Transparency International recently released the results of its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer survey.
The survey gathers views on corruption, encompassing results from over 114,000 respondents in 107 countries. Respondents were asked a series of questions in relation to their experience of bribery and corruption in the past year across eight different services. Some interesting findings for Australia, but let's consider the international context first.
A key and worrying finding from this survey is that it highlights how widespread bribery is: more than one in four respondents stated they have paid a bribe in the past 12 months! This serves as a reminder that the regulatory risk associated with bribery and corruption is a significant and ongoing issue that Australian companies have to face when conducting business in the global marketplace.
Given that the cost of corruption is estimated to amount to more than 5% of global GDP (US$2.6 trillion) with more than US$1 trillion paid in bribes each year, it is definitely no small matter that needs to be addressed. Furthermore, corruption increases the cost of doing business globally by up to 10% on average. Combining this with the need to abide by international and Australian anti-corruption legislation, has your business done enough to combat the risk of corruption?
As discussed in a previous blog post, criticism by the OECD is likely to see Australian authorities step up their enforcement activities in relation to bribery of foreign public officials meaning Australian organisations will risk paying dearly if they participate in corrupt activities. This makes it crucial for a company to create and implement a thorough and effective anti-corruption compliance framework.
Finally, let's consider our own backyard. Even though we are generally perceived as immune from the existence of day-to-day corruption, 53% of respondents thought that corruption is a problem in the Australian public sector! However, only 17% of respondents believed that the government is taking effective action against corruption. This is interesting food for thought.
The omnipresent risk of bribery is something all companies face when conducting business. Organisations that ignore this risk do so at their own peril. What are you doing to mitigate your corruption risk?
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