Understanding Compliance is a Competitive Advantage

The global economy has opened up unprecedented opportunities for companies in emerging markets to join international value chains, build new business relationships, and reach new levels of growth. At the same time, corporations are very much aware of the compliance risks that local partners can pose if they are not transparent in their disclosures or secretive about their conduct. The importance for local companies to understand the anti-corruption compliance expectations held by multinational companies cannot be overstated – and it translates into a competitive advantage. Local business partners that can demonstrate commitment to integrity move faster through the due diligence process and have a much better chance of building solid business relationships with compliance-conscious multinationals.

In a recent post on The FCPA Blog that I co-authored with Bill Steinman, senior partner at Steinman & Rodgers LLP, we discuss this issue and compare examples of two local business partners that Steinman & Rodgers encountered in an engagement for one of its clients. One of these local companies was based in France, the other one in Pakistan. If you guessed that Pakistan was the trouble case in the vetting process, guess again. This goes to show that geography is not destiny and companies around the world, wherever they are located, can prove themselves to be trusted partners if they choose to learn about compliance with prevailing anti-corruption norms, and promote the adoption of anti-corruption controls.

Read the full post here.

Anna Kompanek is the Director of CIPE’s Global Team