ABC Regional Overviews
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
Europe
Canada
Respondents in Canada appear to have little confidence in their board-level response to bribery and corruption risk, with only 58% saying the issue gets the attention and investment it deserves. That’s well below the global average of 72%
and puts Canada behind the likes of Russia (59%)
and Sub-Saharan Africa (75%).
Organizations in Canada also appear to be taking positive steps to mitigate risks, with 72% of respondents saying their organization uses data analytics to proactively detect bribery and corruption risk. However, this is 14 percentage points behind the global average (86%). Nearly two-thirds (60%) of organizations have carried out an enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessment in the past five years, although this falls 22 percentage points short of the global average (82%.)
When asked about the biggest internal threats facing their organization, 56% of respondents said lack of visibility over third parties was the most critical challenge to overcome (vs. 46% globally). Only one quarter (26%) cited weak record-keeping as the number one source of risk, lower than the global average of 31%.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents in Canada saw Latin America as the most “at risk” region for bribery and corruption activity, slightly above the global average (26%). The Middle East and North Africa was ranked in second place at 22%, in line with the global average. Surprisingly, North America was also ranked in second place at 22%, a clear 10 percentage points higher than the global average (12%.)
Research Summary REGIONal OVERVIEWS Articles
Volume 1: Bribery and Corruption Risk
Sign up for Volume 2
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
U.S.
Brazil
Singapore
Italy
Canada
Mexico
China
Australia
HONG KONG
Germany
France
UK
Saudi Arabia
UK
United Arab emirates
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Switzerland
Italy
Germany
France
UK
Singapore
Hong Kong
China
Australia
Brazil
Mexico
U.S.
Canada
Canada
26%
18%
56%
58%
40%
2%
4%
60%
36%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
66%
34%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery and corruption risk?
58%
42%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat related to bribery and corruption
24%
22%
54%
Australia
Australia has comparatively low confidence in its ability to identify bribery and corruption risk. Fewer than two-thirds (58%) of respondents said their organizations were giving bribery and corruption risk enough attention and investment
at the board level. That’s well below the global average (72%) and one of the lowest in the world, on par with Canada (58%) and just below Germany (61%). This is perhaps not surprising, given the relatively low level of enforcement
action in Australia.
Australia appears to have work to do when it comes to conducting enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments, too, with only 66% of respondents saying that such an assessment has taken place over the past five years. This means that one in three Australian firms aren’t seeing the full picture of their risk exposure.
Yet despite this, Australia performs quite well when it comes to the adoption of technology to identify bribery and corruption risk. Eighty-two percent of respondents in Australia said their organization employed data analytics to proactively combat risk, just a few points below the global average (86%).
When it comes to assessing their own organizations’ vulnerabilities, it’s clear that more than half of respondents (54%) think a lack of visibility over third parties such as distributors, suppliers, agents and customers is a key risk area. Out of its Asia Pacific neighbors, Australia shows the highest levels of concern regarding external risks compared to other regions like Singapore (41%) and China (37%).
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
40%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
40%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
42%
Australia
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
98%
2%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
94%
6%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
34%
29%
37%
China
A majority of respondents in China (94%) said bribery and corruption risk was getting the attention and investment it needed at the board level, above the global average of 72%. Furthermore, almost all (98%) said their organization was using data analytics to proactively identify bribery and corruption, again above the global average (86%).
A large proportion of respondents in China (98%) said their organization had conducted an enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessment in the last five years (vs. the global average of 82%).
Respondents in China are more concerned about internal bribery and corruption risk compared to other regions surveyed. More than a third of respondents (34%) cited weaknesses in record-keeping as their top concern, higher than the global average of 31%.
Employees’ actions was the second on the list at 29%, again above the global average (23%). Almost four in 10 (37%) respondents in China cited lack of visibility over third parties as their top concern related to bribery and corruption (vs. the global average of 46%).
When asked in which region bribery and corruption was most likely to take place, sub-Saharan Africa was ranked at the top of the list by respondents in China (vs. the global average of 16%), followed by Latin America (17% vs. the global average of 26%).
China
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
83%
15%
2%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
81%
19%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
33%
20%
47%
India
Around eight in 10 (81%) respondents in India believe that sufficient board-level attention and investment is given to bribery and corruption risk, slightly higher than the global average (72%).
A large proportion of respondents (92%) also say their organizations use data analytics to proactively identify bribery and corruption risk, again just above the global average (86%).
However, lack of visibility over third parties such as suppliers and distributors appears to be respondents’ number one concern when it comes to bribery and corruption (47%), in line with the global average (46%), highlighting the need to focus on external threats as well as internal. A third of respondents in India (33%) cited poor record-keeping as the biggest threat related to bribery and corruption (vs. the global average of 31%), while a fifth (20%) selected employees’ actions as the greatest risk (vs. the global average of 23%).
