SMEs and umbrella company contractors must beware the Bribery Act, according to a congress that took place in Brighton earlier this month.
The Lawyer’s Governance, Risk and Compliance Congress debated at some length the new legislation, which has been in the front of solicitors and external advisers’ minds.
A lively debate took part on the subject of the Bribery Act and regulatory and compliance experts stressed that all businesses, regardless of size, should be making preparations to ensure they comply with the new legislation.
The chief executive of British Expertise, Graham Hand, pointed out that some companies simply don’t understand their obligations and this is bound to lead to prosecutions. Larger organisations could be able to increase the size of their legal departments and get out of corrupt economies, but smaller firms lack the resources to protect themselves against SFO prosecutions.
A recent survey conducted by Thomson Reuters found that 20% of businesses are completely unprepared for the Bribery Act. The legislation will come into force on the first of July and 39% of senior staff think they need to do more preparation. A big concern is that board members are not aware of the impacts the Act may have on the running of their organisation.
16% of those surveyed admitted that they had not discussed anti-corruption legislation with board members and a further 25% said it had only been talked about once. Only 33% of firms with a parent board overseas thought it was necessary to talk to board members at all about the new rules.
75% of companies agreed that existing policies would need to be changed, or new ones implemented, in order to be compliant with the new legislation. However, only 10% of organisations have allocated extra funding and resources to achieve this.
Companies and limited company contractors have a legal obligation to make sure their staff and external umbrella company contractors are fully aware of the organisation’s anti-bribery policies.
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Image: Dizzy is being bribed by Daniel by dizznbonn
