FCPA Compliance Program Best Practices: What the DOJ’s Resource Guide Actually Expects in 2025
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has been on the books since 1977. Yet every year, enforcement actions catch experienced companies off guard. Why? Because many compliance teams build their anti-corruption programs around what they think the Department of Justice (DOJ) wants — not what the DOJ has actually told them it expects.
Understanding FCPA compliance program best practices isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about building a living, breathing program that can withstand scrutiny from prosecutors who evaluate compliance programs for a living. And in 2025, those expectations have sharpened considerably.
This guide breaks down what the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs resource guide actually demands. More importantly, it translates those expectations into practical steps your team can take this quarter.
TL;DR — Key Takeaways
- The DOJ evaluates your FCPA compliance program on three core questions: Is it well-designed? Is it implemented effectively? Does it actually work?
- Paper policies aren’t enough. Prosecutors look for evidence of real-world application, testing, and continuous improvement.
- Risk assessments must be dynamic and data-driven — not annual check-the-box exercises.
- Your reporting channels need to demonstrate trust and accessibility, measured by metrics like identified caller rates and reporter satisfaction.
- Conflicts of interest, gifts, and third-party due diligence remain top enforcement priorities in 2025.
- Remediation and corrective action tracking are now table stakes for demonstrating program effectiveness.
Why FCPA Enforcement Still Catches Companies Off Guard
Let’s start with a reality check. The DOJ and SEC collected over $1.5 billion in FCPA-related penalties and disgorgements in recent years. Multi-national corporations with large legal departments and dedicated compliance teams still end up on the wrong side of enforcement actions.
The common thread? Programs that look good on paper but fail in practice.
The DOJ has been remarkably transparent about what it expects. Its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs guidance document — updated periodically — lays out a detailed framework. The problem is that many compliance teams either haven’t read it closely or haven’t operationalized its principles.
Let’s fix that.
The DOJ’s Three Fundamental Questions About Your FCPA Compliance Program
Every DOJ evaluation of a corporate compliance program comes down to three questions:
- Is the compliance program well-designed?
- Is the program being implemented effectively?
- Does the compliance program work in practice?
These aren’t rhetorical. Prosecutors use them as a structured framework to decide whether your program merits credit during an enforcement action — or whether it’s window dressing.
Let’s unpack each one and connect it to FCPA compliance program best practices your team can act on.
Best Practice #1: Ground Your Program in a Dynamic Risk Assessment
The DOJ’s guidance is clear: a compliance program must be rooted in a risk assessment that reflects the company’s actual risk profile. Not a generic template. Not last year’s assessment copy-pasted with a new date.
What the DOJ Looks For
- Tailored risk identification based on your industry, geography, business model, and transaction types
- Regular updates — the DOJ wants to see that your risk assessment evolves as your business changes
- Broad participation — risk assessments shouldn’t live in the compliance department alone; business unit leaders and subject matter experts need to contribute
- Data-informed prioritization — using hotline data, case trends, audit findings, and disclosure results to identify emerging risks
What This Means in Practice
Static, spreadsheet-based risk assessments are a liability. If a prosecutor asks when your last risk assessment was conducted, who participated, and what changed as a result, you need clear answers.
Modern risk assessment tools let you build targeted campaigns with branching logic, distribute them to the right stakeholders based on role and risk exposure, and generate automated heat maps that visualize where your highest risks sit. When you can show completion rates of 80-90% — compared to the 40-60% industry average — you’re demonstrating a program that actually reaches people.
DOJ Corporate Enforcement Policy 2024 Update: What Changed for Compliance Programs
Best Practice #2: Build Reporting Channels That People Actually Trust
The FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions only work if people report suspected corruption. The DOJ knows this. That’s why the quality and accessibility of your reporting channels are central to every compliance program evaluation.
What the DOJ Looks For
- Multiple reporting channels — hotline, web forms, in-person options
- Anonymity protections — reporters must feel safe, whether they identify themselves or not
- Accessibility — 24/7 availability, language support, ease of use
- Evidence of trust — the DOJ looks at whether employees actually use the channels and whether they feel comfortable identifying themselves
Why Metrics Matter More Than Ever
Here’s where many programs fall short. Having a hotline isn’t enough. The DOJ wants to see that it works — and that means data.
Consider the difference between a hotline with a 15-19% abandonment rate and one with less than 1%. The first tells prosecutors that reporters are giving up before they can even file a report. The second tells them your channel is responsive and accessible.
Similarly, identified caller rates matter enormously. When approximately 75% of callers willingly identify themselves — compared to an industry average around 50% — it signals a speak-up culture where employees trust the process enough to put their name on a report. That’s exactly the kind of evidence the DOJ weighs when evaluating program effectiveness.
