A report from Shearman & Sterling recently said that theaverage Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) penalty in 2014 was$156.6 million — the highest in U.S. history. As such, it might be no surprise thatmore FCPA regulation will be on the way in 2015, and this time, theSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be coming with evenmore scrutiny.

At a Corporate Counsel Institute conference on March 12, SECenforcement director Andrew Ceresney said that the agency willpursue more FCPA claims this year, cracking down on foreignbribery. Already, he said, the SEC has pursued more FCPA cases inthe first five months of FY2015 than it did in all of FY2014.

In particular, he noted that the SEC will be casting a morecritical eye towards one key area of the compliance process. “Weare very focused on internal controls. I think you will find we areactive in this area in the coming months,” Ceresney said, asreported by Pensions & Investments.