No company is immune to the risks of corruption! Operating in a competitive environment where not everybody plays fair, or facing illicit requests from corrupt public officials are just two real world examples that companies experience every day. Despite significant progress over the last decade, including law enforcement, corruption is still a major issue for companies doing business.
In addressing these risks, the expectation towards companies are clear. First, companies must prohibit corruption in its various forms, including bribery. Second, a company policy to counter corruption must be backed by an anti-corruption ethics & compliance programme. Such programmes turn words into actions and greatly increase a company’s chances of avoiding these risks. They do not have to be expensive or burdensome. But to be effective, they must take account of key principles, including
Increasing employees’ awareness, commitment and capability is a key task for those in charge of anti-corruption programmes.
This database is intended to support awareness raising and training endeavours by listing the major risks companies may face. Business risks do not apply equally across companies. Where risks are identified, it is recommended that companies engage in dialogue with their employees, discussing the practical challenges and potential solutions within their own context. In this way, the risks will become real, rather than policy on paper which employees can more easily ignore, or argue does not apply to them.
For this, each business risk is displayed in a clear, formal structure. Each includes an introduction, practical approaches and relevant issues for training, and suggestions for continued reading.
The database will be a living document, with the facility to add new business risks over time. Please do nominate such risks! This database includes free, high-quality information that is available to companies seeking to counter corruption, including