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Preventing corruption not top priority for UK companies – City firm
Written By - Sam Haynes - May 16,2016
Fighting bribery and corruption does not feature as one of the main priorities for over half of multinational companies, a new study by international law firm Hogan Lovells has found.
According to this research, 59% of the 604 chief compliance officers (CCOs) surveyed admitted their businesses adopted a culture of 'profits over prevention', with 44% of respondents indicating that addressing bribery and corruption was not on the board agenda.
Meanwhile 45% of compliance teams in the UK say that anti-bribery and corruption are not chief executives' top priorities. The study also showed that almost half (49%) of UK chief executives are not willing to walk away from a contract where there is a high bribery or corruption risk.
Under half (47%) say that anti-bribery and corruption is a standing item on their company’s board agenda. This compares to 56% globally.
The report said the fact that only 39% of CCOs report directly to the chief executive, instead reporting to the general counsel or chief financial officer, could impact on how seriously the rest of the organisation takes compliance.
Over half (58%) of CCOs say their advice to the chief executive gets filtered by others, making it almost impossible for chief executives to make informed decisions.
The report said this ‘raises structural questions as to whether companies need to reconsider reporting lines in light of a rapid increase in legal exposure in this area’.
The study was published as government officials from around the world met in London for today’s anti-corruption summit.
Crispin Rapinet, global head of investigations, white collar and fraud at Hogan Lovells said that the UK was lagging behind Asia, the US and European countries such as France.
He said: “It’s not one of the top priorities for nearly half of CEOs [in the UK], who are less likely than their overseas competitors to walk away from a contract with a high bribery and corruption risk.”
He added that the biggest challenge for multinationals is to translate anti-bribery and corruption policies into effective guidance.
“With regulators and prosecutors around the world uniting in the battle against bribery and corruption, and enforcement growing - even in countries where historically there has been minimal or no enforcement.
“Multinational organisations cannot leave their survival up to chance,” added Rapinet. "They must take proactive steps to make it abundantly clear that anti-bribery and corruption is in their company's DNA.”
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