India is one of the most self-aware countries surveyed when it comes to identifying bribery and corruption risk. Nearly 40% (39%) of respondents said their own region of Asia Pacific (APAC) was the most vulnerable to incidents of bribery and corruption. Only 9% of global respondents felt the same way. Latin America was highlighted as the most at-risk region by global respondents (26%).
India is in line the global average (82%) when it comes to carrying out enterprise-wide risk assessments, with 83% of respondents confirming that such an assessment has taken place in the past five years.
Hong Kong
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
92%
8%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
85%
15%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
33%
26%
41%
Singapore
According to our data, Singapore is one of the leading countries when it comes to employing technology
to identify bribery and corruption risk.
Almost 97% of respondents said their organizations proactively used data analytics to detect bribery and corruption risk, well above the global average (86%).
More than nine in 10 (92%) also regularly employ enterprise-wide risk assessments, putting Singapore among the most proactive countries for anti-corruption methods—the global average is just 82%.
Furthermore, nearly nine in 10 (87%) cited that they believed their controls were effective at preventing and detecting high-risk activity (vs. a global average
of 74%.)
Slightly fewer respondents in Singapore (85%) said bribery and corruption risk got the investment and attention it deserved at the board level, but this was still above the global average of 72%.
Turning their attention inward, 41% of respondents
in Singapore believed that potential blind spots over third parties was the greatest threat relating to bribery and corruption, just under the global average (46%).
A third (33%) said internal record-keeping was the biggest risk (vs. the global average of 31%), with 26% saying employees’ actions was the top concern
(23% was the global average.)
Singapore
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
83%
11%
6%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
70%
24%
6%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
33%
23%
44%
France
Organizations in France are among the most confident in their approach to mitigating bribery and corruption risk of the countries surveyed, third only to the UK and Italy.
The majority of respondents in France (70% vs.
72% globally) believe that their organizations are giving sufficient board-level attention and investment to bribery and corruption risk. Organizations in France are also among the most likely to have conducted an enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessment in the past five years (83% vs. 82% globally), which can help lay solid foundations when
it comes to mitigating risk.
However, despite general confidence in board-level support for combating fraud and corruption, there is still work to be done when it comes to the methods deployed to mitigate it.
Almost a third of respondents (31% vs. 24% globally) said they did not believe that their organization’s current anti-bribery and corruption controls were effective enough. France is also slightly below the global average when it comes to using data analytics to proactively detect bribery and corruption risk (80% vs. 86% globally).
One in three respondents (33% vs. 31% globally) also cited blind spots in their internal record-keeping as their top concern relating to bribery and corruption risk, so even though four in five organizations are using proactive data analytics, a significant proportion lack confidence in their internal data.
France
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
63%
27%
10%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
61%
39%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
41%
24%
35%
Germany
On the whole, respondents in Germany appear to be slightly behind the curve compared to their European peers when it comes to confidence in their organizations’ ability to mitigate bribery and corruption risk. In fact, only half (51%) of respondents believe that their organizations’ anti-bribery and corruption controls are effective at preventing and detecting high risk activity, far lower than the global average of 74%.
Additionally, an alarming 39% of respondents said they did not believe bribery and corruption risk was being given enough attention and investment at board level, demonstrating the highest lack of confidence in Europe, and putting Germany well above the global average for respondents’ lack of faith in their boardroom’s approach (26%).
Respondents in Germany cite weakness in record keeping as the number one internal threat related to bribery and corruption, with 41% ranking it above third-party visibility and employee actions, 10 percentage points higher than the global average of 31%.
On a more positive note, 69% of respondents in Germany said their organization currently uses data analytics to proactively detect bribery and corruption risk. However, this is significantly below the global average of 86% and puts the country well below its European counterparts in Italy (93%), the UK (91%) and France (80%).
When it comes to perceptions of where bribery and corruption takes place, German respondents were the most likely in Europe to rank Latin America as being the highest risk jurisdiction for this activity (37% vs. 26% globally), followed by the Middle East and North Africa (20% vs. 22% globally) and North America (16% vs. 12% globally). Just under 10% of respondents in Germany stated that Sub-Saharan Africa was the highest risk region, going against the global consensus (16%.)
Germany
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
86%
11%
3%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
84%
16%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
39%
14%
47%
Italy
Respondents in Italy are the most confident compared to the rest of Europe when it comes to dealing with bribery and corruption risks. An impressive 84% of respondents had faith that their organizations were already giving sufficient board-level attention and investment to bribery and corruption risk, putting them above Germany (61%), France (70%), Switzerland (63%) and the global average (72%).
