Foundling Museum, interacting with historic works in the Collection and with each other. Cornelia Parker's inspiration has in part been taken from the Museum's eighteenth-century tokens – small objects left by mothers with their babies as a means of identification should they ever return to claim their child.
Artists participating in FOUND include: Ron Arad, Phyllida Barlow, Jarvis Cocker, Richard Deacon, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Brian Eno, Antony Gormley, Mona Hatoum, Thomas Heatherwick, Christian Marclay, Mike Nelson, David Shrigley, Wolfgang Tillmans, Edmund de Waal, Mark Wallinger, Marina Warner, Rachel Whiteread and Jeanette Winterson.
More than twenty Royal Academicians have contributed to the show, echoing the role that the Foundling Hospital played in the development of the Royal Academy. Founded in 1739 to care for babies at risk of abandonment, the Foundling Hospital was supported by the leading artists of the day, many of whom donated work, thanks to the revolutionary involvement of the artist William Hogarth and the composer George Frideric Handel. The Royal Academy's origins can be traced back to the collective mobilisation of artists and the promotion of British art that took place at the Hospital during the eighteenth century.
£10.25* Adults
£7.50* Concessions
£6.25* National Trust members
£2 Art Fund members
FREE Children (U16), Foundling Friends
*Ticket prices include a voluntary Gift Aid donation
Folk at the Foundling: Alma
- 3 June 2016 From 7pm
Alma brings together award-winning fiddlers John Dipper (English Acoustic Collective) and Emily Askew (Askew Sisters), with guitarist Adrian Lever (Arhai).
Inspired by fiddle traditions from England and across the world, Alma's unique approach results in beautiful and exciting new arrangements. The group perform their debut album for the first time, in this special concert to celebrate its launch.
Each member of Alma brings their own individual style and influences to the band, from John's work with groundbreaking string quartet Methera, Emily's extensive experience in early music and Adrian's knowledge of Eastern European songs.
Folk at the Foundling showcases established and breakthrough artists, inspired by the tradition of folk song and the compelling eighteenth-century stories told at the Foundling Museum.
The Foundling Museum is a registered charity and all income from ticket sales supports our work.
"these top-notch musicians form a lively fusion of dazzling fiddle brilliance" - Folk on Monday, The Green Note
Tickets £12, £10 concessions and Foundling Friends
United We Stand: Artists & Collective Action
- 8 June 2016 6:30-8pm
This panel discussion considers the forces that motivate artists to act collectively, today and in the past. Speakers on the topic include, artist Bob and Roberta Smith, Iwona Blazwick, Director of the Whitechapel Gallery, design historian Dr Tanya Harrod, and Louise Jury, Director of Communications & Strategy at Creative Industries Federation, In association with the Art Workers' Guild.
Foundling Sunday: Cornelia Parker
- 3 July 2016 2-3pm
Don't miss your opportunity to hear Cornelia Parker discuss her work and the inspiration for her exhibition FOUND in this free talk with Director Caro Howell. Free, but advanced booking essential.
Free with Museum admission, but advanced booking required
Family Fun
Children, young people and families are able to explore The Foundling Museum through Trail of the Month, audio trails, story books, creative drop-in sessions and special events. In term time, sessions are held monthly on the first Saturday 13.00-16.00, and during holidays on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10.30-12.30 and 14.00-16.00. Activities are generally suited to children aged 3-12 years.
How to obtain
Arrive early to ensure you get a place. Check the website for full details of events.
Getting there
Rail: Euston, St Pancras, King's Cross (10 mins walk)
Tube: Russell Square (2 mins walk) , King's Cross, St Pancras
Bus: 59, 68, 91, 168, 188 to Southampton Row or Russell Square
17 (not evenings), 45, 46 to Gray's Inn Road
10, 18, 30, 73 to Euston Road; 19, 38, 55, 243 to Theobalds Road
The Foundling Museum
40 Brunswick Square
Greater London
020 7841 3600
020 7841 3607
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Things to see and do - Alès
Leaving for France
The Cevennes :
Nearby tourist sites
Nearby hotels
Premiere Classe Ales from35 €Book
Le Clos des Arts from61 €Book
Auberge de Banne from145 €Book
Nearby Restaurants
Comptoir St-Hilaire
Cotation :
Type de cuisine : Traditional cuisine
La Bastide des Senteurs
Cotation :
Type de cuisine : Modern cuisine
Cotation :
Type de cuisine : Modern cuisine
The Cevennes
The CevennesBy car, 145 km, 1 day
Alès is situated where the Cevennes mountains open out onto the vineyard plain. At 10km, the bamboo centre of Prafrance (created in 1855) today counts 100 bamboo varieties and some superb redwoods. Going back up on the Cevennes the summit roads are all picturesque. On arrival at the dominant Mont Aigoual, see the immense panorama and impressive gorges. On the banks of the Dourbie, in an 18C mill, don't miss 'Noria-The Water Space'. It presents through a series of activities the roles played by water in the region.Customise this route and add it to My travel book
Mine Memorial
In the 13C coal was extracted from the ground here. The mine museum takes you through ithe history of «coal mining» in the Cévennes region, from the «Industrial revolution »to the present day.
Bambouseraie de Prafrance
This exotic park, created in 1855 by local man Eugène Mazel, boasts nearly 200 varieties of bamboo. A fine avenue lined with 20m-high bamboos and splendid Californian sequoias runs right through the 10ha park. Another route, lined with palm trees, boasts a superb tulip tree from Virginia. Take a stroll through the Laotian village, the harmonious Dragon dale, the maze, the water garden and the arboretum planted with species from Japan, America and China. A welcome cool break in summer!
Noria - Maison de l'eau
This old mill has been restored many times and witnessed many serious floods since it was built in the 13C. In the 18C, it contributed to the manufacture of stockings and was used more recently to produce electricity; today, it forms part of a fascinating educational complex which illustrates the importance of water in an interactive and entertaining way. The numerous activities on offer include an interesting presentation of the hydroelectric installations of the Tarn Valley and a play area.
Mont Aigoual
The meteorological observatory on the summit of Mont Aigoual (1 567m) overlooks the Gard, Hérault and Tarn valleys. The instruments used to record the speed and direction of rain-bearing winds from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic are ever-more sophisticated. From the tower, the view encompasses the Causses and the Cévennes and (in fine weather) the Cantal mountains, Mont Ventoux, the Alps, the Languedoc plain, the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees!