Half of firms worry that anti-corruption resource is inadequate, finds survey

Over a third of risk and compliance professionals expect their organisation’s bribery and corruption risks to increase in 2017 with around half concerned that they do not have enough resource to support anti-corruption efforts, according to a recent survey by the Etisphere Institute and Kroll. The poll of 388 senior-level executives working in ethics, compliance or anti-corruption worldwide, also found that reputational risk is a growing concern of respondents. It jumped from the least likely reason for a third party to fail a company’s vetting standards in last year’s annual survey to now being the most likely cause. This was described by the survey and accompanying report’s authors as “a stunning change in just one year”. The survey shows that 35% of all risk and compliance professionals quizzed believe that their organisation’s bribery and corruption risks will increase this year. Only 8% expect such risks to decrease with the remaining 57% predicting they will remain the same. To make matters worse, 49% of respondents are worried that they do not have enough resources to support anti-corruption efforts. The survey data does suggest that senior leadership’s engagement in anti-bribery and corruption efforts is up a touch. Senior leadership at 51% of respondents’ organisations is cited as “highly engaged” in anti-bribery and corruption efforts, a small 4% increase over the previous year. The 2017 Anti-Bribery and Corruption Benchmarking Report (ABC Report) reveals that the top risks to anti bribery and corruption programmes come from third party violations (40%), a complex global regulatory environment (14%) and employees making improper payments (12%). Legal, ethical or compliance issues with a third party after conducting initial onboarding due diligence was identified as a risk by 55% of respondents. In 40% of these cases an issue was later identified that did not exist at the time of initial onboarding. The value of ongoing monitoring is reflected in the level of confidence that survey-takers have in their ABC programmes. Nearly 80% of those respondents who monitor all their third parties, regardless of risk profile, believe they are either extremely or appropriately prepared to address global bribery and corruption risks. Perceived preparedness drops as the level of ongoing monitoring decreases. Commenting on the survey’s findings, Steven Bock, managing director and head of operations and research at Kroll’s compliance practice, said: “It is clear the anti-bribery and corruption programme can be viewed in the context of regulation, as well as more broadly as a means of protecting an organisation’s most valuable asset — its reputation.” “All research points toward a clear link between ethics and performance, and with more involvement from leadership, we are seeing that anti-bribery and corruption efforts are being prioritised,” added Erica Salmon Byrne, EVP and executive director of business ethics leadership alliance at Ethisphere. “Smart companies with strong compliance programmes are taking note and adjusting their priorities accordingly in order to mitigate unnecessary risk and protect their company’s valuable reputation for integrity.” The research also shows that one-third of respondents report a greater level of concern about personal liability over the prior year.

Half of firms worry that anti-corruption resource is inadequate, finds survey

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