Business Principles for Countering Bribery

http://www.transparency.org/tools/business_principles

The Business Principles for Countering Bribery are an initiative facilitated by Transparency International (TI) and Social Accountability International (SAI). They have been developed by a group of private sector companies, non-governmental organisations and trade unions as a tool to assist enterprises to develop effective approaches to countering bribery in all of their activities. The BusinessPrinciples give practical effect to recent initiatives such as the UN Convention against Corruption, OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, the ICC Rules of Conduct to Combat Extortion and Bribery and the anti-bribery provisions of the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinationals. The Principles have been designed for use by large, medium and small enterprises, and apply to bribery of public officials and to private-to-private transactions. Their purpose is to provide practical guidance for countering bribery, creating a level playing field and providing long-term business advantage. They are supported by a suite of TI tools including a Guidance Document, a Six-step Implementation Process and a Self-evaluation Module.

Comprehensive Ethics Programme for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Transparencia por Colombia

The objective of this project – conducted by TI’s national chapter in Colombia - was to design, publicise and monitor the implementation of self-applied Comprehensive Ethics Programmes for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a management strategy. This strategy was geared towards helping the enterprise balance its relationships with different interest groups, including employees, clients, the community, suppliers and owners. The project further aimed to promote a more ethical approach to business as a management tool; build mechanisms to promote organisational excellence and to improve corporate ethics; discourage corrupt practices at private SMEs; raise the awareness of business people about ethical practices in management; encourage business to make concrete commitments to social responsibility; and, finally, develop management models for implementing more ethical practices.

Transparency International and Transparency International-USA: Financial Transparency and Accountability Initiative

http://transparency-usa.org/Overall%20Obser.htm

TI-USA initiated a task force with the ‘big five’ accounting firms to survey current practices and develop recommendations with regard to financial records, internal controls and auditing practices in leading OECD countries. A set of recommendations were presented by TI to the OECD Working Group on this matter, ensuring that these issues are addressed as part of evaluating implementation of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials.