FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)
Definition
A 1977 US federal statute with two pillars: anti-bribery provisions that prohibit payments to foreign government officials to obtain or retain business, and accounting provisions requiring issuers to maintain accurate books and adequate internal controls. Enforced by the DOJ and SEC.
- Enacted
- 1977
- Jurisdiction
- United States, federal
- Enforcers
- DOJ and SEC
- Two pillars
- Anti-bribery and accounting provisions
Common questions
What is the difference between the FCPA's anti-bribery and accounting provisions in practice?+
The anti-bribery pillar prohibits paying or offering payments to foreign officials to obtain business, and can apply to individuals. The accounting pillar applies to public issuers and requires accurate books and adequate internal controls, so a company can face an accounting-provision violation even without a proven bribe if its records or controls are deficient.
Why is the FCPA relevant to forensic accountants rather than only to lawyers?+
Forensic accountants are frequently engaged to trace payment flows, reconstruct disguised transactions and test internal controls during FCPA investigations, since establishing whether a payment was properly recorded, or was structured to obscure a bribe, is fundamentally an accounting reconstruction task.
Related terms
- Conflict of Interest
- A situation in which a person's private interests, financial, personal, or professional, could improperly affect their exercise of a duty to an...
- Politically Exposed Person (PEP)
- An individual who holds or has held a prominent public function, including senior government officials, judges, military officers, and their close family...
- Sole-Source Justification
- A documented explanation for awarding a contract without competitive bidding, typically claiming that only one supplier can meet a requirement. In bribery...
- Third-Party Due Diligence
- The process of verifying the identity, ownership, reputation, and business legitimacy of agents, distributors, joint-venture partners, and other intermediaries. Required under the...
- UK Bribery Act 2010
- A UK statute that criminalises both public and private sector bribery, covers any person (not only government officials), and creates a strict-liability...