The FCPA consists of two basic parts; the anti-bribery provisions and the accounting provisions. Under the accounting provisions, there are two prongs: (1) the books and records requirement that a company’s financial statements must accurately reflect its finances and (2) effective internal controls. The accounting provisions, on the civil side of things is enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission, while the Justice Department polices the criminal portion of the anti-bribery provisions. The accounting provisions are governed under the most basic of all U.S. securities laws, the Securities Act of 1934 as amended.
That is a very long way to introduce the subject of Uber specifically and U.S. public companies more generally. One of the key, if under-appreciated, features of the FCPA is that the accounting provisions enforce discipline on companies that desire access to U.S. capital markets through IPOs or stock offerings. If Uber ever does go public, perhaps some of the worst excesses of its CEO Travis Kalanick and his self-imposed buzz saw culture at Uber might be tamed by the requirements of accurate books and records and effective internal controls.
