Companies must act according to business principles - Transparency International

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

"Every country has corruption in different forms. It is not confined to one or few countries. Companies should be concerned about business principles, to eliminate bribery in any form whether direct or indirect, Director Private Sector Programmes of Transparency International Jeremy Brook said. "They should commit to implement a programme to counter bribery. This will protect public trust in business. A programme of that nature would be able to combat pressures arising from elements trying to interrupt implementing it," he said.

Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on Building Integrity and Transparency in Business Relationships held at the Cinnamon Grand last week, Brook said these business principles are based on a commitment to fundamental values of integrity, transparency and accountability and companies should create and maintain a trust based and inclusive internal cultural in which bribery is not tolerated.

"The aim of the business principles are to provide a framework for good business practices and risk management strategies for countering bribery. This would assist companies to eliminate bribery, demonstrate their commitment to counter bribery and make a positive contribution to improve business standards of integrity, transparency and accountability wherever they operate," he said.

He pointed out that the trust of the public in business is very important as the employees in companies are not stupid and they are well aware whether the top management is genuine or not. He elaborated how Siemens Company was asked to resign from the membership of Transparency International due to a scandal. He said it is necessary to have a set of codes because law alone will not curb corruption as law enforcement bodies are often weak.

Brooks stressed that Business relationships are very important in corporate governance and companies should ensure compliance with regard to subsidiaries, joint ventures, and fees paid to agents, and to give due diligence for competitive procurement making sure there will be no kickbacks.

"To achieve these objectives companies should place anti-bribery policies and processes high on the agenda, implement the business principles or benchmark existing programmes, support development of the business principles by providing feedback on their experience," he said.