MUNICH -- On January 1, 2007, Daniel Noa, 54, took office as Siemens' Chief Compliance Officer. In conjunction with this, the Compliance Office has been organizationally embedded in the legal department to enable closer cooperation with the financial audit department. This provides direct access to all the resources needed to clear up relevant cases.
In mid December, Siemens had announced that it would strengthen its compliance department by engaging Daniel Noa. Noa, a senior public prosecutor in Stuttgart until recently, earned his reputation – among others – by establishing the compliance department of the Trust Agency (Treuhand) in Berlin. He intermittently managed substantial white-collar crime cases for over 20 years at the white-collar crime prosecution unit in Stuttgart. "Siemens has zero tolerance for irregular or illegal conduct, and we are further strengthening our compliance department. Beyond that, we are expanding our internal control systems," said Klaus Kleinfeld, President and CEO of Siemens AG. The new organizational structure of the Compliance Office conforms with the first recommendations made by independent external consultants.
The Compliance Office is the main point of contact at Siemens for the Munich Department of Public Prosecution, which noted Siemens' willingness to cooperate in its most recent press release. Aside from the Noa appointment, Siemens installed an external ombudsman in November 2006, whom employees as well as third parties can contact anonymously should they suspect a case of misconduct. In addition, the Audit Committee of the Siemens AG Supervisory Board has commissioned the renowned law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP to conduct an independent external investigation. Its tasks are to uncover specific violations and to track down and then systematically close any possible gaps in the regulations, structures and processes of Siemens. At the same time, the US anti-corruption expert Michael J. Hershman was appointed as the advisor to the Audit Committee and Corporate Executive Committee of Siemens.
Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; Frankfurt: SIE)