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Office of Ethics, Compliance,
and Risk

 

Kogan Plaza and tempietto with cherry blossoms in the background. Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Risk
Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Risk

Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Risk

 

Compliance
Matters

 

Integrity
Matters

 

Ethics
Matter

 

 

 All members of the university are responsible for supporting GW’s mission by holding themselves and the community to the highest standards of ethical conduct and complying with laws, regulations, and university policies. Staff throughout the university have operational compliance responsibilities that are specific to their area. As governed by the U.S. Sentencing Commission Guidelines: Chapter 8 and Department of Justice Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, the Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Risk (OECR) has oversight and monitoring responsibilities of the operational compliance units to ensure compliance program effectiveness and risk mitigation in consideration of legal and regulatory requirements and compliance best practices. OECR also provides other institutional risk-based assurance services through oversight of university policies, the non-compliance reporting hotline, the university’s ethics program, internal audit, and enterprise risk management. A dotted line exists between OECR and the Board of Trustee’s Committee on Audit and Compliance in support of fulfilling their governance oversight responsibilities.

 

 

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Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

The ERM program identifies the top risk areas across the institution and develops risk assessment frameworks, mitigation actions, and management plans for each area. This program not only serves to identify and mitigate top risks across the institution but also informs strategic planning, budget planning, and business operations by fostering opportunistic, informed, and appropriately mitigated risk-taking.

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Conflicts of Interest and Commitment (COI/C)

The COI/C program which aims to protect the university and the employee by ensuring that outside professional activities, interests, and relationships do not interfere with exercising university responsibilities or commitment to GW.

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Internal Audit (IA)

The IA serves as an assurance and consultative function to help the university proactively anticipate, manage, and mitigate risk by assessing the control environment and operational processes. An annual internal audit plan is developed by management and affirmed by the Committee on Audit and Compliance of the Board of Trustees. 

 

 

 

 

GW has a culture of integrity and ethical behavior in the daily life of our community through respect, responsibility, accountability, stewardship, teamwork, and service.