ISO

What is today’s most urgent or challenging anti-corruption matters?

KEVIN BREAR

The global economic cost of corruption is simply astounding, and it undermines the
efforts of all countries to improve the lives of their citizens. The World Economic
Forum estimated, in 2018, that USD 2.6 trillion, or 5 % of global GDP, were lost to
corruption. Despite many countries’ best efforts, that situation has not really
improved, and it is the poor and most vulnerable in the world who suffer the most
from the impacts of corruption. Governments reportedly spend USD 7.5 trillion per
year on providing healthcare to the world’s citizens, but USD 500 billion, or 7 %, of
that are lost due to corruption.
The World Health Organization has estimated that the cost of providing free
healthcare to all the world’s citizens would be USD 370 billion. It has also been
reported that corruption indirectly adds to the everyday cost of living for people, and,
ultimately, it can lead to raised production costs and reduce the profitability of
investments. Again, all of these impacts are most keenly felt in developing
economies.

There are a significant number of standards and guidelines on

anti-corruption. What is the added value of ISO standards
(versus others)?

ISO standards are developed using a consensus-driven approach, built on a

foundation of proven good practices. The standards developers themselves are
drawn from the ranks of the world’s best experts in their respective fields.
Consequently, the published standards are designed to be applicable to all
organizations, regardless of size, industry sector, geographical location or political
persuasion. This means that ISO standards can provide consistent benchmarks,
better practices and common methodologies that all organizations can leverage and
adopt.
Experts in ISO technical committees (TCs) can also take a strategic approach to
understanding industry needs for their documents. For example, the experts in
TC 309 first produced ISO 37000, which provided guidance on governance for
organizations. The TC members then built on that solid foundation by
publishing ISO 37001 (anti-bribery management), ISO 37002 (whistleblowing)
and ISO 37301 (compliance management). TC 309 experts are currently developing
a standard on internal investigations and a new proposal is in the pipeline to develop
a standard on anti-fraud measures. Taken all together, these standards can be
used to provide a more integrated approach to the global fight against
corruption.
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What is today’s most urgent or challenging anti-corruption matters?
KEVIN BREAR

How are ISO standards concretely contributing to combatting

corruption, particularly ISO 37001?

ISO 37001, Anti-bribery management systems – Requirements with guidance for

use, has been well received around the globe for its value in the fight against bribery
and corruption. Indeed, it has already been adopted by a number of globally
renowned organizations, such as Microsoft (USA), Alstom (France), Eni (Italy) and
SKK Migas (Indonesia).
The value of ISO 37001 has also been recognized by global governments and
administrations, leading to its early adoption by Peru and Singapore. Interestingly,
the standard has also been cited as recommended good practice by a number of
international sporting bodies. It will be very exciting to see how it is further adopted
and leveraged over the coming months and years.