Average call duration is another telling metric. When calls last 14-15 minutes because trained specialists are conducting thorough, behavioral science-backed interviews — rather than rushing through a 6-7 minute script — the resulting reports are richer, more actionable, and more defensible.
Best Practice #3: Centralize Case Management for a Complete Risk Picture
The DOJ doesn’t just care about intake. It wants to see what happens after a report is filed. How are investigations tracked? How are cases resolved? Is there a clear, auditable trail from report to outcome?
What the DOJ Looks For
- Consistent investigation protocols across the organization
- Centralized tracking of all reports, regardless of intake channel
- Timely investigation and resolution
- Documentation that demonstrates thoroughness and objectivity
- Trend analysis — can you identify patterns across cases?
What This Means in Practice
If your hotline reports go into one system, your web reports into another, and your disclosure findings into a spreadsheet, you have a fragmented risk picture. Prosecutors will notice.
Cloud-based case management that aggregates all intake channels — hotline calls, web submissions, SMS reports, disclosures, and investigation interviews — into a single 360-degree view gives your team the ability to see connections, identify trends, and demonstrate to regulators that nothing falls through the cracks.
Ethics Case Management Software Buyer’s Guide: 12 Must-Have Features for 2025
Best Practice #4: Take Conflicts of Interest and Gifts Seriously
FCPA violations often start small. A gift here. An undisclosed relationship there. A vendor arrangement that nobody flagged. The DOJ’s guidance specifically calls out conflicts of interest (COI) management as a hallmark of effective compliance programs.
What the DOJ Looks For
- Proactive disclosure campaigns — not just policies, but active mechanisms for employees to disclose potential conflicts
- Automated tracking of gifts, entertainment, and transfers of value
- Risk-based triage — not every disclosure needs the same level of review
- Pre-clearance workflows for high-risk activities like government official interactions
- Integration with HR data to ensure the right people receive the right disclosure forms based on their role and risk level
What This Means in Practice
Annual COI questionnaires sent via email with manual follow-up are a compliance relic. They produce low completion rates, inconsistent data, and no audit trail.
Modern disclosure management uses branching logic to ask the right questions based on each respondent’s role. It integrates with your HRIS so new hires and role changes trigger appropriate disclosure requirements automatically. And it triages responses based on risk, so your team focuses attention where it matters most.
This is especially critical for FCPA programs because the anti-bribery provisions extend to third parties. If a vendor relationship creates a conflict that goes undisclosed, the company bears the enforcement risk.
Best Practice #5: Demonstrate Remediation and Continuous Improvement
This is the area where the DOJ’s expectations have sharpened most in recent years. It’s no longer enough to investigate and close cases. Prosecutors now ask: What did you do about it? Did you fix the root cause? Can you prove it?
What the DOJ Looks For
- Root cause analysis after substantiated investigations
- Corrective action plans with clear ownership, deadlines, and tracking
- Policy revisions triggered by investigation findings
- Training updates based on identified gaps
- Evidence that the same issue doesn’t recur
What This Means in Practice
Structured remediation tracking — sometimes called corrective action plans (CAPs) — should be built directly into your case management workflow. When an investigation concludes, the system should prompt your team to document root causes, assign corrective actions, set deadlines, and track completion.
This creates the kind of immutable, automated trail of evidence that auditors and prosecutors respect. It also shifts your program from reactive to proactive — you’re not just responding to problems, you’re systematically eliminating the conditions that created them.
Best Practice #6: Use Data to Tell Your Program’s Story
The DOJ’s guidance increasingly emphasizes the role of data and analytics in compliance program management. Prosecutors want to see that you’re not just collecting information — you’re using it to make decisions.
What the DOJ Looks For
- Trend analysis across reporting, investigation, and disclosure data
- Benchmarking against industry standards
- Board-level reporting that demonstrates compliance program health
- Evidence of data-driven resource allocation
What This Means in Practice
If your board receives a quarterly compliance report that says “we had 47 hotline calls this quarter,” that’s not strategic intelligence. It’s a number.
But if your report shows that anonymous reports are trending down while identified reports are trending up — and that your average case resolution time has decreased by 30% since implementing new workflows — that tells a story of a maturing program.
Role-based analytics dashboards that transform operational case data into strategic business intelligence give compliance leaders and board members the visibility they need. Exportable widgets and custom datasets mean you can tailor the story to each audience — the audit committee gets different detail than the CEO.
