FCPA Compliance For Small Companies

"Small Organizations.—In meeting the requirements [for an effective compliance program under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines], small organizations shall demonstrate the same degree of commitment to ethical conduct and compliance with the law as large organizations. However, a small organization may meet the requirements . . . with less formality and fewer resources than would be expected of large organizations. In appropriate circumstances, reliance on existing resources and simple systems can demonstrate a degree of commitment that, for a large organization, would only be demonstrated through more formally planned and implemented systems.

"Examples of the informality and use of fewer resources with which a small organization may meet the requirements . . . include the following: (I) the governing authority’s discharge of its responsibility for oversight of the compliance and ethics program by directly managing the organization’s compliance and ethics efforts; (II) training employees through informal staff meetings, and monitoring through regular 'walk-arounds' or continuous observation while managing the organization; (III) using available personnel, rather than employing separate staff, to carry out the compliance and ethics program; and (IV) modeling its own compliance and ethics program on existing, well-regarded compliance and ethics programs and best practices of other similar organizations."

(emphasis added)

Quoted from the 2005 U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Chapter 8, Part B, §8B2.1., Effective Compliance and Ethics Program, Commentary Application Note 2 (c) (iii).

View Chapter 8, Part B of the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines Here.