According to Kroll’s 2017 Anti-Bribery & Corruption Benchmarking Report, risk and compliance professionals believe the top risk to their anti-bribery and corruption program will come from third-party violations (40%), followed by a complex regulatory environment (14%) and employees making improper payments (12%).
Reputation crises have raised the stakes of non-compliance, and the impact on the due diligence process has been dramatic—reputation concerns were the most likely reason for a third party to fail a company’s vetting standards in 2017.
“It is clear the anti-bribery and corruption program can be viewed in the context of regulation, as well as more broadly as a means of protecting an organization’s most valuable asset—its reputation,” said Steven Bock, managing director and head of operations and research with Kroll’s compliance practice.
Ongoing compliance monitoring is critical, with 55% of survey respondents reporting they identified legal, ethical or compliance issues with a third party after initial onboarding.