The guidance on the UK Bribery Act has finally been provided and the overall reaction has been one of cautious optimism – a far cry from the situation in April 2010 when the UK Bribery Act was passed.
The collective grinding and gnashing of teeth amongst corporate and investment professionals was audible around the country.
The cacophony was most deafening in the City, where on any given day, a law firm of risk consultancy was prophesying financial Armageddon for UK industry.
With the guidance’s release on 30 March 2011, UK business has a lot more clarity and the exhortations to conduct comprehensive due diligence on every possible business contact or advice on hiring a cabal of risk and compliance officers to investigate every potential commercial transaction have, thankfully, become mere echoes.
It feels good, therefore, to be able to say exactly what I and my colleagues have been saying to our clients throughout this past year—remain calm, assess your risks, match the level of diligence to the risks that you are likely to face and communicate clearly your zero tolerance policy to your employees and partners.
Indeed, UK Bribery should have an overwhelming impact on businesses both large and small. The effect however is a wholly positive one which levels the playing field and engenders a more transparent corporate environment.
UK companies that have been doing the right things—the vast majority—have little to fear. Admittedly, many will need to improve upon their policies, procedures, communications, and due diligence activities.
However, it is those companies that ignored the problem altogether that are in jeopardy. For their sakes, let us hope that the noise and echoes of the last year has at least awakened them to the consequences. The law goes into effect 1 July 2011.