2013 legal and compliance bill to exceed $300 million

While second quarter sales were less than expected, one area where Walmart exceeded plan was expenses incurred related to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and compliance matters.

The company said it spent $82 million on efforts in those areas compared to the $65 million to $70 million it though it would spend at the start of the year. Expenses during the first half of the year totaled $155 million.

Of the $82 million spent in the second quarter, nearly $1 million a day, roughly $48 million went to cover costs related to the FCPA investigation while $34 million went to global compliance programs and organizational enhancements.

For the remainder of the year, the company said it expects to spend between $75 million and $80 million in the third and fourth quarter which puts the full year outlay on track to total between $305 million and $315 million.

The investigation dates back to the fall of 2011 when the Audit Committee of the board of directors began looking into alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with its Mexican subsidiary. Since then the investigation was expanded to include Brazil, India and China and Walmart focused on upgrading its compliance capabilities.