New anti-bribery standard being pushed forward

A new draft of ISO 37001, the anti-bribery management systems standard, is gaining momentum across the globe, Compliance Week reports. ISO 37001 can be used by any organization in both the public and private sectors, in any country, and helps businesses eradicate bribery or misconduct from within.

A worldwide push to adopt a uniform set of international standards for anti-bribery purposes is underway. ISO 37001 was introduced in 2013 and since then five meetings of the ISO 37001 project committee have taken place. The latest draft standard was published for international comment in January this year with final votes from the ISO national member bodies submitted earlier this month.

Once these comments have been collated and analysed the final meeting of the ISO 37001 project committee will take place in May and the final publication of the standard will be completed by the end of the year.

Once approved, ISO 37001 will be the first internationally recognized and certifiable minimum standard programme for anti-bribery and corruption in the corporate environment.

Neill Stansbury, the Director of the Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre and Chair of the ISO's project committee, said that due to the comprehensive nature of the process, ISO 37001 "has changed quite a bit from the original draft, but it still retains its core anti-corruption standards." He said: "There is nothing in there that will surprise any good compliance officer."

Leslie Benton, a member of the ISO 37001 US technical advisory group, also commented: "ISO 37001 will help an organization comply with globally recognized anti-bribery leading practices and meet applicable legal requirements." She noted that abiding by the rules set out in the standard will demonstrate "that the organization is taking reasonable steps to prevent bribery" to stakeholders and customers.

Some of the key recommendations included in ISO 37001 include companies having a strong tone-at-the-top, robust anti-bribery policies, an independent compliance function, and whistle-blower procedures and protections.