FCPA enforcement has become more and more of a priority for the SEC and a bigger and bigger issue for public companies in recent years. The SEC actually has a special section of its webpage devoted to FCPA Enforcement Actions!

www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-cases.shtml

Any business with foreign operations, or thinking of establishing one, even if they are modest, needs to pay attention to the challenges of FCPA compliance. Lawyers, accountants and professionals working in almost any aspect of a company with foreign operations need to understand this complex law.

To manage FCPA risks it is crucial to understand issues such as:

What are the Act’s anti-bribery provisions?

What are the Act’s “accounting and recordkeeping” (internal control) provisions?

What are the traps and major issues in the “accounting and recordkeeping” provisions?

How payments that may be immaterial for financial reporting still matter for FCPA compliance.

How internal audits and FCPA compliance audits differ.

What is the difference between a bribe and a “facilitating payment”, and does it matter for FCPA compliance?

What are the civil and criminal consequences of violating the Act?

What are the major parts of a compliance program?

How does a company build an effective compliance program?

If you need a good place to start understanding what is required to deal with FCPA issues, PLI’s One-Hour Briefing, Basics of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) 2015, on April 17, 2015, is a great resource for understanding the issues and complying with the Act.