Bribery is often viewed as a “ necessary ” evil that facilitates business and expedites work. This perception is not only wrong, it places a heavy burden on people, economies and society as a whole. Loss of business and fines resulting from bribery and fraud, and concomitant reputational damage, can be severely detrimental to companies, causing billions in lost revenue. This begs the question: Is your organization willing to work with a company that has been embroiled in a bribery scandal? Such organizations may face harsh penalties by regulatory bodies and studies show that employee morale suffers when individuals in their organization are found guilty of bribery.
Taking steps to deter unethical practices in the workforce is therefore essential to establish trust. ISO 37001:2016, Anti-bribery management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, is designed to help an organization implement and maintain a proactive anti-bribery system. Its flagship guidance presents globally recognized best practice to prevent, detect and deal with bribery at all levels of an organization. But the standard’s requirements go beyond the organization’s own operations, covering every aspect of its global value chain. To help with its implementation, technical committee ISO/TC 309, Governance of organizations, has developed a handbook that provides users of ISO 37001:2016 with advice on bribery and the different measures they can take to prevent it.
