Anti-Bribery and Corruption Training
Course Description
Acts of bribery and corrupt business practices are still an all too common part of business to business activity in the UK and Worldwide. Inducements can range from small ‘facilitation payments’ to gifts worth millions of pounds. They can come in many different forms and can sometimes be hard to track down. This anti-bribery and corruption course examines the reasons why bribery and corruption occur and discus how normal business activities, such as gifts, hospitality, sponsorship, and donations, can be manipulated to become bribes. These crimes are dealt with through the UK Bribery Act.
In 2018 Price Waterhouse Coopers commissioned their “Global Economic Crime Survey” which uncovered a marked increase in corruption and bribery in the UK between 2016 and 2018. In 2016, 6% of British companies were involved with some form of corruption. This figure rose to 23% in 2018. The survey also revealed that 25% of UK companies were approached in the last 24 months to pay a bribe compared to 5% in 2016. For the purposes of the course, the term ‘companies’ refer to both businesses and government departments.
Legislation
Bribery law in the UK is governed by the UK Bribery Act, 2010. This Act is enforced by the Serious Fraud Office. It prohibits business to business bribery and the bribery of public officials. The Act applies to all employees in both the public and private sector. Companies can be held liable for bribery committed by its employees or representatives worldwide.
The only defence a company has against bribery and corruption is the ability to demonstrate due diligence. This includes having an Anti-Bribery policy in place. The training course gives full details on precisely what should be included in this policy.
Penalties for breaching anti-corruption and bribery laws are severe. The decision on whether the breach is treated as a summary offence or an indictment, under the UK Bribery Act, rests with the Magistrates court:
- In the case of an individual, where the case is decided to be a summary offence, the penalty is a maximum of 12 months prison and fines of up to £5000.
- If the individual is decided to have been guilty of an indictment, the penalty is a maximum of 10 years and fines are unlimited.
- Where a company is found to have failed to put adequate controls in place, it can be ordered to pay unlimited fines.
- Convicted directors who fail to prevent bribery face director disqualifications of up to 15 years.
The course looks at corruption and bribery that relate specifically to government departments. A significant amount of GDP is generated by state owned enterprises. Fortune companies comprise of about 25% of state-owned companies. They are mainly critical service providers of energy, transportation, water and healthcare and are significant enough to warrant special attention.
Anti Bribery Management Systems
You will also learn about ISO37001, an anti-bribery management system standard published by the International Organisation for Standardisation in 2016. As a generic standard it guides companies so they can prevent, detect and respond to bribery and to comply with laws and regulations. It also helps companies establish, implement, maintain and improve their anti-bribery systems based on a culture of integrity, compliance and transparency.
In this comprehensive course, you will be guided on ways of reducing the risk of bribery and corruption. You will finish the course understanding how to set up an effective risk assessment to help you to identify activities in your company that may be vulnerable to bribery. There is also detailed information on the detail of what should be included in your company’s anti-bribery policy and potential red flags to look for that might compromise the company.
Target Audience
The course content is aimed at employees who work with financial controls at all levels of organisations who may encounter bribery or corrupt working practices, corruption meaning fraudulent business conduct.
Course Content | Module |
Introduction | 1 |
Why Corruption and Bribery Occur | 2 |
The UK Bribery Act 2010 | 3 |
Reducing the Risk Management | 4 |
ISO 37001 and Employee Responsibility | 5 |
Anti-Bribery and Corruption Training
CPD Units ‘2’
Recommended System Requirements
• Browser: Up to date web browser
• Video: Up to date video drivers
• Memory: 1Gb+ RAM
• Download Speed: Broadband (3Mb+)
Duration: 50 minutes (Note: This is based on the amount of video content shown and is rounded off. It does not account in any way for loading time or thinking time on the questions).