Bribery is a significant business risk in many countries and sectors. Previously, bribery has in many cases been tolerated as a “necessary” part of doing business. However, there has been increasing awareness of the damage caused by bribery to countries, organizations, and individuals, and resulted in calls at an international and national level for effective action to be taken to prevent bribery.

To prevent bribery, international treaties have been signed, laws have been changed and companies/ individuals have been prosecuted. However, bribery prevention is seen as a management issued. Therefore, good management in government and companies can substantially reduce bribery. Therefore, bribery prevention should be treated in a similar manner to safety, quality, and environmental management.

To ensure good management, the ISO technical committee has published Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ISO 37001:2016) on October 15, 2016. The standard replaces BS 10500 (Specification for anti-bribery management system) and is intended to help organizations implement an effective anti-bribery management system. ISO 37001 requires organizations to implement various anti-bribery measures in a reasonable and proportionate manner according to the type and size of the organization, and the nature and extent of bribery risks faced. ISO 37001 is applicable to small, medium and large organizations in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Benefits of ISO 37001:2016

· Promote trust and confidence

· Enable organizations to prevent, detect and address bribery

· Provide the organization with an international recognition for anti-bribery management system

· Provide organization with a competitive advantage