The survey’s findings,
based on responses to an ICC Special Question, also revealed that transparency
in government procurement is the most important factor in fighting corruption.
The results of the ICC
Special Question in the Q4 WES survey were based on the views of 1,156 experts
polled in 124 countries worldwide.
Emerging nations favour ethics training
In the first part of the
question the experts were asked whether they agreed stronger emphasis on ethics
and compliance training for business in their respective countries would help
improve productivity and attract more foreign investment.
Although the results
differed markedly according to the region, it was clear experts in emerging
nations overwhelmingly supported the statement.
In Africa, 90% of experts
agreed and in both South America and Asia the consensus level was at 88%. There
was also a high level of agreement from experts in Eastern Europe and the CIS
countries where the statement was supported by 87% and 85% respectively.
In Europe, 48% of
respondents agreed with the statement and in North America and Oceania it was
supported by 31% and 33% of respondents respectively.
When the findings are tied
in with Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Indicator (CPI),
they reveal a general pattern: the more corrupt a country is perceived to be,
the greater the consensus that ethics training is needed to help boost the
economy.
Government transparency required
In the second part of the
ICC Special Question, ‘Transparency in government procurement’ was clearly
identified by the vast majority of experts across all countries and regions as
the most important factor in fighting corruption.
“The results of the survey
clearly show corruption is a major economic challenge for several countries in
the world,” said Jean-Guy Carrier, ICC Secretary General.
“The harm to a country’s
economy caused by corruption is much larger than the personal benefits obtained
and leads to economic inefficiency and to prosperity losses. Governments and
businesses alike need to place the fight against corruption at the top of their
agenda.”
ICC is a pioneer in
developing practical tools to help business drive integrity in business
transactions. Reacting to calls from G20 governments for business to take
concrete steps in the fight against corruption, ICC has recently expanded its
suite of anti-corruption tools that includes the ICC Rules on Combating
Corruption, and the RESIST toolkit for countering solicitation and extortion.
Most recently, ICC introduced an anti-corruption
clause for companies to insert into any contract – whereby parties agree to
comply with the ICC Rules on Combating Corruption or commit to put in place and
maintain an anti-corruption compliance programme. ICC is also currently developing
an ethics and compliance training for business which will provide companies
with the know-how they need to implement an effective anti-corruption
compliance programme