The FCPA is a U.S. law that prohibits bribery of foreign government officials. The FCPA has two core principles:
All U.S. persons and companies are forbidden from bribing foreign government officials. (This is referred to as the FCPA’s ‘anti-bribery’ provision)
Publicly traded companies must maintain a system of ‘internal controls’ to ensure that financial misconduct (like bribery) does not take place. (This is referred to as the FCPA’s ‘internal controls’ or ‘books and records’ provisions).
Both provisions work in tandem to prevent bribery and ensure that public companies have accurate books and records that investors can rely on. For more background on these provisions, check out the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) FCPA resource guide, which functions as an FCPA Bible for compliance personnel.