Resource Center
|
Is there any provision in the FCPA concerning evidence related to anti-bribery provisions?
In addition to its anti-bribery provisions, the FCPA contains accounting provisions to ensure that companies keep accurate books and records, and maintain a system of internal controls designed to prevent improper payments. Unlike the anti-bribery provisions, which also apply broadly to individuals and entities doing business in the United States, the accounting provisions apply only to issuers of securities that trade on U.S. exchanges. The books-and-records provision requires issuers to "make and keep books, records, and accounts, which, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the issuer."The internal controls provision requires issuers to "devise and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances" that (1) transactions are authorized by management; (2) transactions are recorded in a way that facilitates the preparation of financial statements and that maintains accountability for assets; (3) access to assets is authorized by management; and (4) recorded assets are compared periodically to existing assets and appropriate action is taken with respect to differences. The accounting provisions allow the government to prosecute companies under the FCPA without having to show actual bribery. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") brought civil actions against Avery Dennison Corp., ITT Corp., and Lucent Technologies, alleging that these companies violated the books-and-records and internal controls provisions in relation to their business in China.
|