A World-Class Anti-Corruption Compliance Program Translates Into Every Language

Never before has there been greater emphasis on, or enforcement of, international anti-corruption and anti-bribery regulations around the world. As companies continue to expand and compete in the global marketplace, they are met with constant reminders of the importance of maintaining a robust anti-corruption compliance program. The number of investigations, prosecutions and sanctions for corruption-related transgressions continues to multiply year over year. Nevertheless, many organizations are facing this increasingly aggressive enforcement environment with limited compliance dollars and resources, forcing them in many cases to “do more with less,” thereby making effective resource allocation more critical.

The business case for demonstrating a world-class anti-corruption compliance program involves more than just the cost of effective compliance operations or preventing compliance failures. In an increasingly networked world dominated by “net-gen” social media and bloggers, word of prosecutions and sanctions for wrongdoing spread faster than ever–which can have crippling impacts on the long-term reputational and brand value of an organization.

WHY VALIDATE YOUR ANTI-CORRUPTION COMPLIANCE PROGRAM?

While there is certainly no shortage of legislative mandates or policy initiatives that require or encourage an effective anti-corruption compliance program, much of the latest guidance for companies required to abide by these standards has advised those companies to seek third party validation of their anti-corruption efforts:

• UN Global Compact (UNGC): In its Reporting Guidance on the 10th Principle Against Corruption, the UNGC advises the “use of independent external assurance of anti-corruption programmes” to “provide the organization with valuable insight into the strengths and weaknesses of its programme.”
• Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD): In 2010’s Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics and Compliance, OECD recommends “periodic reviews of the ethics and compliance programmes or measures, designed to evaluate and improve their effectiveness in preventing and detecting foreign bribery.”
• UK Bribery Act: The Justice Ministry’s comment request on the Bribery Act guidance stipulates that an independent review may provide “insight into the strengths and weaknesses,” “identify areas for improvement,” and “enhance credibility with business partners or restore market confidence following the discovery of a bribery incident.”

Please click here to request a PDF of Ethisphere’s Anti-Corruption Program Verification Brochure.

“The senior management of higher risk and larger organisations may wish to consider whether to commission external verification or assurance of the effectiveness of anti-bribery policies…An independent review can be helpful in providing organisations undergoing structural change or entering new markets with an insight into the strengths and weaknesses of its anti-bribery policies and procedures and in identifying areas for improvement. It may also enhance its credibility with business parpartners or restore market confidence following the discovery of a bribery incident, help meet the requirements of both voluntary or industry initiatives and any future pre-qualification requirements.”

– Guidance about commercial organisations preventing bribery (section 9 of the Bribery Act 2010), UK Ministry of Justice, September 14, 2010

WHAT IS ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAM VERIFICATION?

Ethisphere’s Anti-Corruption Program Verification offers objective, independent verification of a company’s anti-corruption program and initiatives, including a comprehensive review of policies, procedures, training, communication, controls and enforcement.

Anti-Corruption Program Verification can only be earned by companies that are able to prove they have designed, implemented, and enforced a robust, best-in-class anti-corruption program that is capable of  reasonably detecting and preventing bribery and corruption.

“I applaud Ethisphere for creating an objective and comprehensive third party verification mechanism for multinational organizations. The launch of such a verification is both long awaited and much needed by the international business community. Ethisphere has set themselves apart as a reputable thought leader in the compliance and ethics industry and has developed a thorough and respected methodology for such verification.”

– Michael Hershman, President and CEO of Fairfax Group, Co-Founder of Transparency International

WHY BECOME ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAM VERIFIED?

• Learn: Gain critical knowledge on the current program’s strengths and weaknesses
• Validate: Better understand where compliance resources can be most effectively allocated
• Defend: Prepare your organization with an affirmative defense in the event of a compliance breakdown
• Prevent: Uncover critical risk areas that might pose future problems
• Benchmark: Compare your program to best-in-class standards and policies
• Report: Educate leadership on the state of your program and potential risk exposure
• Improve: Arm your company with pragmatic, actionable steps for improvement
• Communicate: Illustrate your organization’s commitment as an industry anti-corruption leader
• Be Recognized: Get rewarded for your efforts
• Compete: Gain a market advantage over industry peers

Interested in obtaining additional information regarding the Anti-Corruption Program Verification methodology and process? Please contact us for more information.

To obtain a PDF copy of the Anti-Corruption Program Verification Redacted Report – please click here.