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U.S. Anti-Corruption Strategy: How will the U.S. prioritise implementation of its new anti-corruption strategy?

U.S. Anti-Corruption Strategy: How will the U.S. prioritise implementation of its new anti-corruption strategy?

January 12, 2021

The Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC®) Center of Excellence is pleased to welcome Worth MacMurray as an Auditor and member of our expert team here at ABAC®. Worth provides audit services and expertise on existing compliance and Anti-bribery Anti-corruption management systems to assess effectiveness and vulnerabilities while ensuring compliance with Internal Standards, FCPA rules and all other global, regional and local regulations. For this reason, we are also delighted to announce that Mr. Worth is a guest writer for FCPA Blog (the U.S.’s preeminent anti-corruption publication) and his article on “How will the U.S. prioritise implementation of its new anti-corruption strategy?” has been published. 

Corruption is no longer the U.S. government’s persona non grata – reluctantly acknowledged and somewhat ignored outside FCPA enforcement. The President’s summer National Security Memorandum and recent U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption place governmental and other anti-corruption activities front and center.

U.S. Anti-Corruption Strategy implementation

The Memo designates corruption as a national security priority. It states, “Corruption threatens United States national security, economic equity, global anti-poverty and development efforts, and democracy itself. But by effectively preventing and countering corruption and demonstrating the advantages of transparent and accountable governance, we secure a critical advantage for the United States and other democracies.”

The follow-on and comprehensive Strategy specifies the government’s anti-corruption priority areas (Strategic Objectives – S.O.s) and ongoing and planned activities (Lines of Effort – LOEs) under the umbrella of five pillars: U.S. government efforts, illicit finance, accountability, the multilateral architecture, and diplomacy/foreign aid. Throughout the Strategy, however, there are recurrent themes that provide context and may signal the prioritization of existing and future substantive implementation (e.g., regulation and enforcement) directions. To continue to read the article click here.

Corruption can  be halted in its tracks with the right controls in place. In fact, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issued the ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System standard to help companies worldwide increase and measure their efforts against bribery and corruption. ISO 37001:2016 certifies that your organization has implemented reasonable and proportionate measures to prevent bribery. These measures involve top-level leadership, training, bribery risk assessment, due diligence adequacy, financial and commercial controls, reporting, audit and investigation.

How to become certified

Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC®) Center of Excellence is an independent certification body that provides education and certification services for individuals and organizations on a wide range of disciplines and ISO standards, including:

ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System Certification will help your company, organization or department to reduce risk of bribery and corruption by establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving your management system, which shall:

  • Give your company the tools it needs to prevent bribery and mitigate related risks
  • Help your company create new and better business partnerships with entities that recognize your certified status, including supply chain manufacturing, joint ventures, pending acquisitions and co-marketing alliances
  • Potentially reduce corporate insurance premiums
  • Provide your customers, stakeholders, employees and partners with confidence in your business operations and ethics
  • Provide a competitive edge over non-certified organizations in your industry or niche
  • Provide acceptable evidence to prosecutors or courts that the organization has taken reasonable steps to prevent bribery and corruption

Bribery and corruption won’t wait – so take steps now to better protect your organization. Contact ABAC Group today to begin your ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System certification process. The program will be tailored to your organization’s needs and requirements.

About the Author

Worth MacMurray is a Principal at Governance & Compliance Initiatives, former public company general counsel, and a certified ISO 37001 – Anti-bribery management systems auditor.

 

 

 

 

 

Note: This article was extracted directly from FCPA Blog and its use was authorized by the author.

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