ISO Publishes New Anti-Bribery Standard

/ Global Compliance Solutions Group LLC/

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), on October 13, 2016, published a new standard (ISO 37001) that is designed to help organizations lower the risk and costs related to bribery throughout their operations.  The standard was developed by the ISO project committee (ISO/PC 278), Anti-bribery management systems) and it specifies requirements in the following areas:

  • Policy and procedures
  • Leadership commitment and responsibility
  • Oversight by a compliance manager or function
  • Training
  • Risk assessments and due diligence
  • Financial, procurement, commercial and contractual controls
  • Reporting, monitoring, investigation, and review
  • Corrective action and continuous improvement   

The new standard builds on the foundation established by other organizations, such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Transparency International.

The standard was designed to be flexible enough to be useful by organizations of different sizes and locations.  Neill Stansbury, the Chair of the ISO project committee responsible for developing the new standard says, "The bribery risk facing an organization varies according to factors such as the size of the organization, the countries and sectors in which the organization operates, and the nature, scale and complexity of the organization's operations.  Therefore, ISO 37001 specifies the implementation by the organization of reasonable and proportionate policies, procedures and controls."

As with other ISO standards, organizations may choose to be certified to ISO 37001 by accredited third parties. 

GCSG is experienced with developing and implementing anti-bribery and anti-corruption programs and is able to assist your organization with implementation of an anti-bribery program as well as reviewing your existing program to ensure it is ready to pass an ISO certification audit.  Contact GCSG here for more information.    

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