Basic principles for business integrity in the private sector and the expectations of financial institutions for their implementation highlighted one of the panels of the International Conference on Collective action organized by Basel Institute on Governance.
The representatives of key international financial institutions shared key massages related to the conceptualization of business integrity and its vital role in the organization, the proactive position to detect and reduce risks and improve coordination between activities regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects, as well as better cooperation and dissemination of good practices.
Experts’ prognosis that the business integrity framework should be reshaped, and companies must strengthen their internal systems to demonstrate the impact on development that investors and financial institutions are looking for.
The implementation of policies and tools for business integrity and compliance are essential part throughout the sector and many financial institutions set it as a condition and in accordance with compliance that must be passed to access a financial resource. In this framing, business integrity matters because it helps financial institutions to avoid negative reputational, financial, legal and regulatory consequences.
Due diligence is fundamental for companies in implementing anti-corruption and good governance standards. Financial institutions accent to monitoring the absence or presence of policies for disciplinary proceedings and tick policy for compliance, anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies, whistle blowing systems and financial audits.
Business integrity and anti-corruption need to be further strengthened in the company’s policies, to consider the economic and political factors that influence the levels of risks. The information must be constantly updated and monitored.
Effective integrity and compliance programs must be designed to support and guide the business in making decisions according to their values, organizational structure, company size, as well as key compliance risks and regulations.