Or Hallmarks of Effective Compliance not enforced in good faith, such as when corporate man- Programs agement explicitly or implicitly encourages employees to Individual companies may have different compliance engage in misconduct to achieve business objectives, will be needs depending on their size and the particular risks asso- ineffective. DOJ and SEC have often encountered compa- ciated with their businesses, among other factors. When it nies with compliance programs that are strong on paper but comes to compliance, there is no one-size-fits-all program. that nevertheless have significant FCPA violations because Thus, the discussion below is meant to provide insight into management has failed to effectively implement the pro- the aspects of compliance programs that DOJ and SEC gram even in the face of obvious signs of corruption. This assess, recognizing that companies may consider a variety may be the result of aggressive sales staff preventing com- of factors when making their own determination of what pliance personnel from doing their jobs effectively and of is appropriate for their specific business needs.>’° Indeed, senior management, more concerned with securing a valu- small- and medium-size enterprises likely will have different able business opportunity than enforcing a culture of com- compliance programs from large multi-national corpora- pliance, siding with the sales team. The higher the financial tions, a fact DOJ and SEC take into account when evaluat- stakes of the transaction, the greater the temptation for ing companies’ compliance programs. management to choose profit over compliance. Compliance programs that employ a “check-the-box” A strong ethical culture directly supports a strong approach may be inefficient and, more importantly, ineffec- compliance program. By adhering to ethical standards, tive. Because each compliance program should be tailored senior managers will inspire middle managers to reinforce to an organization's specific ne