What are the Advantages Offered by the ISO 37001 Standard?

ISO 37001 is a certifiable international standard published in 2017 by the International Certification Organization, ISO. This standard is aimed at managing anti-corruption in organizations and includes effective guidelines, procedures, and actions for preventing risks associated with bribery, corruption, and fraud within any entity. Additionally, its implementation provides a series of advantages.

Within the social framework of an organization’s operations, it is fundamental to commit to complying with applicable national and international legislation in order to exercise responsible action free from corruption-related risks.

The requirements for the effective implementation of an Anti-Bribery Management System as established in the ISO 37001 standard would include, among others, those described below:

1. Have a strong commitment from the entity’s Top Management, the first and last guarantor of the Management System’s implementation, and responsible for allocating both economic and human resources for its implementation.
2. Appoint a person responsible for the Management System.
3. The implementation and promotion of an Anti-Bribery Policy and an Ethical and Conduct Code adapted to the organization’s resources and fully disseminated to its members, as well as to third parties as decided internally.
4. Conduct a risk analysis and implement the necessary technical and organizational actions to prevent or minimize their occurrence.
5. Establish the necessary financial and non-financial controls for all processes within the organization.
6. Safeguard evidence of implemented procedures along with their approval by the corresponding bodies, as well as maintain a system of records for this purpose.
7. Within the Continuous Improvement Plan, establish objectives for which a responsible person must be defined, as well as their execution deadline, followed by their supervision through an audit procedure of the Anti-Bribery Management System.

With the implementation of the ISO 37001 standard, we will achieve a series of advantages that will strengthen the entity’s security in this matter.”

Furthermore, following the requirements and recommendations it establishes will provide the following benefits to the organization:

1.- Firstly, its main purpose is the MINIMIZATION OF BRIBERY OR CORRUPTION RISKS. This standard, through its methods and procedures, helps us continuously control corruption and anti-bribery risks, especially those related to third parties interested in the organization that are less susceptible to control.

2.- Secondly, the implementation of this standard results in a clear COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OVER MARKET COMPETITORS, as adopting it represents a declaration of good practices, integrity in activity, and business ethics of the entity in the eyes of the aforementioned third parties such as customers, suppliers, business partners, employees, etc.

It demonstrates a proactive attitude in the organization to comply with applicable legislation and regulations and to fight against corruption in the development of its own activity.

3.- Thirdly, it represents a STANDARD OF TRANSPARENCY in case the organization is involved in any type of criminal proceedings for corruption or bribery offenses, which, in court, can act as a mitigating factor or exemption from penalties or fines for the organization.

4.- Fourthly, as it is an international standard, it considerably increases trust, which translates into the possibility of COMPETING IN MARKETS BEYOND NATIONAL ONES. Its implementation opens up a range of possible requests for offers and budgets from both clients and suppliers at an international level.

5.- Fifthly, it promotes and homogenizes an ANTI-CORRUPTION CULTURE not only among the members of the organization but in all directions in which it operates, laying the foundations for transparent professional ethics.

6.- Sixthly, we would talk about the EASY INTEGRATION OF THE STANDARD WITH OTHERS AT NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. ISO 37001 goes hand in hand with other standards such as UNE 19601 for Criminal Compliance at the national level, having broad nuances and requirements in common and acting as a perfect complement to this at the international level. In the same vein, we can talk about other standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, or ISO 27001, Quality, Environment, and Security systems, which are perfectly integrable with the standard.

At GlobalSuite Solutions, we offer organizations our specialized services to help them in the implementation and maintenance of the anti-corruption management system through our consulting service. GlobalSuite Solutions offers specialized advice, facilitating the design and implementation of all necessary processes and requirements demanded by the ISO 37001 standard to achieve a series of competitive advantages.

Through the GlobalSuite® tool, specialized in Management Systems, entities can maintain their anti-bribery management system in a centralized manner, automating processes and with all the traceability that allows for a complete monitoring of the organization’s situation regarding compliance with the standard’s requirements.