Despite increasing regulations, most companies have no system for monitoring high-risk third parties. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) into law, which makes it unlawful for U.S. companies, individuals and third-party intermediaries to pay foreign officials to retain or obtain business. Although the FCPA has existed for 35 years, its effects have been most felt over the past five years, thanks to the Obama administration’s decision to make combating corruption one of its priorities. A recent poll of delegates attending a FCPA Conference revealed that more than 60% have no system in place for monitoring high-risk third parties after they’ve put a contract in place with them, while the majority of delegates (almost 90%) further indicated that they have no technology in place to help them assess, monitor, manage and report on the FCPA risk of their third parties. Moreover, in the event of an FCPA violation, evidence of an effective program may change the outcome of potential prosecution. Thankfully, technology exists that enables organizations to implement and enforce a consistent, objective and scalable FCPA program.
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