> What is corporate governance?
> Our projects in corporate governance: Validation -- Corporate consulting -- Industry standards
What is corporate governance?
- The Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) helps to consolidate private sector efforts to fight bribery and shape the evolving regulatory framework. Prof. Mark Pieth (first from left) respresents the Institute as a member of the PACI board.
Similar to governments, corporations have experienced the hazards of insufficient governance – be it in the area of the environment, anti-trust legislation, fraud, corruption or money laundering. Consequently, in business theory and practice, the notion of corporate governance has been extended beyond its traditional focus on accountability and supervision to a comprehensive concept of management which includes regulatory frameworks and takes into account so-called non-traditional risks (legal risks, reputational risks, etc).
Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the Basel Institute reflects these processes not only from the vantage point of management consultancy, but also from an academic perspective and based on economic and legal research as well as social sciences. Therefore, it can assist companies in analysing risks, identifying gaps in practices and rules, and in designing appropriate control and compliance systems. Based on a joint risk analysis together with the concerned operators, such work has previously been done in the area of money laundering, trafficking in chemical precursors in drug production, as well as corruption prevention. The Institute has also played a key role in a number of international multi-stakeholder groups against international bribery, and notably the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions. Based on this experience in inter-governmental processes, the Institute also acts as facilitator in debates on delicate issues related to business ethics and corporate governance (e.g. bank secrecy). As such, it has in the past contributed to various private sector initiatives, such as the Partnering against Corruption Initiative (PACI) promoted through the World Economic Forum, and moderated the development of sector specific integrity standards as the Wolfsberg process on anti-money laundering and comparable initiatives in the power and defence sectors.
Validation
> International validation (homologation) of the ETHIC Intelligence concept for business certification
The ETHIC Intelligence certification process is a voluntary step undertaken by any company that wishes to ensure that its integrity measures comply with international good practices. As part of a self-regulation policy, this certification process allows a company to bring in an independent third party to demonstrate the existence and quality of such measures.
The Basel Institute on Governance has been selected to validate the ETHIC Intelligence's certification processes, both in terms of conceptualization as well as implementation. A first validation report and suggestions for the further development of the concept have been submitted to ETHIC Intelligence on 29 September 2006.
> Download interview with ETHIC Intelligence Founder Philippe Montigny (Basler Zeitung, Saturday 10 February 2007, page 33)
Corporate consulting
> The Basel Institute on Governance regularly provides consulting services to companies in Switzerland and abroad, from a variety of sectors including the oil&gas industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the defense sector, and the financial industry. Consulting services cover the fields of corporate compliance (structures and policies), anti-bribery and anti-fraud policies, money laundering prevention, and with regard to pension fund management.
Industry standards
> World Economic Forum Partnering against Corruption Initiative (PACI)
***Watch video interview with PACI board member Professor Mark Pieth speaking, on the occasion of World Anti-Corruption Day on 8 December 2006, about the PACI initiative, its goals and achievements, and its value for companies.***
The Partnering against Corruption Initiative (PACI) was established under the auspices of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Basel Institute on Governance, and Transparency International at the WEF 2003 annual meeting in Davos. The Basel Institute on Governance is represented on the PACI Board by Prof Mark Pieth.
The PACI seeks to help consolidate private sector efforts to fight bribery and corruption and shape the evolving regulatory framework. By signing up to the PACI Principles, companies agree on a common language around grey areas in the context of corruption, publicly commit to implementing these common principles, and send a positive signal to capital markets, international financing institutions and the public at large on their willingness to contribute to the global fight against corruption and bribery.
The PACI also seeks to offer a neutral platform for companies to exchange experience in countering bribery and corruption and to discuss implementing mechanisms that allow to turn the principles into a tangible instrument. In this context, the group explores and develops verification and compliance mechanisms and studies third party review mechanisms to ensure programme efficacy.
> Wolfsberg Group of Private Banks
The Wolfsberg Group is an association of twelve global banks, which aims to develop financial services industry standards, and related products, for Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering, and Counter Terrorist Financing policies. The Group came together in 2000, at the Chateau Wolfsberg in Switzerland, including with Prof Mark Pieth of the Basel Institute on Governance and representatives from Transparency International, to work on drafting anti-money laundering guidelines for private banking. The Wolfsberg Anti-Money Laundering Principles for Private Banking were subsequently published in October 2000 (and revised in May 2002).
Since then, the Group has issued numerous statements and FAQs on critical issues such as the financing of terrorism, beneficial ownership, and PEPs. Most recently, the Group has issued Guidelines on a Risk Based Approach for Managing Money Laundering Risks and the Wolfsberg Statement against Corruption.
> Power systems industry integrity initiative (ongoing)
> Defence industry integrity initiatiev (ongoing)