The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) is a nonprofit, individual membership association which provides resources for ethics and compliance professionals from various industries. It serves over 2,500 members through publications, education programs, conferences and professional networking, including an online social network called SCCEnet, which has over 8,000 registered users.http://community.corporatecompliance.org SCCE also helps individuals become Certified Compliance

Compliance (regulation)

In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. Regulatory compliance describes the goal that corporations or public agencies aspire to in their efforts to ensure that personnel are aware of and take steps to comply with relevant laws and...

 and Ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

 Professionals.

History

The first National Symposium on Corporate Responsibility: Compliance & Ethics Programs was held on November 21-22, 2002, sponsored by the Health Care Compliance Association

Health Care Compliance Association

The Health Care Compliance Association is a nonprofit, individual membership association which provides resources for ethics and compliance professionals in the United States. It serves over 7,200 members through publications, education programs, conferences and professional networking including...

 (HCCA) in association with Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 Corporation in Redmond, Washington

Redmond, Washington

Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....

. The conference drew 100 attendees from some of the top corporations in the nation including DuPont

DuPont

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...

, PricewaterhouseCoopers

PricewaterhouseCoopers

PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....

, Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

, Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

, Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

, the University of Texas and many more. The keynote speaker was William C. Powers

William C. Powers

William Charles Powers Jr. is the 28th president of The University of Texas at Austin, a position he has held since February 1, 2006....

 Jr. who served as Chairman of the Special Investigative Committee of the Board of Directors of Enron

Enron

Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...

 Corporation.

Requests for a second Symposium were answered in 2003. More than 250 attendees filled the room to hear speakers such as James Sheehan, Associate United States Attorney for Civil Programs; Ron James, CEO, Center for Ethical Business Cultures; Honorable Michael E. Horowitz, Commissioner, United States Sentencing Commission; and Colleen Rowley, Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

. Their mission was clear, there needed to be a forum for business professionals working in the compliance and ethics field.

The Compliance and Ethics Institute http://www.complianceethicsinstitute.org now attracts approximately 800 attendees annually and the SCCE has grown to over 2,500 members.

Education, Publications and Events

The SCCE offers publications and live training to its members. These resources cover the range of challenges faced by compliance professionals in managing compliance and ethics programs. The SCCE addresses regulatory topics such as sexual harassment

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...

, antitrust

Antitrust

The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...

/anti-competition, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 is a United States federal law known primarily for two of its main provisions, one that addresses accounting transparency requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and another concerning bribery of foreign officials.- Provisions and scope...

/anti-bribery, export control and more, as well as the broad challenge of managing a program designed to meet the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines definition of an effective compliance program. SCCE’s members enjoy access to a repository of over 2,600 electronic documents including white papers and government memorandum.

Certification

The SCCE worked with the Compliance Certification Board (CCB) to develop an examination certification in compliance and ethics. To date over 1200 people have obtained the Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional Certification(CCEP). The CCEP Fellow advanced certification has also been added.

Code of Professional Ethics

On August 29, 2007, The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) adopted a Code of Professional Ethics for Compliance and Ethics Professionals.

The Code’s purpose is to provide guidance and rules to all Compliance and Ethics Professionals (CEP) in the performance of their professional responsibilities.
In creating the Code of Professional Ethics, the SCCE establishes both overarching principles to guide compliance officials and rules of conduct, which represent specific standards that prescribe the minimum level of professional conduct expected of CEPs.