Does Using a Third Party Shield You From Anti-Bribery Enforcement?

You know that you can’t bribe a government official in another country, but what happens when a contractor makes those payments for you? Then, you’re off the hook for whatever they do, right?

WRONG. Just ask Rolls Royce, which recently agreed to a $800 million global settlement for violating the UK Bribery Act.

Surprisingly, many people are still under the impression that using a third party shields you from risk.

But the truth is that any time you do business with a third party, it increases your risks. Why? Because third parties are conducting business on your behalf, which makes you responsible for their actions.

Don’t believe me? Watch this video to hear it from anti-corruption expert Farzad Barkhordari.

So now if you are responsible for the actions of third parties, what can you do to reduce your risks?

3 Smart Ways You Can Reduce Your Third Party Risks

1. Conduct Online and In-person Training

Simply giving a written code of conduct or an anti-bribery policy to your third parties isn’t enough-you need to train them too. And not just on your code of conduct or anti-bribery laws. They need training on a variety of topics: conflicts of interest, security awareness, export laws, etc.

If you want to learn more about how you can use training to reduce your third party risks, watch our latest webinarfeaturing Michael Volkov, CEO of the Volkov Law Group, LLC, and Farzad Barkhordari, President of Workplace Answers.

2. Perform Due Diligence

Before you even think about doing business with a third party, you must perform due diligence. And there is a lot you’ll have to do, but it starts with creating a plan.

In fact, this blog from LexisNexis offers a great overview of the steps involved with performing due diligence. For a deeper dive into due diligence best practices, you can review these guidelines from the World Economic Forum.

One last thing to be aware of is potential red flags to look out for when you perform due diligence. We’ve outlined several in this blog here.

3. Monitor Your Third Parties

You’ve performed due diligence and completed training, but you’re not done. You have to continually monitor your third parties to ensure they are adhering to your code of code of conduct and following anti-bribery laws. And when you do discover a problem, take quick action to correct it.

Conclusion

Any time a third party is involved, you increase your risks. But, you can take action to reduce those risks including training, due diligence and ongoing monitoring.

If you are interested in learning more about EVERFI’s online anti-bribery training for third parties, fill out the form to request a demo today.