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Are you ready for the Bribery Act?

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Thursday June 23, 2011 at 9:00am

The Bribery Act 2010 comes into force on 1 July 2011. We provided some useful tips on the actions you might need to take in an earlier blog (The Bribery Act and your business) but with only a few weeks until the Act becomes law now is the time to carry out your risk assessment.

You might think it doesn’t affect your business but if you are the kind of company that takes clients out to dinner or entertains them over a game of golf or at sporting events technically speaking you may be caught by the Act.

As with most legislation the emphasis seems to be on demonstrating, as a business, that you have considered the implications of the Act and adopted any relevant procedures to make sure your company complies.

The Ministry of Justice has published a useful Quick Start Guide, which covers the main points and provides guidance on how to assess risk and what kind of procedures you might need to have in place.

SMEs should familiarise themselves with the implications of the new Act and begin to assess the risk of bribery occurring in the business. The extent of any further action will be dependent on the results of this risk assessment. But at the very least you need to make clear to your staff and agents that work on your behalf what you consider acceptable behaviour in the light of the new Act.

Andy Parker
Chartered Accountant and Business Advisor

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