Five Tools Every Chief Compliance Officer Needs for Effective FCPA Compliance: Title, Authority, Access, Budget and Culture (Part Two of Two)

A highly qualified chief compliance officer (CCO) is necessary but not sufficient to implement and enforce a best-in-class FCPA compliance program.  In addition to being inherently capable, that CCO also must be empowered.  Even the best CCOs need certain tools to perform effectively in an FCPA compliance role; absent such tools, the work of otherwise effective CCOs can be dangerously undermined.  Unfortunately, studies have consistently shown that when it comes to FCPA compliance, CCOs feel under-resourced, overworked and not as impactful as they can and should be.  How can companies bridge the divide between their FCPA compliance aspirations and the reality of insufficiently empowered CCOs?  This is the second article in a two-part series designed to address this fundamental question.  Fortunately for companies, the most productive answer does not involve throwing more money at the problem, but rather rethinking the solution.  In particular, through a series of conversations with high-level sources with direct experience on this challenging topic, we have identified five essential tools that a CCO needs to do effective FCPA compliance.  Those tools include an appropriate title and actual authority, direct access to the board and management, sufficient budget and resources, a bona fide culture of compliance and an incentive structure that reinforces the culture.  The first article in this series addressed the first three tools – see “Five Tools Every Chief Compliance Officer Needs for Effective FCPA Compliance: Title, Authority, Access, Budget and Culture (Part One of Two)” (Apr. 3, 2013) – and this article addresses the last two.  Notably, this article gives content and structure to the elusive but all-important concept of a culture of compliance.

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