CSR management, Governance, Public Policy
November 01 2003
by Briefing StaffWhat makes this Convention significant if the role it passes to the private sector to help in the fight against corruption. There are clear reasons for business to do so. Not least is the avoidance of fines, litigation and civil and criminal sanctions. Controlling direct and indirect costs that add to the cost of capital represent another obvious business driver major business driver. Throw into the mix the preservation of brand image, a check against internal corruption and the development of new consumer markets, and anti-corruption measures by the private sector make sense.
So why the need for a UN Convention? Most obviously, there's a need to close some significant loopholes. Most obvious is the prohibition against paying bribes to public officials, but no to political parties or party officials. The Convention also serves to provide a framework for worldwide co-operation, where corruption issues such as money laundering and asset recovery stretch across international boundaries.
For the best companies, the Convention provides an authoritative global benchmark with which to pressurise governments where corruption is endemic. For the worst companies, however, the question must be asked whether the Convention has the teeth to succeed where the business case has failed. Most promising in this respect are the provisions to tighten accounting and auditing standards, which will make off-the-books payments harder to conceal. A clause on how to protect whistleblowers marks a trick missed. The implicit invitation that the Convention affords the private sector to work with governments - both local and national – to stamp out corruption represents an important breakthrough, and one which would ultimately benefit all companies to accept.