At this year’s SCCE Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute in Nashville, LRN joined more than a thousand compliance and ethics professionals for a week of insight and collaboration. In addition to the packed agenda of sessions and panels, our presence extended across the conference floor and beyond. Our booth became a hub of conversation, Sunday night’s sales dinner quickly reached capacity, and our evening at Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar reminded everyone that even compliance professionals know how to raise the volume when the music starts in Historic Downtown Nashville.
Yet amid the dinners and dueling pianos, there was the work. These were the conversations from the stage where our Advisory experts pressed on the real questions facing compliance today. What does a Code of Conduct look like when it is built for people rather than binders? Can the field of compliance admit that some of its sacred cows such as annual training and gamified quizzes are perhaps past their prime? And how do you show a regulator that your program is more than paper?
Rethinking the code of conduct with Ty Francis
Ty Francis, Chief Advisory Officer at LRN, led a session titled “Your Code of Conduct is Stale: How to Refresh Your Code, Provide Data to Your Board and Engage with Your Employees.” His point was sharp: too many organizations treat their Code like wallpaper, visible but hardly noticed. He urged compliance leaders to see the Code as something alive, woven into daily operations and designed to inspire values-driven behavior.
Effective Codes, Ty explained, should be shorter, more accessible, and built for the realities of today’s workforce. Video, embedded links, and knowledge reinforcement can make them relevant again. The real challenge, he noted, is not reach but engagement.
Key takeaways:
- 85% of Codes today are not accounting for AI.
- 32% of companies still only offer web-based Codes, limiting interactivity.
- Multilingual, regularly updated, and personalized Codes resonate more deeply across a diverse workforce
He closed with a reminder that the best Codes lead with values, not rules, giving employees a framework to guide real-world decision-making.
Debating Unpopular Opinions with Meredith Hunt
Meredith Hunt, Ethics & Compliance Advisor at LRN, joined Cricket Synder (Jefferson County Commission) and Virginia MacSuibhne (Alumis) for what might have been the most animated session of the week: “Compliance Clash: Debating Unpopular Opinions and Emerging Trends.” Moderated by Shannon Jamison (KARL STORZ), the session broke away from the usual panel format. It was part debate, part reality check, and at moments felt like group therapy for compliance officers willing to say what others only think.
The panelists surfaced a series of provocative opinions that challenged conventional wisdom and sparked immediate discussion across the room:
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Annual training is useless, and gamification is outdated.
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Risk assessments become a risk themselves when reduced to a spreadsheet.
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You cannot policy your way out of cultural problems.
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Compliance is not an approval function.
Each point opened the floor to lively exchanges, with some attendees nodding in agreement and others bristling at the suggestion. That tension was exactly the goal. By leaning into disagreement, the session encouraged participants to reconsider the effectiveness of long-standing practices and ask whether compliance programs are truly designed for impact or simply tradition.
What made the discussion stand out was its willingness to confront uncomfortable truths with humor and honesty. Rather than presenting easy solutions, the panel invited professionals to think critically about where compliance should evolve next. In doing so, it created a space where candid dialogue could move the profession forward.
Adapting to Regulatory Shifts with Eric Morehead
Eric Morehead, Vice President of Advisory Services at LRN, led a session titled “Regulatory Expectations in a Changing Environment.” His message was straightforward: policies on paper are no longer enough. Regulators want evidence that compliance programs actually work, and companies must be prepared to show it.
Key takeaways:
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Regulators expect proof, not promises.
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Flexibility is critical as priorities and laws shift.
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Boards need clear insights that show compliance is strengthening culture and reducing risk.
The takeaway was clear. Programs that remain rigid will falter, while those that adapt, measure outcomes, and demonstrate impact will thrive.
Looking ahead
SCCE 2025 was a week that underscored the value of bringing the compliance community together to share insights, challenge assumptions, and look ahead to what comes next. From the steady buzz of conversations at our booth, to the full tables at dinner and the piano sing-alongs downtown, to the thought leadership shared from the stage, LRN’s presence reflected our commitment to helping organizations build ethical cultures that thrive in a changing world. We left Nashville energized by the dialogue, inspired by the community, and ready to carry that momentum into the year ahead.
