Prevent bribery occurring on your watch

The Act defines Bribery as an act committed when a person gives or promises a financial, or other advantage, to another person in exchange for something else.

Despite the Act having been implemented over a decade ago, some still struggle to understand the full impact of the Act upon business activities such as: 

Focus areas:

Compliance teams should focus attention on ensuring that: 

There are 6 factors that help to embed anti-bribery & corruption policy within a firm.
This includes: 

Why is it crucial that boards understand the UK Bribery Act? 

Cases of bribery prosecuted in the UK may be limited in number and significance; however, the UK legislation is far-reaching. The most serious international corruption cases involve complex and often time consuming investigation. Such cases see the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) collaborating with international bodies to combat bribery. 

It’s worth noting that experience points to bribes being disguised as fees (consulting or advice), hospitality, sponsorship or charitable donations. This reinforces the need to raise awareness of the risk and encourage employees to speak up when something doesn’t feel right. Having the right processes coupled with appropriate awareness training helps prevent bribery. 

Weaknesses: 

The FCA’s thematic review published in 2013 indicated that whilst firms had implemented policies and procedures, some lacked: 

The above demonstrates that firms need more than a written policy. It’s about the ability to demonstrate that a firm has taken steps to prevent bribery. 

Gaining assurance: 

Tracking gifts and hospitality via spreadsheet may be fine for small firms, but as your firm grows maintenance and trend analysis become a challenge. Staff need to be trained to raise awareness, but they also need to understand the risk and repercussions for themselves and the business. It’s important that training doesn’t become a box ticking exercise, but one where the firm’s policy is embedded in everything that the firm does. 

Management teams need to understand what risks are posed by acts of bribery and assurance that their controls are effective. This requires joined up thinking across a firm and any inter-group relationships. It also requires accurate management information and timely escalation of issues. 

How can Ruleguard help? 

Ruleguard is an industry-leading software platform designed to help regulated firms manage the burden of evidencing and monitoring compliance. It has a range of tools to help firms fulfil their obligations across the UK, Europe and APAC regions. 

Ruleguard has the potential to revolutionise what your firm understands by compliance monitoring and deliver best-in-class governance, oversight and management of compliance risk. Find out more about our end-to-end platform.

Evidence and approvals are gathered in real time, with responsible individuals signing off attestations within a framework designed for your firm. Documentation reviews and updates are managed automatically. Key compliance workflows can be designed directly within the solution, ensuring that MI outputs are available which directly provide stakeholders with an up-to-the minute overview of compliance results. 

White Papers: 

Request a complimentary copy of our White Paper on Best Practice in Third Party Risk Management click here. 

Webinars and Blogs:

Ruleguard hosts regular events on various regulatory topics. You can watch on-demand at your convenience:

• Risk Management: Tactics for Digital Assets 
• Build a Winning Risk Strategy
• Elevate GRC and Manage Risks Effectively

Learn more about some of our solutions below. To view all solutions click here.

• Evidence Management and Task Lists - Gain a step change in evidence management and manage daily tasks in real-time, easily creating and assigning compliance activities to provide assurance – at all times.
• Gifts and Hospitality - Streamline the management of gifts and hospitality compliance, reinforcing your commitment to integrity and managing conflicts of interest.
• Financial Promotions - Navigate complex FCA rules and guidance with ease, ensuring your financial promotions are clear, fair, and not misleading. Ruleguard simplifies compliance across all media channels.
• Conflicts of Interest - Foster a culture of policy comprehension, transparent disclosure, timely resolution, and bulletproof audit trails with Ruleguard’s Conflicts of Interest software.
  
  If you’d like to learn more about our solutions, please contact us for further information on:
  
  0800 408 3845 
  hello@ruleguard.com