More firms worried about bribery, corruption: KPMG survey

THERE is a sharp increase in the proportion of corporate risk leaders who say they are highly challenged by the issue of bribery and corruption, compared to four years ago, said audit and advisory firm KPMG in a report out on Friday.

KPMG said that as companies continue to globalise, management of third parties poses the greatest challenge in executing anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) programmes.

More than one third of respondents said they do not formally identify high-risk third parties.

And more than half of respondents with right-to-audit clauses over third parties have not exercised the right.

Respondents complain they lack the resources to manage ABC risk, KPMG noted. It added that a top-down risk assessment would help companies set priorities, and data analytics is an increasingly important and cost-effective tool to assess ABC controls.