Anticorruption programs thriving

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), April, 2007

The commitment of senior corporate management leadership and personal convictions are the most important drivers in company decisions to strengthen anticorruption programs, maintains a survey report a released by The Conference Board, New York.

"The responding companies rarely cited a business case, like the cost of doing business or brand equity, as the key reason for establishing or enhancing the scope of their anticorruption systems," points out Ronald E. Berenbeim, author of the report. "Instead, they believe that it is part of a larger effort to build a culture of compliance within the company--one that is rooted as much in the company's system of values and beliefs as in the need to respond to the developing global, legal, and regulatory regime that is transferring much of the anticorruption prevention, detection, and enforcement burden to the companies."

As justifications for investing in anticorruption initiatives, firms cite legal (general home country prohibitions were picked as the single most important factor by 27% of the participating companies while seven percent accorded Sarbanes-Oxley this designation) or ethical (bribery is wrong--13%).

"Company anticorruption practices and procedures have become significantly more widespread, detailed, and sophisticated.... In some companies, reported incidents of corrupt activity have actually increased, but this is attributed to better reporting systems rather than [a spike] in corruption--and there is a growing recognition among U.S. companies of the need to adopt an ethics-based approach that emphasizes adherence to broad principles rather than narrow compliance to specific rules," concludes Berenbeim.

More than 40% of the survey participants do business in China, Brazil, Mexico, and India, countries that are at high risk for corrupt practices in business.