ICC and the market economy

The fight against corruption and anti-competitive practices is engrained in ICC’s DNA. For ICC, the promotion of an open world economy, based on fair competition, has been a prime objective since its founding nearly 100 years ago. ICC today brings together millions of companies into the largest international business network and continues its leadership role in advocating high standards of corporate governance based on ethical business practices. In 1977, it became the first international organization to issue a set of Rules and Recommendations prohibiting all forms of corruption in business transactions.

A frontrunner on compliance

However, the mere condemnation of corruption is not enough. ICC has expanded its mission over the years to help companies generate a culture of integrity. This was done by the development of corporate Codes of Conduct, the establishment of ethics and compliance programmes, and the appointment of ethics and compliance officers. ICC’s message about the need for business integrity and compliance was spelled out in the three editions of Fighting Corruption, ICC’s International Corporate Integrity Handbook, which was first published in 1999 and re-edited in 2003 and 2008.

A need for practical education and training

Where do we stand today? High-quality international legal instruments to fight corruption have been adopted and integrated into the national laws of an increasing number of countries. There is now a strong awareness among business leaders about the need for integrity in commercial transactions. These corporate leaders have signalled their determination to accept nothing less than the highest standards. There is still, however, a perceived lack of practical implementation on the part of government and business.

Many companies have voiced their concern about a gap between the principles laid down in statutes and the realities they face in the field. They report being confronted with solicitation of bribes from politicians and public officials as well as unfair practices by competitors. Small and medium-sized companies continue to struggle with the implementation of new legal and ethical standards. Compliance officers and their teams are in need of solid and pragmatic support.

A World Economic Survey conducted by ICC and the Institute for Economic Research in Munich during the fourth quarter of 2012 shows that business experts worldwide strongly support the view that a greater emphasis on ethics and compliance training in their respective countries would improve productivity and attract foreign investment. Respondents from emerging markets overwhelmingly supported the statement.

What compliance officers want is effective guidance for their day-to-day work and not additional declarations of intent. A growing number of companies wish to benefit from down-to-earth integrity training provided by experienced practitioners. For example, installing a whistleblowing system, performing a risk assessment, exercising due diligence when selecting agents or intermediaries, and conducting internal investigations are all difficult and delicate policies to implement.

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A train the trainers programme

In its recommendations to G20 heads of state and government, the global business community (as represented by the B20) identified the need to develop training materials and provide concrete practical training on anti-corruption compliance, including ‘train the trainers’ and other educational programmes, as one of the six top priorities to advance G20 and B20 work in the field of anti-corruption.

This Ethics and Compliance Training Handbook is a direct response to this call. The following pages address, independently from theoretical considerations, the challenges which companies of all sizes must overcome in order to build and implement their corporate compliance programmes. It is a guide designed by and for compliance practitioners.

This Training Handbook will serve as the cornerstone of a Global Training Programme which ICC will develop and deliver with its network of national committees and chambers of commerce around the world. Each chapter of this Handbook is conceived as a module for a training session on a key compliance topic. Through this Handbook and the training sessions based on its successive chapters, the compliance officers of today and tomorrow will benefit from the hands-on expertise of distinguished fellow practitioners in the field of corporate integrity.

It is our hope that the compliance officers who will enrol in this ICC Global Training Programme will in turn train their colleagues and successors, and thus contribute to fostering a culture of ethics and compliance across today’s global markets.

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NOTE FROM THE EDITORS

This Ethics and Compliance Training Handbook has been written by experts from the business community for members of the business community. It is the result of a collaboration involving some of the leading practitioners in the field of ethics and compliance. Most of its authors are active members of the ICC Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption.

The 17 chapters of this Training Handbook explore the wide range of policy tools and measures that ethics and compliance officers can draw upon, with the support of management, to create a robust culture of integrity in their organizations. They propose straightforward answers to the question of how to best organize the prevention of corrupt and anti-competitive practices in different business contexts.

It should be noted that the authors are writing as individual experts. Their views do not necessarily represent the position of ICC or other organizations with which they are affiliated. Neither ICC nor the authors will accept any liability for any errors, omissions, or misleading statements caused by negligence or otherwise.

We take this opportunity to express our appreciation for the numerous contributions to the preparation of this Handbook made by Philip Kucharski, Viviane Schiavi, Laetitia de Montalivet, Jeff Dombrowski, Aisling Achoun, Marie-Dominique Fraiderik, Brigitte Horn, Taylor Holland, and Anouk Leibig van Huffel of the ICC International Secretariat in Paris.

ABOUT THE EDITORS

François Vincke is a Member of the Brussels Bar. He worked 26 years for PetroFina, a European oil, gas and petrochemicals company, including 11 years as Secretary General and General Counsel. Since 1994, he is the Head of Anti-corruption at ICC, first as Chairman of the Commission on Anti-corruption and later as Vice-Chair of the Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption. He has written a number of articles and led several conferences on matters related to ethics and compliance.

Julian Kassum is an independent consultant working for a number of international organizations, including ICC and the World Economic Forum. Between 2004 and 2010, he was successively Policy Manager for the ICC Commission on Anti-corruption and for the ICC Commission on Business in Society, two working bodies which later merged to form the ICC Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption. In 2009, he worked as Legal Counsel for the Compliance and Corporate Social Responsibility Department of the oil and gas company Total.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ICC)

ICC is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its global network comprises over 6 million companies, chambers of commerce and business associations in more than 130 countries, with interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.

A world network of national committees keeps the ICC International Secretariat in Paris informed about national and regional business priorities. More than 2,000 experts drawn from ICC’s member companies feed their knowledge and experience into crafting the ICC stance on specific business issues.

The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G20 and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through ICC.

For more information please visit: www.iccwbo.org