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The FCPA is a law that exacts penalties for giving or taking bribes in overseas operations.  Since 1997 when the law was first enacted, it has yielded only a few convictions.  However, prosecutions by the Department of Justice (DOJ) are accelerating due to an increasing dependency of US companies on foreign growth.

In the US, it is easy to determine who the government is, but in foreign countries such as China, an elected official's entire family may be considered part of the government.  This makes it sometimes difficult to know that a customer being taken to a business lunch also someone who represents the government.  The lunch then may be considered a bribe of a public official. 

Thus, to ensure compliance with the FCPA, a company should review its books, records, and accounts to make sure that they reflect transactions and company assets accurately.  There should be system that shows how employees spend company money and whether management approves such spending.  The books should be audited at regular intervals.  If it is a public company, the legal department should work with the finance department to publicly disclose any material weaknesses discovered in an audit.

Companies in China may not have internal controls in place to comply with non-Chinese business standards.  Thus, background checks on suppliers and consultants may be advised in order to prove transactions are legitimate.

In the end, the goal is to have sufficient internal controls to prevent abuses relating to gifts, or an action that may constitute the giving or taking of bribes.