ISO 37001, Anti-Bribery Management Systems – Requirements (including an implementation guide) is a standard issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 2016. It sets out the requirements for implementing and anti-bribery management system and includes information for its establishment, operation, implementation, maintenance and continual assessment. The attached guide provides information on the approaches and actions organizations can take to adhere to the standard and to fight bribery and corruption in their business dealings. The purpose of the standard is to help organizations to meet the negative impacts of bribery by providing procedures, policies and other controls that contribute to a culture of transparency, integrity and demonstrable compliance in an organization.
The standard is intended to be a generalized set of policies and procedures that can be applied to all types of organizations and business sectors and the particular risks of bribery and corruption that they face. It can be implemented as a stand-alone system or included as part of an overall quality management system.
Bribery and corruption have a negative and corrosive effect on business practice by distorting best practice and the efficient allocation of capital. Organizations have a strong incentive to identify, prevent and respond effectively to incidents of bribery as well as demonstrating compliance with laws against bribery. This standard helps them to do so.
The purpose of the standard is to help an organization with any or all of the following:
• Reducing the risk of bribery be implementing anti-bribery controls in financial systems at their initial stage.
• Encouraging continuous improvements in anti-bribery policies and practices to meet the ongoing challenges of fighting bribery.
• Gaining competitive advantage by demonstrating that they are not influenced by corrupt activities such as bribery.
• Ensuring that any associated businesses, associates or contractors are also committed to rejecting bribery and other corrupt practices.
• Detecting, preventing and confronting bribery risks.
• Gaining international recognition as committed to fighting bribery.
• Promoting trust between other businesses and customers.
• Preventing conflicts of interest that arise from corrupt practices and reducing costs that can occur as a result.
• Promoting a culture of anti-bribery among employees.
Achieving ISO 37001 certification demonstrates corporate commitment to the highest standards in business ethics and is a central attribute of a reputable organization. It helps to establish trust with business partners, customers and legal authorities and contributes to confidence in an organizations business practices.
No Comments