Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – Best Practices

FCPA Ethics Blog – Wiedergabe eines sehr lesenswerten Artikels für alle mit Compliance und Korruptiomsbekämpfung befassten Mitarbeiter eines Unternehmens, insbes. wenn in den USA tätig. One of the requirements consistent throughout the Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organization (US Sentencing Guidelines) and its section on corporate compliance programs; the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics, and Compliance, and the UK Bribery Act’s Consultative Guidance is the need for continued assessment of an anti-corruption and anti-bribery compliance program. This posting will review the specifics of each of these documents and will provide to the compliance and ethics practitioner some ideas on how to implement what each of these protocols stress is key component of any best practices compliance program.

US Sentencing Guidelines

The US Sentencing Guidelines state that there should be periodic reviews of a company’s compliance program, utilizing internal resources, such as a company’s Internal Audit function, and outside professional consultants. The OECD Good Practice states that a compliance program should be periodically re-assessed and re-evaluated to take into account any new developments. The UK Bribery Act Consultative Guidance, recently released by the UK Ministry of Justice, requires ongoing monitoring and review by noting that a compliance program and procedures should be reviewed regularly and a company should consider whether an “external verification [of the compliance program] would help.”

Speaking at the Compliance Week 2010 Annual Conference, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice, Lanny Breuer, indicated that such an external verification or assurance of the effectiveness of a compliance program is a key component to assist a company in maintaining a ‘best practices’ FCPA compliance program. He noted that it is through a mechanism such as an ongoing assessment that a company could continue to evaluate its own compliance program with reference to compliance standards which are evolving on a world wide basis.

OECD

In this same speech, Breuer cited as a benchmark for a best practices compliance and ethics program the protocols set forth in the OECD Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics, and Compliance. In this protocol the OECD suggested that “periodic reviews of the ethics and compliance programs or measures, designed to evaluate and improve their effectiveness in preventing and detecting foreign bribery, taking into account relevant developments in the field, and evolving international and industry standards.” Writing in the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Magazine (SCCE) (Vol. 7 / No. 3), Russ Berland explained that this guidance meant that companies should regularly reassess th…