SYSTRAN’s Role in Preventing Cross-Border Corruption

The FCPA or the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 made it illegal for U.S. citizens to bribe foreign government officials in exchange for new business or business favors.

Since then, this legislation has become a cornerstone for business compliance programs. Organizations around the country engage in compliance training to ensure that their employees aren’t found to be acting unethically or illegally when procuring new business in foreign countries.

Language creates another barrier to compliance as well. Multinational companies that do business around the world must communicate with their customers in their native languages. Records of these conversations might reveal wrongdoing, but only if they can be understood by those tasked with rooting out ethical violations.

SYSTRAN has a long history of assisting with these sorts of issues, and our technology can help companies struggling with their compliance programs. This article will elucidate SYSTRAN’s role in stopping cross-border corruption

Unless the company’s compliance department has native Chinese speakers on staff, these messages may never be reviewed, leaving the company exposed to potential legal action in the future.

SYSTRAN currently supports 150+ different language pairs, and our automated translation software is based on the most accurate technology available. With our software, compliance departments can automate document and evidence translations so that every company communication, no matter the language it’s made in, can be reviewed for damaging behaviors.

Once employees know they can’t hide behind language anymore, the incidence of corporate malfeasance drops significantly.

SYSTRAN Helps Compliance Officials Better Train Diverse Workforces

Having an effective FCPA compliance training program is critical for a company’s ability to defend itself against claims of responsibility when faced with unethical and illegal employee behaviors.

But as companies expand globally their workforce becomes increasingly diverse. Relying on a compliance training program that hasn’t been properly translated into all of the languages used by its employees makes the company’s position less defensible. It’s harder to convince prosecutors that you made sure your staff members knew proper procedures when they couldn’t fully understand the training.

Here again, SYSTRAN’s language expertise is a boon to the global effort to reduce business corruption.

With our software, companies can quickly produce accurately-translated versions of their compliance training into nearly any language their employees require. 

Before effective automated translation software, companies had to translate these programs manually. The cost could be rationalized for languages that were spoken by a large number of employees. But for more unique cases, it wasn’t economically feasible.

SYSTRAN allows even one-offs to be translated economically, firmly solidifying the defensibility of the company’s position.

Real-Time Translation Allows More Effective Communication

In regard to business corruption, not every country or culture faces the same challenges. Translating a compliance plan into multiple languages is a good first step for internal investigators, but this ignores regional differences.

Compliance professionals that speak directly with the employees in the field can learn quite a bit about how compliance plans should be modified to deal with regional issues. But language mismatches increase the difficulty of these conversations.

SYSTRAN can bridge the gap between internal compliance officials and the diverse workforce they’re tasked with policing. This makes important conversations easier, and thus much more likely to occur.

SYSTRAN Helps Root Out Corruption Around the World

We’re pleased to be able to provide services that enhance an organization’s self-policing ability. By making it easier to trace the written activities of employees around the world and create regionally-appropriate versions of crucial compliance plans, we’re helping companies protect their employees from poor choices and protect themselves from undue liability. We help create a fairer, more equitable business environment around the globe.