Abstract
The chapter focuses on anticorruption ethics and compliance programs. It offers preliminary remarks on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and its main provisions. Afterwards, the chapter illustrates several regional and international initiatives that have been developed in order to provide guidance for companies on how to fight corruption in their business operations. In particular, the chapter presents the handbook for business developed by the UNODC in the spirit of Article 12 of the UNCAC. The main steps provided for by this instrument are set out, including: demonstrable commitment by senior management to preventing corruption; the importance of developing an anticorruption program and establishing proper oversight; the necessity of adopting a clear, visible, and accessible policy that prohibits corruption; and the significance of internal controls, record keeping, communication, and training.
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Notes
- 1.
The convention has been adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2003 (Resolution 58/4) and entered into force in December 2005. As of today (October 2013) the Convention has 168 parties. See United Nations Convention against Corruption, United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/signatories.html, accessed 16 July 2013.
- 2.
See Technical Guide to the United Nations Convention against Corruption—New York 2009, United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), http://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Technical_Guide_UNCAC.pdf, accessed 16 July 2013.
- 3.
The guide is available at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s corruption homepage at: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/corruption/publications.html and will be launched during the fifth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, Panama City, 25–29 November 2013.
- 4.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Anti-Corruption Code of Conduct for Business (2007); the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules on Combating Corruption (2011); the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics, and Compliance (2010); the World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) Principles for Countering Bribery (2005); Transparency International’s (TI) Business Principles for Countering Bribery (2009); and the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines (2010).
- 5.
See Legislative Guide for the Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption—New York 2006, United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), http://www.unodc.org/pdf/corruption/CoC_LegislativeGuide.pdf, accessed 16 July 2013.
- 6.
See “Internal Control—Integrated Framework—1992,” Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), http://www.coso.org/ic-integratedframework-summary.htm, accessed 16 July 2013.
References
Brauer, M. H, Steffen, K.-D., Biermann, S., & Schuler, A. H. (2009). Compliance intelligence. Stuttgart: Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag.
UNODC. (2007). Corruption prevention to foster small and medium-sized enterprise development (Vol. 1). Vienna: UNODC. http://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Publications/2012/UNIDO-UNODC_Publication_on_Small_Business_Development_and_Corruption_Vol1.pdf. Accessed 16 July 2013.
UNODC. (2012). Corruption prevention to foster small and medium-sized enterprise development (Vol. 2). Vienna: UNODC. http://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Publications/2012/Corruption_prevention_to_foster_small_and_medium_size_enterprise_development_Vol_2.pdf. Accessed 16 July 2013.
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Vlassis, D. (2014). An Anticorruption Ethics and Compliance Program for Business: A Practical Guide. In: Manacorda, S., Centonze, F., Forti, G. (eds) Preventing Corporate Corruption. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04480-4_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04480-4_12
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