Although anti-bribery standards are not compulsory, implementing a standard like ISO 37001 can have several benefits for your business. Bribery is a challenging issue, one which can be difficult to manage.
For the purpose of the ISO 37001 standard, bribery is defined as the offering, promising, giving, accepting or soliciting of an undue advantage of any value (financial or non-financial), directly or indirectly, and irrespective of location(s), in violation of applicable law, as an inducement or reward for a person acting or refraining from acting in relation to the performance of that person’s duties. A stable company cannot operate without establishing guidelines and protocols to prevent and manage corruption.
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Implementing an anti-bribery standard requires two main preconditions, namely; Leadership and a risk assessment. Leadership: this element has been described as having a predictive impact on the success of anti-bribery measures. Leadership requires that managing individuals or groups actively support and promote the implementation of the anti-bribery management system. Senior management must be wholly committed and involved with the application of the system and processes, in support of the compliance function. Risk assessment: ISO 37001 is risk-based, therefore the implementation thereof must reflect the specific corruption risks to which an organisation is exposed so that the anti-bribery policy can be scaled accordingly.
Other standards related to ISO 37001 include ISO 19600 Compliance Management Systems- Guidelines, ISO 26000 Guidance on Social responsibility and ISO 31000 Risk Management- Principles and Guidelines. The main difference between these standards and ISO 37001, is that ISO 37001 establishes requirements for compliance with the standard, thereby enabling organisations to pursue certification if desired, whereas the other standards do not.
Implementing ISO 37001 protects your business’s reputation and resources, and saves you both time and money by lowering the risk of bribery and promoting a culture of ethical workplace practices.
