We recently wrote, and provided a list of examples, Red Flags in the anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering context and in the area of international economic sanctions. As we indicated, we do not believe that the mere presence of a Red Flag means that a transaction is violative of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) or even that the transaction must not go through. The presence of a Red Flag does mean that there should be additional follow up, due diligence and investigation to ensure that any party or transaction which raises a Red Flag is valid. This investigation must be thoroughly documented and in a form which readily creates an audit trail should your company need to provide such data to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or other investigatory body.

We recently read an article by ACL Services entitled “Don’t Get Bitten by the FCPA”, which advocated the use of audit analytics to assist in the creation of an effective compliance program. They promote audit analytics as a core component as it demonstrates a consistent process and follow up for any issues which are identified as Red Flags. It also provides the necessary documentation to enable your company to continue to compare and update its compliance program and provides a readily assessable written record to present to any DOJ official.