Bribery Act: seven weeks left to act

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Corruption, Thought Leadership | Tags: risk, due diligence, Bribery Act, legislation, bribery, anti-corruption, corruption, anti-corruption legislation, assessment

The UK Bribery Act comes into force on 1 July 2011 and in our experience companies underestimate the time required to implement an anti-corruption strategy. So for those who have yet to act, and have less than two months to do so, what do you need to know?

The key aspects of the legislation are:

• It makes it a criminal offence to give, promise or offer a bribe and to request, agree to receive or accept a bribe, either at home or abroad. The measures cover bribery of a foreign public official.
• It introduces a new corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery by persons working on behalf of a business. A business can avoid conviction if it can show that it has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery.
• It increases the maximum penalty for bribery from seven to 10 years imprisonment, with an unlimited fine.

The Government has a statutory obligation to provide guidance on what constitutes ‘adequate procedures’. The Ministry of Justice has therefore published its final guidance, which proposes six general principles of good practice, some of which we have highlighted below.

Things to consider:

• A corruption risk assessment must be carried out.
• Top-level commitment: an organisation must make a clear and unambiguous commitment to establishing a culture in which bribery is unacceptable.
• Robust due diligence: you must be able to demonstrate that you know who you do business with.
• Clear practical and accessible policies and procedures. Policies and procedures must be effectively implemented.
• There must be monitoring and review of the effectiveness of anti-bribery controls, with consideration of the need for external audit.

Questions to ask:

• Do we need help to perform a Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA)?
• If we have a bribery strategy, are policies and procedures bespoke or aligned to the CRA?
• Do we clearly and regularly communicate the organisation’s policies to all staff?
• Do our policies and procedures fully address tricky areas such as facilitation payments, gifts, entertainment, corporate hospitality and political donations on a global basis?
• Is there an anti-corruption training programme for the Board, all managers and staff?
• Is there one senior individual within the organisation responsible for overseeing the implementation of the requirements of the Act, investigating reports of corruption and employing appropriate sanctions?
• Do we have an effective compliance-monitoring programme that provides the requisite assurance?

Grant Thornton has just published an 11-page ‘highlights’ guide to keep finance directors up to date on financial reporting, governance, anti-corruption legislation and other issues relevant to FDs in 2011. Download the guide or read our previous post What’s new for FDs in 2011 to find out what’s covered in the report.

For further help and information on preparing for the Bribery Act, contact your local Grant Thornton office or visit our Forensic and Investigation Services page.

You might also find these posts useful:

* Read our previous posts and videos on the new Bribery Act
* When corporate hospitality could equate to bribery – and other new risks arising from new Bribery Act
* Perception vs reality of corporate corruption risk (infographic)