Respondents’ actions appear to justify their confidence in the boardroom, with 93% stating their organizations currently use data analytics to proactively detect bribery and corruption risk
(vs. 86% globally), with 86% saying their organization had carried out an enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessment in the last five years (vs. 82% globally).
However, two in five respondents rate their own internal record-keeping weaknesses as the top concern related to bribery and corruption (39% vs. 31% globally), which could impact the effectiveness of their internal controls.
A higher proportion of respondents in Italy feel that the main threat relating to bribery and corruption risk is external in nature (47% vs. 46% globally) —coming from third-party suppliers, customers or distributors. Though respondents are confident in their organizations’ approach, the external risk factors are just as important for mitigating risk. Only 14% of respondents in Italy ranked employees’ actions as the main source of bribery and corruption risk (vs. 23% globally), the lowest proportion of all countries surveyed.
Italy
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
79%
15%
6%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
53%
45%
2%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
50%
21%
29%
Middle East
Respondents in the Middle East demonstrate relatively little confidence in their organizations when it comes to rooting out bribery and corruption. Only 53% of respondents said their organizations gave bribery and corruption risk the attention and investment it deserved at board level, compared to a global average of 72%.
Yet despite this lack of confidence, nearly eight
in 10 (79%) respondents said an enterprise-wide risk assessment had been carried out in the past five years, just marginally short of the global average (82%). Respondents in the Middle East also demonstrate proficiency in their use
of technology and data analytics to proactively identify bribery and corruption risk, with 80% of respondents confirming these methods are employed at their organization (vs. 86% globally).
The technology appears to be there to some degree, but what about internal processes and employee actions? More than a quarter (29%) of respondents said lack of visibility over external third parties was their biggest concern (vs. 46% globally), but an alarming 50% said that internal record-keeping was the greatest threat related to bribery and corruption risk, compared to a global average of just 31%. Respondents in the Middle East were the most likely across all regions covered in our survey to state internal record-keeping as their top concern.
Despite this, less than a fifth (18%) of respondents ranked the Middle East and North Africa as the region where bribery and corruption is most likely to occur, compared to a global average of 22%. Instead, Latin America was at the top of the list (21% vs. 26% globally).
Europe
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
59%
41%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
59%
39%
2%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
17%
22%
61%
Russia
Respondents in Russia appear to be taking positive steps to mitigate bribery and corruption risk, with four-fifths (80%) of respondents saying their organization used proactive data analytics to identify risk, which is close to the global
average (86%).
However, less than two-thirds (59%) of respondents in Russia have carried out an enterprise-wide risk assessment for bribery and corruption in the past five years, (vs. a global average of 82%), demonstrating that more can be done to combat these threats.
That correlates with the fact that only 59% of respondents in Russia believe that their organizations are giving bribery and corruption risk the attention and investment it deserves at board level. Here, Russia also falls below the global average (72%).
Organizations in Russia demonstrate self-awareness when it comes to vulnerabilities. More than one in three (35%) respondents do not believe their organization’s anti-bribery and corruption controls are effective (vs. 24% globally), and almost two-thirds (61%) cite a lack of third-party visibility as their top bribery and corruption concern, which is far above the global average of 46%.
When asked to identify regions where bribery and corruption is most likely to take place, a third (33%) of respondents in Russia selected Latin America as the region with the greatest risk, compared to a global average of 26%. The Middle East and North Africa was in second place at 22%, equal to the global average.
Saudi Arabia
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
87%
13%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
75%
25%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
48%
21%
31%
Sub-Saharan Africa
Respondents in Sub-Saharan Africa demonstrate confidence in their ability to deal with bribery and corruption risk.
Three-quarters (75%) of respondents say their organizations give bribery and corruption risk the attention and investment it deserves at the board level which is higher than the global average of 72%.
That confidence may stem from the tools and processes in place to combat the issue. An impressive 94% of respondents in Sub-Saharan Africa (vs. 86% globally) say their organizations employ technology and analytics to proactively combat bribery and corruption. What’s more, 87% of respondents in the region said their organization had completed an enterprise-wide risk assessment in the past five-years, again putting them comfortably above the global average (82%).
The region is also attuned to some of the risks it faces due to its own potential shortcomings. Nearly a third (31%) rank a lack of visibility over third parties as the biggest threat in terms of bribery and corruption risk (vs. 46% globally), and one in five (21% vs. 23% globally) say employee actions are the top concern. By far the largest risk area for Sub-Saharan African respondents, however, was inadequate or poor record-keeping, with 48% citing it as their number one concern (vs. just 31% globally).
