The effect of FCPA on emerging and middle-sized companies

The threat that compliance with US and foreign anticorruption laws and regulations over global governance is obliged when startups make decisions to expand their global business areas when trying to expand to particularly high-risk areas We are facing operations. Through its outstanding broad interpretation and law, the law that is most concerned about emerging companies' consciousness is the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Since emerging or medium-sized companies are limited in the scope of international businesses, they should not be convinced that they will provide magical shields that will depart from the government's radar.

FCPA is no longer a nightmare of exposure responsibility reserved for Fortune 500 and other large multinational people no longer. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have raised the interpretation of income disparity to a new level. Both institutions are actively targeting medium-sized enterprises. In some general comments, Attorney General Leslie Caldwell shows the intention to utilize recent FCPA enforcement measures as a "call for awakening" for medium-sized businesses that forces them to admit their protests - Corruption duty. Mr. Caldwell 's comments are repeated by DOJ and SEC senior officials. In fact, the enforcement of FCPA and other anti-corruption laws is second only to the enforcement of the Homeland Security Act.

Large citizens have resources to spend a great deal of time and financial effort towards FCPA and anti-corruption compliance, but emerging companies focused more carefully on anti-corruption compliance obligations We need to observe a risk-based approach.

Developing and maintaining a well-designed, comprehensive and powerful corporate compliance program is the best way to prevent or mitigate companies from engaging in illegal activities and breaching FCPA. Both DOJ and SEC have long advocated the merit of an aggressive compliance program.

To create an effective and robust compliance program, you first need to have a clear grasp of the unique corruption risk it faces. This can be achieved through risk-based assessment.

By providing a comprehensive risk assessment, start-ups can identify and assess the scope of corruption risk facing the business. The following quotation of Britain's anti-bribery law,

"The more you understand the risk of bribery faced by the organization, the more effective your efforts to prevent bribery will be effective."

Before developing the FCPA compliance policy and thinking that the problem has been resolved, emerging medium-sized companies need to take time to learn that regulators believe effective compliance programs.

DOJ and SEC have a long history advocating the benefits of a productive customized risk-based approach to FCPA compliance. They repeatedly emphasized that the compliance program must exceed the statements in order for the FCPA compliance program to be considered effective. After all, many of the other major companies charged with ENRON and the government were sending a considerable amount of corporate compliance programs.

To be effective, the FCPA compliance program must be risk-based, but there are many elements that are common to all FCPA compliance plans.

At a minimum, all FCPA's compliance programs require complete and complete commitments from all levels within the company. Government compliance programs are very heavy punitive measures, while regulators focus on examining the effective elements of compliance planning. For emerging or medium-sized companies, a better way to compliance is to incorporate a combined approach that combines government best practices with an integrity-based approach beyond punishment.

In either case, we can not exaggerate the full management commitment and must effectively communicate the management 's commitment throughout the company, third - country agents, subsidiaries,. It will be of great use to the company in applying the excessively broad interpretation of what constitutes civil servants. Including an official family in this interpretation will certainly not reach too much. For example, in China, "Principles" has great concern. When dealing with foreign civil servants and families, there is no doubt that a company in the United States needs to make the director more careful.

Other factors common to all FCPA compliance programs are strong leadership, effective training programs, customized risk assessment, and so on. In this risk-based analysis, factors such as the geopolitical and legal framework of each business area need to be taken into consideration. Does the country have a considerable number of private sector business operations governed by the government? The country's infrastructure and culture are other factors to consider.

Complying with all protocols, the comprehensive FCPA compliance program can provide organizations with a number of advantages, including a framework that prioritizes the organization's strategic risks. Keep in mind that your company's FCPA compliance plan must be an ongoing process. The FCPA's compliance plan should have sufficient flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and work environments.

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