Lawyer Monthly Magazine -December 2019 Edition

the process, including situations where there is, in fact, no one in charge of the procurement process, or where senior managers are not involved in decision making that possibly should be. All managers and staff require some level of discretion to perform their jobs. This needs to be accounted for in the procurement process, whilst minimising the potential for corruption that this discretion can introduce. This can be controlled in a number of ways, for example by determining what goods and services are actually required. If this is decided by one person, there is the potential for them to recommend that what is needed are goods or services provided by a company that they have an interest in. What other steps can companies take to ensure that they are compliant with anti- corruption legislation? An important consideration is improving employee competence in being able to detect and prevent corruption risks, which can be achieved through training programs. There are a number of other considerations here such as employee turnover and changing procurement rules over time. Training is also important What is corruption? ‘Secrecy’ is a key element in defining corruption. If someone receives a bribe or award, and does not disclose this, they may be liable to corruption charges. The intention of the person will then need to be examined in order to determine whether the behaviour was truly corrupt. What is the link between bribery and corruption? A bribe involves offering an ‘undue reward’ to someone to influence them to act in a certain way. If one accepts a gift or reward which is given in order to convince them to act dishonestly or corruptly, then they are committing the offence of corruption. Bribes are commonly offered to foreign public officials in order to advance international business interests, and great care needs to be taken by businesses and individuals in knowing where to draw the line between effective networking and potentially criminal behaviour. Penalties for bribery and corruption are severe and can include prison sentences of up to 10 years. Are there any industries where corruption risks are particularly prevalent? Both procurement and the mining sector have been identified as high-risk areas for corruption. Several investigations con- ducted by the Independent Commission Against Corrup- tion (ICAC) have exposed cor- rupt conduct and identified common corruption risks in pro- curement processes, whilst in a recent report, Transparency International Australia (TIA) outlined potential corruption risks in the mining sector. What kind of corruption risks exist in the procurement process, and how can these be addressed? There are a multitude of different risks. For example, a person responsible for both ordering and verifying delivery creates a risk of both over- ordering and under-delivery. A process map allows for easy identification of whether there are obvious corruption risks in CORRUPTION Which Industries Are the Most Vulnerable to Corruption? Expert Insight By Dennis Miralis, Nyman Gibson Miralis “Insufficient protection for whistleblowers was a further risk identified in the report, which could perpetuate systemic corruption.” 76 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | DEC 2019