Spotting, Stopping, and Combating Corporate Corruption

Abstract

All companies face a risk of becoming involved in corruption. Corporate practice and policy needs to reflect and counter the dangers of involvement in corruption. This is important for stopping corruption, and can be of help to the company if bribery allegations arise. According to the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), showing that a company has preformed due diligence and tried to prevent bribery can defend the company from charges that may be brought against it for an act of bribery carried out by an employee. As well as acting as a defense in court, trying to prevent bribery makes good business sense for a company and is the ethical thing to do. There are a number of basic steps that a company can take to prevent bribery. Often these steps will use existing features of a company’s operations, such as financial and auditing controls or pre-existing disciplinary procedures.¹