NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As Department of
Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidance
on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement arrives, so
does the 35-year anniversary of the law on Dec. 19, 2012. FCPA compliance concerns
remain for corporate leaders, yet use of technology to manage
increasingly expansive programs remains low, according to a new
Deloitte poll.
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"Companies have their anti-corruption New
Year's resolutions cut out for them thanks to the new
guidance from regulators on enforcement of the FCPA," said
Bill Pollard, a partner in the FCPA
consulting practice of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP.
"The DOJ and SEC expect companies to take a risk-based
approach to employing technology to support their FCPA
programs. Throughout the new 120-page guide they provide
examples of companies utilizing technology to monitor gift payments
or conduct and monitor third party due diligence."
Only 6 percent of executives say their companies use data
visualization and analytics effectively for anti-corruption
purposes. In fact, more than one-third (36.1 percent) do not
use analytics at all as part of their anti-corruption programs.
"It is surprising so few companies are using analytics
effectively in their anti-corruption programs even though
regulators are starting to expect it in FCPA compliance," said
Anthony DeSantis, principal in the
data analytics practice of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services
LLP. "Anti-corruption analytics can distill insights from
massive amounts of data and help identify both historic and
potential schemes. Effective utilization of data
visualization, coupled with analytics, may allow companies to
identify previously unknown trends, target potential high-risk
areas with improved risk scoring, locate geospatial patterns unique
to their operations, and gain deeper insight into potential
compliance program improvements."
More than one-half of executives (55.4 percent) plan to improve
their companies' corruption prevention and detection programs in
2013. However, nearly one-quarter of respondents (23.2
percent) believe the cost of developing and maintaining those
programs will be the biggest challenge companies face in the New
Year.
"Establishing and maintaining a cost-effective FCPA compliance
program can be challenging," continued Pollard. "But,
improvements in internal compliance communications, encouragement
of better cross-team collaboration, incentives for employees who
report suspicious activities can cost few hard dollars. Those
lower-investment efforts are all activities highlighted in the new
FCPA guidance as practices the DOJ and SEC consider when evaluating
the effectiveness of corporate compliance programs."
Nearly two-thirds (63.6 percent) of executives say their
companies' finance teams should do more to support their compliance
colleagues' anti-corruption efforts.
"Far more people with finance titles than compliance titles
responded to our poll," added Pollard. "I think finance might
be telling compliance they are ready to help enhance
anti-corruption compliance programs."
Concerning incentives, nearly one-half of respondents (48.5
percent) say offering rewards to hotline whistleblowers who share
suspicions of corrupt activity encourages earlier internal
reporting.
About the poll
More than 2,100 professionals from
industries including financial services, consumer products,
industrial products, technology, media and telecommunications
responded to polling questions during the webcast, "The Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act: 35 Years of Focusing on
Anti-corruption."
Deloitte Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
Consulting
Deloitte's FCPA Consulting practice helps
organizations navigate FCPA risk and respond to potential
violations. Utilizing the network
of Deloitte member firms and their affiliates
including their forensic resources in the
United States, Canada,
Europe, Russia, Africa, Latin
America and Asia, the
practice has worked on a variety of FCPA engagements including
investigations, acquisition due diligence and compliance program
implementation and assessments in over fifty countries for some of
the world's leading companies.
As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Financial
Advisory Services LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see
www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal
structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain
services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and
regulations of public accounting.
Contact:
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Shelley
Pfaendler
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Maggie
Edinger
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Public
Relations
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Hill+Knowlton Strategies
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Deloitte
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+1 212 885
0370
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+1 212 492
4484
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Maggie.Edinger@hkstrategies.com
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spfaendler@deloitte.com
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SOURCE Deloitte Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Consulting