Ask the Accounting Community

Q.1

• CFO of a co. is doing fraudulent things in co.
• A is CMA came to know about this fraud
• B is supervisor of Mr. A and report to CFO

My question is that:

• As per resolution of ethical conflicts hierarchy Mr. A should report to his immediate supervisor i.e. Mr. B, but what if Mr. B supervisor reports to Convict person i.e. CFO
• Should Mr. A report to Audit committee, Executive committee , board of directors , board of trustees or owners?

Q.2

X co. is opening new business unit in foreign country and for this co. needs registration and license in foreign country. For boosting the process co.'s officers are trying to give bribe/gift to Mr. A who works for foreign official person but he is himself not foreign official person.

My question is that:

Is that gift/bribe are allow under FCPA 1977?

For Q-1. 

Me. A should definitely not tell B, since B reports to CFO. Me. A should Check the company's  guidelines on how to handle potential ethical issue, and check the chain of command to see who is above CFO and figure out if that person is involved in the issue of not. If that doesn't help then call ethics hotline and consult with them about the situation. Also, contact your lawyer about the issue and get their advice.

Q-2. Under Foreign Corrupt practice Act (FCPA) a gift or bride of any kind to acquire something in return is illegal. Even if bribery is common in that particular country, offering/accepting bride in a foreign country to do business is illegal.