Did you know five of the 10 largest federal criminal fines levied against corporations—ever—were meted out in 2012? They ranged from Barclays Bank’s $450 million settlement over the LIBOR manipulation scandal to GlaxoSmithKline’s $3 billion settlement in connection with off-label marketing and other charges.

All of which goes to show that skimping on compliance can be “pennywise, but pound foolish,” says Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Michael Li-Ming Wong, himself a former federal prosecutor.

CorpCounsel.com listened in on the firm’s recent ninth-annual webcast, entitled “Challenges in Compliance and Corporate Governance.” Here’s what we learned—and what you can start putting to work in the new year:

1. Broaden Your Focus

Between new conflict minerals rules and sanctions on Iran—both of which fall outside the traditional emphasis of the Securities and Exchange Commission—“there is no question that a broader compliance effort is needed,” says Washington D.C.-based partner Amy Goodman, who co-chairs the firm’s securities regulation and corporate governance practice group.

Start by figuring our whether such regulations apply to your company. The conflict minerals rule, which governs the use of tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold from the Congo, could affect upwards of 5,000 U.S. companies. And the Iran sanctions also have a broad reach, encompassing the activities of a company’s foreign affiliates—which could include joint ventures, controlled subsidiaries, and other entities, Goodman says.

2. Take Cues from Morgan Stanley

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