Bribery Act - Will you act now or pay later?

The Bribery Act represents the biggest changes to UK laws in this area of business and commerce for many generations. 

UK companies have a new set of risks to navigate with the introduction of this legislation. The Act introduces a new crime of -failure to prevent" bribery which means that companies unable to demonstrate that they have implemented -adequate procedures" to prevent corrupt practices within their ranks or by third parties on their behalf, could be exposed to unlimited fines as well as other collateral consequences, such as debarment from government business.

International enforcement agencies such as the SFO here and the US Department of Justice, as well as others around the world, are increasingly collaborating on cross border cases, which increases the chance of detection of bribery and successful prosecution.

Many companies will need to review how they behave to avoid being caught by the Act.  It is important to remember that, from an organisation's point of view, bribery is a lot more than just a legal issue. It is driven by law but the real challenges are for management - implementing and maintaining the right processes, controls, governance and culture and encouraging the right values and behaviours. Addressing this is an essential part of building a risk resilient organisation.

All companies should review their risk profile and anti-bribery programmes. Unless your organisation already has good anti-bribery policies and procedures in place and in action (which many don't), you will be looking at a considerable period needed to implement change that will be sufficient to be considered 'adequate' under the new rules. The stakes are potentially high and the time to act is now.