private sector/global priorities

Enhancing standards in the private sector

Transparency in Reporting on Anti-Corruption – A Report of Corporate Practices

Transparency in Reporting on Anti-Corruption – A Report of Corporate Practices (TRAC) assesses the extent to which close to 500 leading listed companies have reported the strategies, policies and management systems they have in place for combating bribery and corruption. Results are based on the analysis of publicly available documentation. Company performance has been aggregated by country and industry sector to provide an overview of reporting performance.

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Transparency International's Self-Evaluation Tool

Transparency International’s Self-Evaluation Tool (TI SET) is a checklist that enables companies to examine the design of their anti-bribery programme and assess its effectiveness. Comprising an in-depth and extensive range of indicators, SET identifies the policies, procedures and reporting indicators that companies should consider for their anti-bribery programmes. This will help companies to determine where they stand, identify improvements and prepare reports to management, assurers and stakeholders. In this way TI SET can assist companies to manage risks more effectively and improve their operational efficiency. TI SET is aimed at larger companies but can also be of use to smaller companies wishing to check particular aspects of anti-bribery.

An interactive diagnostic version of TI SET has been developed by TI and Enablon, a leading software company. This can be purchased from www.enablon.com .

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For further information about the SET tool, please contact: businessprinciples@transparency.org

CEOs from large or small companies can now also carry out a high-level assessment of their company’s anti-bribery approach with TI’s ABC anti-bribery checklist. To use this tool, please click here

New tool helps companies RESIST corruption

Companies facing extortion now have a new anti-corruption tool based on real-life scenarios of solicitation and extortion demands. RESIST (Resisting Extortions and Solicitations in International Transactions) is primarily a training tool to help employees counter solicitation and extortion demands in the most efficient and ethical manner, acknowledging they might be accompanied by a threat. The tool also aims to help companies reduce the probability of such demands being made. Over 20 companies and organisations contributed to designing RESIST, based on their experience of solicitation and extortion demands.
Transparency International, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the United Nations Global Compact (GC), developed RESIST to support companies conducting international business who are potentially exposed to corruption.

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For further information about the RESIST tool, please contact: businessprinciples@transparency.org

Practices that were once seen as an inevitable part of doing business in many parts of the world are becoming increasingly unacceptable. More stringent domestic laws and international conventions such as the 1999 OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the United Nations Convention against Corruption are compelling companies to develop new anti-bribery policies or to review existing ones. The high-profile corporate scandals of recent years have made companies increasingly aware that corrupt practices pose serious and costly risks to their reputation and sustainability. This understanding, coupled with growing public expectation of accountability and probity in the corporate sector, are putting added pressure on companies to articulate and live up to more ethical business practices.

But in spite of some progress, there are many signs that point to the challenge that remains ahead. The revelation in the report of the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) into the Iraq Oil for Food Programme that more than 50% of the 4,500 companies involved were investigated for making illegal payments is an alarming reminder that corrupt practices are alive and well in the business sector.

TI also works with industry sectors, an approach which has proved very helpful in diagnosing industry-specific problems to which tailored approaches and tools can be developed. A number of current TI initiatives are focussing on the defence industry, the engineering and construction industry and the extractive industries. Meanwhile, to know more see our section on public contracting.

Business Principles for Countering Bribery

TI’s goal in working with the private sector is to change company behaviour by developing and raising the standards of practice in countering bribery. In an effort to assist this process, we have created tools to help companies develop effective anti-bribery programmes. Foremost among these tools is the Business Principles for Countering Bribery, a generic anti-bribery code developed by TI with a group of leading multinationals and non-corporate stakeholders. The Business Principles, which have become the cornerstone of TI’s private sector activity, provide a model of good practice adaptable to different company sizes and settings.

Since its initial publication in 2003, the Business Principles have been used by many leading companies around the world to benchmark their own anti-bribery policies and procedures. The tool has also served as a solid basis for the development of other anti-bribery codes and voluntary initiatives. The 2009 edition charts new territory by placing greater emphasis on public reporting of anti-bribery systems and in recommending that enterprises commission external verification or assurance of their anti-bribery programme.

Business Principles for Countering Bribery - Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Edition

Based on the Business Principles for Countering Bribery, but tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, the new Business Principles for Countering Bribery - SME Edition sets out the principles which should underpin anti-bribery programmes for smaller companies. It was developed through a process of consultation which involved smaller businesses and reflects their needs and challenges.

In addition to anti-bribery principles, the SME Edition includes practical guidance on how to develop an anti-bribery programme that is tailored to the size and resources of individual businesses and sample rules on gifts and entertainment.

Countering bribery makes good business sense for SMEs. It can help manage risk and build reputation, especially with customers.

The SME edition is also available in French and Spanish. For more information, please contact: SMEbusinessprinciples@transparency.org

Strengthening Corporate Governance to Combat Corruption
There is a growing sentiment that poor corporate governance is one of the forces to blame for the collapse of the financial markets since it failed to ensure the transparency, accountability and integrity of companies, particularly on matters of corruption.

To download the report (pdf) please click here

Enhancing Revenue Transparency in Oil & Gas Company Reporting

Companies and governments need to provide better quality information on extractive industries revenues if funds are to benefit all citizens and a country's development.

To download the report (pdf) please click here

Using the OECD Guidelines to Tackle Corporate Corruption

The Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), provide a set of accountability standards that offer great potential for civil society to effectively combat private sector corruption.

To download the report (pdf) please click here