The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Taking A Bite Out Of Bribery In International Business Transactions

Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) has reached an all-time high. FCPA violations can result in many significant costs, both monetary and non-monetary. FCPA compliance has become a top corporate governance issue and has triggered shareholder litigation, tax investigations, and money laundering probes. While many corporate managers, financial officers, board members, internal and external auditors, and forensic accountants are aware of the FCPA’s basic objectives and mandates, many may not do an adequate job of protecting their firms and/or clients from the dangerous consequences that can result from FCPA non-compliance. The purposes of this paper are to: (1) analyze and describe bribery and FCPA case filings, sanctions, payments (bribes), and value of business to be obtained; (2) describe and analyze the important provisions of the FCPA; and (3) make recommendations to help firms improve their compliance with the FCPA.