Corporate Monitors and the Monitorship Process

The prospect of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act monitor is an unpleasant one for a company that just emerged from what likely was a long, expensive, and invasive investigation and wants to get back to business. A compliance monitor brings even more cost, effort, and scrutiny through evaluating the company’s anti-corruption compliance program, conducting interviews, performing testing, and making recommendations. Although rarely welcomed by companies, a well-executed monitorship can be a helpful endeavor that results in a stronger company. This chapter discusses the use of corporate compliance monitors as a condition to resolving corporate FCPA enforcement actions, common aspects of FCPA monitorships, and best practices for achieving a successful FCPA monitorship.