Transparency in reporting on anti-corruption

Abstract

"Bribery and corruption remain endemic problems in many countries, weakening governance and posing a major impediment to development. At the same time, bribery and corruption are a significant risk for companies around the world: not only must companies comply with anti-bribery legislation, but corrupt company practices are increasingly scrutinised and punished by both investors and society at large who demand that companies behave as responsible corporate citizens. To ensure compliance with laws and to manage the broader risk of corruption, firms must adopt coherent policies and systems to prevent and redress bribery and corruption. This report, the first of a Transparency International (TI) project called – Transparency in Reporting on Anti-Corruption (TRAC)– focuses on the extent and quality of information provided by leading companies on the policies and measures they are taking to combat bribery and corruption. The TRAC report achieves this by examining the publicly available documents of close to 500 leading global companies and evaluating the extent to which they report on the strategy, policies and management systems in place for combating bribery and corruption. The information analysed comes from corporate websites, company annual reports and sustainability reports. The results are then translated into country and industry sector rankings. TI, which commissioned this research, believes that companies must take the problem of combating corruption more seriously. Robust policies and management systems should be in place to limit the likelihood of being involved in corrupt practices – or to ensure that corrective action is taken when it occurs. Companies must also make these policies and systems publicly available to stakeholders as a measure of enhanced transparency. Although non-financial reporting by companies is relatively new, it is a practice that is increasingly expected of companies committed to improved corporate governance and corporate citizenship."