ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, has published a new business tool designed to fight bribery.
The ISO 37001 is the first international anti-bribery management system standard, designed to help companies combat bribery risk in their own operations and throughout their global value chains.
The ISO claims it has the potential to reduce corporate risk and costs related to bribery by providing a manageable business framework for preventing, detecting and addressing bribery.
“Bribery is a significant business risk in many countries and sectors,” said Neill Stansbury, chair of ISO project committee ISO/PC 278 responsible for the new standard. “In many cases, it has been tolerated as a ‘necessary’ part of doing business.
“However, increasing awareness of the damage caused by bribery to countries, organisations and individuals has resulted in calls for effective action to be taken to prevent bribery.”
The anti-bribery management system specifies requirements for:
- An anti-bribery policy and procedures;
- Top management leadership, commitment and responsibility;
- Oversight by a compliance manager or function;
- Anti-bribery training;
- Risk assessments and due diligence on projects and business associates;
- Financial, procurement, commercial and contractual controls;
- Reporting, monitoring, investigation, and review;
- Corrective action and continual improvement.