New Accuity White Paper Addresses Anti-Bribery And Corruption Compliance
Accuity, part of BankersAccuity, today released a new white paper entitled “Addressing Anti-Bribery and Corruption Compliance.” The paper reviews the increasingly stringent regulatory landscape across the United States and Europe and how firms can best demonstrate anti-bribery and corruption compliance through processes and technology.
Global regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the UK Bribery Act (UKBA) create pressure on firms to demonstrate that the appropriate compliance programs are in place. The Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions place greater stress on firms as whistleblowers can receive a bounty from fines and penalties resulting from an investigation should the organization be culpable. As a result, corporate, legal and compliance executives must be able to ensure they have a strong defense against any potential risk.
“Although there have been anti-bribery and corruption laws in place for some time, we’re finding organizations are more cautious than ever—and with good reason!” comments Henry Balani, Managing Director at Accuity. “As recent headlines show, even the largest corporations in the world can face corruption and bribery scandals and suffer client distrust, tarnished reputations and potentially irreparable business damage. More and more of the firms we speak with are seeking to implement robust compliance programs and effective processes to protect themselves against a potentially dire situation.” In order to meet anti-corruption obligations, the paper suggests that the best offense is good defense and that organizations must be prepared to show that they have a strong compliance program in place. By implementing preventative and detective measures, firms can monitor and respond quickly and effectively.
The paper also reviews the following key compliance elements:
- Understand your risk – Conduct regular risk assessments across markets, business partners and geographies to have a strong grasp of exposure to any level of corruption and unethical conduct.
- Know who you do business with – Establish a risk-monitoring framework that catalogs third-party relationships and should a high degree of corruption risk exist, firms can add preventative and detective controls in response.
- Keep information current – Maintain due diligence and risk assessment efforts.
- Establish policies and procedures – Have documented and updated policies and procedures addressing corruption.
- Effective training and communication – Implement anticorruption training programs to educate employees and business partners at risk of exposure to bribery, corruption and fraud.
- Manage business change – Monitor business environment for changes that introduce greater risk of corruption.
Balani adds, “Technology can help organizations manage and monitor anti-corruption compliance by enabling and automating compliance. In order to truly and effectively monitor and police anti-bribery and corruption policies and processes, firms must use efficient and agile technology solutions to confidently address risk. Accuity is working closely with firms across the globe to leverage our suite of solutions to effect positive change and ensure good business practice.”
To download a copy of the new “Addressing Anti-Bribery and Corruption Compliance” white paper, please visit: www.accuitysolutions.com/AntiBriberyandCorruption.
