The results of the fifth annual survey will be launched today at Dow
Jones’ Global Compliance Symposium being held in Washington DC. This
year’s survey interviewed compliance professionals from more than 350
companies worldwide.
Of the companies represented, 71% stopped or delayed working with a
business partner due to concerns about breaking anti corruption
regulations, an increase of nearly 20% from four years ago. More than
55% of respondents said they had stopped or delayed a push into
emerging markets for the same reason; up nearly 15% since 2009. Of the
companies surveyed, non-finance companies felt the greatest impact on
their business activities, to an increasing degree.
“Dow Jones has been monitoring trends in the anti-corruption
marketplace for the past five years, and the analysis our surveys
produce provides a unique barometer on the changing face of the
compliance industry,” said Rupert de Ruig, managing director of Risk &
Compliance, Dow Jones & Company. “This year we’ve found an
unprecedented awareness of anti-corruption regulation, and this is
reflected in the survey results, with business practices becoming
cleaner, more accountable and more process-driven.”
Losing Business to Unethical Companies
Nearly half the compliance professionals surveyed report losing
business to unethical competitors in the last month; however for the
first year the trend is slightly downward. This is despite an
unprecedented awareness of corruption in business globally, and is
perhaps a positive sign that firms are carrying out more ethical
business.
As awareness of anti-corruption regulation increases, so too are the
business benefits more keenly felt. An increasing number of respondents
believe regulation has created greater fairness (72%), and improved
business-partner relationships due to scrutiny (56%), while the number
who believe it saves them money (54%) and improves their operational
efficiency (42%) has gone down.
A complete analysis of the Dow Jones State of Anti-Corruption
Compliance Survey can be found at
http://www.dowjones.com/pressroom/docs/AC_Brochure_v2.pdf. For an
infographic highlighting key points from the survey, please visit:
http://www.dowjones.com/pressroom/docs/DowJones-Anti-Corruption.jpg.
