Anti-Bribery Management System / ISO 37001.

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*The standard talks about the word "Bribery" in English, which does not mean Corruption but more Bargaining/Bribery and is a part of the phenomenon of corruption, but it does not affect everyone. For simplicity, we will translate it as "Corruption".

Corruption is one of the most devastating and complex problems of our time, and regardless of national and international efforts to fight it, it remains widespread. Unfortunately, it has become a fact of life.

The World Bank estimates that over $1 trillion is paid in corruption each year.

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At the global level, it is an important obstacle, while inside a company, they have a very negative impact on the morale of the employees. Corruption constitutes serious social, moral, economic and political concerns, threatens good governance and destroys competition. It undermines justice, undermines human rights. On the other hand, it increases the cost of doing business, of goods and services. It lowers the quality of products and services, which ultimately destroys trust in institutions and interferes with the fair and efficient functioning of markets.

Governments have made progress in dealing with corruption through international agreements and through their national laws. In most jurisdictions, it is a criminal offense. There is a growing tendency to make organizations, as well as individuals, responsible for corruption.

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However, the law alone is not enough to solve this problem. Organizations also have the responsibility to proactively contribute to the fight against this negative element. This opposition can be done in a systematic way, by installing a kind of Anti-Bribery Management System.

And this can be achieved by the standard "ISO 37001: Anti-Bribery Management Systems - Requirements with instructions for use" which aims to ensure it, through the commitment of leadership to create a culture of Integrity, Transparency, and Compliance.

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What is this standard and to whom is it addressed to?

This document reflects international good practices and can be used in all types of organizations. It is applicable to small, medium and large organizations in all sectors, including the public, private and non-profit sectors. This standard, properly applied, provides adequate coverage by and against an organization or its staff, and from bribes paid to or received through or from a third party. Corruption can happen anywhere, be of any value and may involve financial benefits or not.

Corruption risks faced by an organization vary according to factors such as the size of the organization, locations and sectors in which the organization operates; as well as the nature, scale and complexity of the organization's activities.

An Anti-Corruption Management System is designed to create an anti-Corruption culture within an organization and to implement appropriate controls, which, in turn, will increase the possibility of detection of Corruption and reduce its harm.

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The benefits?

The system helps reduce the occurring risk of Corruption and can demonstrate to your management, employees, owners, investors, clients and other business associates that you have established well-known anti-corruption best practice controls.

It can also provide evidence in the event of a criminal investigation that you have taken reasonable steps to prevent corruption.

The measures required by ISO 37001 are designed to be integrated into the existing processes and controls of Management Systems (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, etc.).

ISO 37001 is based on the ISO High Level Framework for Management System Standards.

Although it cannot guarantee that there will be no corruption in relation to your organization, certification or even just the assessment of conformity with this standard, can help you implement strong and appropriate measures that can significantly reduce the risk of corruption and/or address corruption where it occurs.