Bribery, corruption risks to persist in 2017: Study

New Delhi: Compliance professionals the world over believe that bribery and corruption risks are likely to persist this year, showed a joint study from Kroll and the Ethisphere Institute. More than one-third (35 per cent) of all risk and compliance professionals surveyed expect their organisation’s bribery and corruption risks to increase in 2017, and more than half (57 per cent) expect them to persist at the same levels as last year.

The respondents believe that the top risks to their anti-bribery and corruption programmes will come from third party violations (40 per cent), a complex global regulatory environment (14 per cent), and employees making improper payments (12 per cent). “It is clear the anti-bribery and corruption programme can be viewed in the context of regulation as well as more broadly as a means of protecting an organisation’s most valuable asset — its reputation,” said Steven Bock, Managing Director and Head of Operations and Research with Kroll’s Compliance practice.

The survey further said senior leadership’s engagement regarding anti-bribery and corruption efforts is on the rise. Around 51 per cent of respondents said senior leadership at their organisation is “highly engaged” with anti-bribery and corruption efforts, a 4 per cent rise over the previous year.

“All research points towards a clear link between ethics and performance, and with more involvement from leadership, we are seeing that anti-bribery and corruption efforts are being prioritised,” added Erica Salmon Byrne, EVP and Executive Director of Business Ethics Leadership Alliance, Ethisphere.

The report further noted that 49 per cent of respondents showed concern that they did not have enough resources to support anti-corruption efforts. Moreover, 67 per cent of the respondents were engaged in M&As in 2016, but conducted lesser due diligence on targets or targets’ third parties than expected.