Date: Fri 8th October, 2010
Venue: The offices of DLA Piper UK LLP, 101 Barbirolli Square, Bridgewater, Manchester, M2 3DL
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Businesses raised concerns over how the new Bribery Act could affect them at Insider's breakfast on anti-bribery legislation. There were particular questions relating to how it will affect the giving of hospitality and gifts while Richard Smyth, partner at DLA Piper, said: "There has to be compliance."
A panel of experts including Charlie Monteith, head of assurance at the Serious Fraud Office, and fraud litigation specialist Mark Rainsford QC answered questions from North West businesses about how the new law is going to have an impact on companies. Simon Cuerdon, from Deloitte, and Michael Sacks, from Eukleia, were also on the panel. The new Act is due to come into force in April next year.
Findings from the breakfast will be submitted as part of the legislation's consultation process which is currently being undertaken.
Monteith, who has been heavily involved in putting the Act together, said: "Corporate business culture has been changing quite radically over the last seven years. The Bribery Act is the final important part of this."
But there was a lot of concern from companies about how this will affect hospitality and gifts. Chris Nicholson, of NIS Holdings, asked: "At what point and value does ‘entertaining’ a client become a ‘bribe’?"
Smyth explained that each company will have to take a view on where to draw the line. But he added: “Ordinary entertaining is part of normal business development and should continue. However, when a gift of a family holiday abroad is given, clearly the line has been crossed. It has to be proportionate.”
The panel debated which countries posed the biggest risk and advised businesses which faced problems to get together and approach embassies. Rainsford said: “Most countries have radically improved over the last three to four years, governments are being forced to face up to issues of bribery by the World Bank.”
The UK will have the strictest bribery laws in the world when the new Act comes in and many companies have concerns about how this will affect their ability to compete for some overseas contracts.
Matthew Kimpton-Smith, of Cygnet Group, asked: “How will the act affect our competitveness against other western European and north American engineering companies, when competing for contracts in the Middle and Far East?”
Smyth replied: “It would be naive to suggest that there will be no adverse affects. But this law requires everybody to comply. If businesses want to partake on the global playing field and be part of this international pool of contractors, like it or not they will have to comply.”
Rainsford ended the discussion with a word of advice and warning to companies urging them not to turn a blind eye as smaller issues could lead to bigger problems. He said: “If you are ever unlucky enough to have a real bribery problem, the first thing regulators will ask is: 'Have you had one of these problems before and how did you deal with it?’
“So if you get a little problem, to brush it under the carpet would be the worst thing you could do so make sure you deal with it there and then.”