What to put on the board’s anti-corruption agenda

Monday, June 21, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Corruption, Governance, Research, Thought Leadership

Since the draft Bribery Bill was first published in 2008, it is not just the law that has changed but also attitudes to its enforcement.

There has been an unprecedented level of engagement ahead of the enactment of new legislation by the lead law enforcement agency.

However, despite this increased enforcement activity, our Anti-corruption survey suggests many businesses and their boards seem not to be taking corruption risk or the new Act seriously.

We consider the following steps to be key in establishing the right environment for UK companies….

Tone from the top
Specific responsibility for an anti-corruption programme needs to be allocated to a board member or experienced senior manager who has the relevant authority to overcome any barriers encountered. Without this a clear tone from the top is unlikely.

A board sponsored strategy
This needs to be established and should reflect a clear position on risk appetite as well as an accurate assessment of risk exposure.

Implementation
Once a clear strategy is in place, implementing it throughout the business across all staff and jurisdictions is critical to ensure success. Clear policies and procedures must be in place to ensure consistent application of the strategy.

Investment
Making the right levels of investment (in terms of budget and people) and aligning this to senior responsibility for anti-corruption matters is the final key decision for the board to make.