Focusing on the Internal Environment in Discussion of the FCPA

Abstract

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 is a significant piece of American legislature that, especially in recent years, has been the subject of many heated debates in business discussions. As of February 23, 2017, this law has brought Department of Justice (DOJ) or Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) actions in 497 cases, collected $9,981,825,430 in total monetary sanctions imposed in all FCPA-related cases, and has ties to $4,279,568,195 in bribery payments (Stanford Law School FCPA Clearinghouse, 2017).Recent years, relevant to the era of transformation in the regulatory and legal framework within the macro-environment, the demand for preventative and proprietary measures to implement effective internal controls for business enterprises has significantly increased. The FCPA is one of the internationally focused regulations in which is of high concern and risk for companies to comply with as indicative by the set forth standards and penalties if failure to comply. The FCPA can be analyzed in major core areas; penalties, international and domestic whistleblower provisions, and the socioeconomic status of countries combined with ethical development. Such three major discussion areas play a substantial role in determining the overall past history, current state, and future effectiveness of the FCPA. The FCPA has proven effective over the years, but in order for it to remain relevant and at the forefront of anticorruption and fair reporting, it must be updated to include increased standards for internal controls and software monitoring systems for large multinationals. The past successes of the FCPA, the unique role it plays as the world’s first and foremost anti-corruption legislation, and the importance of the anti-corruption movement to human advancement in terms of improving the reliability of business financials; all contribute to the need for increased enforcement and continued modernization of the FCPA on the global front.