Best Practice #7: Ensure Third-Party Due Diligence Is Ongoing, Not One-Time
Third-party intermediaries remain the single biggest FCPA risk vector. The DOJ’s guidance is explicit: due diligence can’t be a one-time, onboarding-only exercise.
What the DOJ Looks For
- Risk-based due diligence at onboarding and on an ongoing basis
- Screening against government exclusion and sanctions lists (OFAC, etc.)
- Monitoring for changes in third-party risk profiles
- Documentation of due diligence decisions and rationale
What This Means in Practice
Automated screening against governmental exclusion lists — including OFAC sanctions — should run continuously, not just at the point of vendor onboarding. When screening algorithms reduce false positives to 20-30% (compared to 90%+ with basic name-matching), your team spends time investigating real risks instead of chasing false alarms.
This is particularly important for organizations operating in high-risk geographies or industries where government touchpoints are frequent.
Best Practice #8: Make Your Ethics Portal the Single Front Door
The DOJ evaluates whether employees know about the compliance program and can easily access its resources. If your policies live in a shared drive nobody visits, your reporting forms require a login nobody remembers, and your code of conduct is a PDF from 2019 — that’s a problem.
What This Means in Practice
A centralized, client-branded ethics portal serves as the single hub for all Ethics & Compliance communications. Policies, executive messaging, reporting forms, and program resources all live in one accessible place. When an employee needs to file a report, disclose a conflict, or review a policy, there’s one destination.
This simplicity matters. The easier you make it for stakeholders to engage with your compliance program, the more they will. And engagement is exactly what prosecutors look for.
Putting It All Together: The FCPA Compliance Program Best Practices Checklist
Here’s a practical summary you can use to evaluate your current program against DOJ expectations:
- ☐ Risk assessment is dynamic, data-informed, and updated regularly with broad participation
- ☐ Reporting channels are accessible 24/7, demonstrate low abandonment rates, and show high trust metrics
- ☐ Case management is centralized, aggregating all intake channels with a clear audit trail
- ☐ COI and disclosure management uses automated campaigns, branching logic, and risk-based triage
- ☐ Remediation plans are structured, tracked, and tied to root cause analysis
- ☐ Analytics transform operational data into strategic insights for leadership and the board
- ☐ Third-party due diligence is ongoing, automated, and risk-based
- ☐ Ethics portal provides a single, accessible hub for all program resources and reporting
- ☐ Policies and procedures are reviewed and updated based on investigation findings and regulatory changes
- ☐ Tone at the top is documented and visible — executive messaging is accessible to all employees
The Bottom Line: Programs That Work Beat Programs That Look Good
The DOJ has made its expectations clear. An effective FCPA compliance program isn’t a binder of policies. It’s a connected ecosystem of risk assessment, reporting, investigation, disclosure, remediation, and analytics — all working together and generating the data to prove it.
The companies that face the harshest enforcement outcomes aren’t always the ones with the worst conduct. They’re the ones that can’t demonstrate they tried to prevent it.
Building a program that meets these FCPA compliance program best practices takes time, the right tools, and a genuine commitment from leadership. But the payoff — in reduced risk, audit readiness, and organizational trust — is worth every hour invested.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs?
It’s a guidance document published by the DOJ’s Criminal Division that outlines the framework prosecutors use to evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s compliance program during enforcement actions. It focuses on three questions: Is the program well-designed? Is it implemented effectively? Does it work in practice?
How often should we update our FCPA risk assessment?
The DOJ expects risk assessments to be dynamic and updated as your business changes — through acquisitions, new markets, regulatory shifts, or emerging case trends. Annual updates are a minimum, but event-driven updates are increasingly expected.
What reporting channel metrics does the DOJ care about?
Prosecutors look at utilization rates (are employees actually using the channels?), abandonment rates (are reporters able to complete their reports?), identified caller rates (do reporters trust the system enough to self-identify?), and follow-through (are reports investigated and resolved in a timely manner?).
Do we need a separate FCPA compliance program, or can it be part of our broader E&C program?
The DOJ doesn’t require a standalone FCPA program. In fact, integrating anti-corruption compliance into your broader Ethics & Compliance program — with shared case management, analytics, and reporting infrastructure — often produces better results because it gives you a more complete risk picture.
What’s the biggest mistake companies make with FCPA compliance programs?
Treating compliance as a documentation exercise rather than an operational one. The DOJ wants to see evidence that your program functions in the real world — that people use it, that it catches issues, and that you improve it based on what you learn.
Want to see how your compliance program’s reporting metrics stack up against DOJ expectations? Explore Ethico’s benchmark data and program evaluation resources to identify where your program stands — and where it can improve.