ISO 37001 - Anti-bribery management systems

ISO 37001 is the first international standard in the field of management systems designed to help organizations in the efforts to reduce the risk of possible bribery in their own work processes and through their supply chain, including relations with stakeholders. The standard is a tool for the reduction corporate risk and costs associated with the occurrence of bribery by providing a flexible business framework that prevents, detects and resolves bribery.

The system can be independent or integrated into the entire management system. This standard covers the following issues related to the activities of the organization:

- bribery in the public, private and non-profit sectors;

- bribery by the organization;

- bribery by the staff of the organization acting on its behalf or for its benefit;

- bribery by business associates of the organization acting on its behalf or for its benefit;

- bribery towards the organization;

- bribery of the organization's staff related to the organization's activities;

- bribery to business associates of the organization related to the activities of the organization;

- direct and indirect bribes (e.g. bribes offered or received by third parties).

The standard establishes requirements and provides guidance for a management system designed to help an organization prevent, detect and respond to bribes and comply with anti-bribery laws and voluntary commitments applicable to its activities. The requirements of this document are generic and are intended to be applicable to all organizations (or parts of an organization), regardless of the type, size or nature of the activity and regardless of whether they are in the public, private or non-profit sector.

By applying related measures and controls, including accompanying guidelines, the anti-bribery management system defines the requirements for:

- anti-bribery policies and procedures,

- leadership, commitment and responsibility of top management,

- supervision of responsible managers,

- anti-bribery training,

- risk assessment and verification of projects and business partners,

- financial control, procurement control, commercial and contracting control,

- reporting, monitoring, research and review,

- corrective actions and continuous improvement.

Benefits of standard ISO 37001:

- ensures legislative and regulatory compliance

- improves work and process control