Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
A U.S. federal law prohibiting the bribery of foreign government officials and requiring public companies to maintain accurate books and internal controls.
The FCPA has two main components. The anti-bribery provisions prohibit US companies, US persons, and foreign companies with US connections from offering, paying, or authorizing payments of anything of value to foreign government officials to obtain or retain business. "Foreign government officials" is broadly defined and includes employees of state-owned enterprises — which in many countries includes banks, airlines, utilities, and hospitals.
The accounting provisions require all SEC-reporting companies to make and keep books and records that accurately reflect transactions and to maintain a system of internal controls. These provisions apply regardless of intent — inaccurate books are a violation even without any corrupt payment. DOJ and SEC enforcement of the FCPA has been aggressive, with billions in corporate fines and individual criminal prosecutions. Maintaining an FCPA compliance program — including third-party due diligence, gifts and entertainment policies, and training — is essential for any company with international operations. Document intelligence helps compliance teams maintain and audit third-party due diligence files, review expense documentation for potential FCPA issues, and verify that FCPA provisions are included in agent and distributor contracts.
More compliance Terms
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The European Union regulation governing how organizations collect, process, store, and protect personal data.
SOC 2
An auditing framework that evaluates an organization's controls for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
HIPAA
The U.S. federal law that establishes standards for protecting sensitive patient health information.
Audit Trail
A chronological record of system activities that provides documentary evidence of the sequence of actions performed.
Data Privacy
The practice of handling personal information in accordance with legal requirements and individual expectations about data use.
PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard — a set of requirements for organizations that handle credit card information.
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