One of the key goals of any Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance program is to train company employees in awareness and understanding of the FCPA; your specific company compliance program; and to create and foster a culture of compliance. The testing and evaluation of your FCPA compliance training program is recognized under the US Federal Sentencing Guidelines as a key component in the overall effectiveness of a FCPA compliance program. Indeed the overall effectiveness of a FCPA compliance program is one of the factors that the Department of Justice (DOJ) reviews in determining whether or not to charge a company. In their book entitled, “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Guidebook”, authors Martin and Daniel Biegelman explore some techniques which can be used to inform a company’s FCPA compliance training.

The authors suggest an approach, which is formulized by the acronym SMART, which is defined as follows:

Specific: clear and concise training which can be understood by all employees;

Measurable: the training has defined metrics requirement such as post-training testing and pass rates;

Achievable: reachable, sustained and reasonable results such as training attendance;

Relevant: a program which will inform and/or measure the desired behavior; and

Timed: a realistic time frame for completion.