Dow Jones Risk & Compliance Issues Fifth Annual Anti-Corruption Survey

Survey Finds Concerns About Breaking Anti-Corruption Regulations Continue to Impact Decisions About Working With Business Partners


NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, April 22, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corruption concerns are increasingly impacting companies' decisions about forming or expanding partner relationships and conducting business in emerging markets, according to this year's Dow Jones State of Anti-Corruption Compliance Survey.

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 380 companies worldwide.

Of the companies represented, 67% stopped or delayed working with a business partner due to concerns about violating anti-corruption regulations. More than 50% of respondents said they had stopped or delayed a venture into emerging markets for the same reason. These trends have remained steady over the past three years.

"With fines by the SEC related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act exceeding $1.5B since 2010, Anti-Bribery and Corruption legislation is front of mind for global corporations. This is our 5th year publishing the Anti-Corruption Compliance Survey," said Joel Lange, managing director of Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones & Company. "The results deliver interesting insights in to the challenges global corporations face seeking to toe the line between effectiveness and efficiency of their compliance programs."

A third of compliance professionals surveyed reported having lost business to unethical competitors; a decrease from previous years. Among companies losing business, nearly 70% cite non-compliant competitors and almost 60% mention losses to companies not required to comply with anti-bribery regulations.

In general, the incidence of anti-corruption programs has remained mostly steady for the past three years (currently at 82%), with nearly three quarters of companies having had programs in place for more than two years. About 30% of companies spend $1 million or more on anti-corruption staff and policies.

Companies still struggle with due diligence, despite its growing importance, and only half feel very confident in their programs. The proportion of companies updating their due diligence at least every two years is steady compared with last year. About 35% of companies update their due diligence based on target risk. Internal central compliance teams continue to handle due diligence in most companies.

A complete analysis of the Dow Jones State of Anti-Corruption Compliance Survey can be found at: http://images.dowjones.com/company/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2014/04/Anti-Corruption-Survey-Results-2014.pdf. For an infographic highlighting key points from the survey, please visit: http://images.dowjones.com/company/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2014/04/Anti-Corruption-Survey-Infographic.jpg.

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