With global respondents ranking Sub-Saharan Africa as one of the highest risk regions in terms of bribery and corruption activity, there is definitely more to be done to tackle both the perception and reality of bribery and corruption in the region.
United Arab Emirates
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
84%
6%
10%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
63%
37%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
43%
20%
37%
Switzerland
Respondents in Switzerland appear to lack confidence in how they approach bribery and corruption risk. Only 63% said they believed bribery and corruption risk was getting the attention and investment it deserved at board level, well below the global average (72%), and a similar number (65%) thought that their organization’s anti-bribery and corruption controls were effective (vs. 74% globally).
That said, eight in 10 (84%) respondents said their organization regularly carries out enterprise-wide risk assessments, which is slightly above the global average of 82%.
When it comes to adopting technology to deal with corruption and bribery risk, Switzerland performs moderately well, with 78% saying they use data analytics to proactively detect risk. However, this still falls slightly below the global average (86%).
Over 43% of Swiss respondents ranked weaknesses in their internal records as the top threat of bribery and corruption within their organization, far higher than the global average of 31%. Lack of visibility over third parties was rated as the main concern by 37% of respondents, slightly below the global average (46%).
When asked which regions they thought were the most susceptible to corruption and bribery, 37% of respondents said Latin America (vs. 26% globally), 29% said sub-Saharan Africa (vs. 16% globally) and 33% said the Middle East and North Africa (vs. 22% globally).
feel the impact of illicit activity has been somewhat significant
47%
feel the impact
of illicit activity has
been very significant
35%
say their organization’s ABC controls are effective
65%
North America
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
77%
22%
1%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
84%
13%
3%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
24%
27%
49%
United Kingdom
Respondents in the UK are some of the most confident when it comes to their bribery and corruption risk strategies.
Most UK respondents (84%) agreed that bribery and corruption risk is given sufficient board level attention in their organization, they are more confident in their internal record-keeping (only 24% ranked it as their top internal threat compared to 31% globally) and they are more likely to use data analytics to proactively detect bribery and corruption risk (91% agreed vs. 86% globally).
Despite this confident outlook, companies in the UK are by no means watertight. According to our survey, they are less likely to have conducted an enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessment in the last five years (77% vs. 82% globally), meaning that almost a quarter are not capturing the full picture of risks facing their business at any one time. When placed in the context that half (49%) of UK respondents rank lack of visibility over third parties as their biggest bribery and corruption threat, it is clear that more needs to be done. Developed economies like the UK are increasingly dependent on complex international supply chains, though consistently show concerns over third-party risk exposure.
When asked to identify regions where bribery and corruption is most likely to take place, UK respondents were more likely to rank Sub-Saharan Africa as the highest risk region
(26% vs. 16% globally), followed by the Middle East and North Africa (22%, in line with the global average).
United kingdom
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
89%
10%
1%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
75%
24%
1%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
36%
22%
42%
Brazil
Respondents in Brazil are slightly above the global average (72%) when it comes to confidence in dealing with bribery and corruption risk. Seventy five percent of respondents said their organization was giving anti-bribery and corruption the attention and investment it deserved at board level.
That confidence appears to be well placed, with 83% of respondents confirming that their organizations use data analytics proactively to identify bribery and corruption risk, compared to 86% globally. Nearly nine out of every 10 (89% vs. 82% globally) respondents said that an enterprise-wide risk assessment had been orchestrated within the past five-year period. This may also be why Brazilian respondents were more likely than the global average to state that the impact of bribery and corruption has either not had an impact at all, or where it has, that the impact was not significant (25% vs. 18% globally).
Brazil also appears to be one of the most “self-aware” nations when it comes to bribery and corruption risk, with 45% of Brazilian respondents ranking Latin America as the most risk-vulnerable region in the world, compared to 26% globally, which perhaps explains its proactive approach.
A combination of internal and external threats was acknowledged by respondents in the survey, with lack of visibility over third parties ranking as the highest threat (42% vs. 46% globally) and weakness in internal record-keeping following close behind (36% vs. 31% globally). Only one in five (22% vs. 23% globally) respondents ranked employee actions as a high-risk factor, which shifts the onus onto the mitigating technology and systems that are put in place.
Brazil
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
68%
32%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
42%
54%
4%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
22%
27%
51%
Colombia
Colombia ranks lowest of all the countries surveyed
in terms of confidence in tackling bribery and corruption risk. Only 42% of respondents believe that the issue is getting the attention and investment it deserves at board level, well below the global average of 72%.
Despite this lack of confidence, respondents in Colombia are taking steps to mitigate risks, with 73% saying their organizations were using proactive data analytics to identify bribery and corruption risk. While short of the global average (86%), it puts Colombia roughly on par with the likes of France (80%), Canada (72%) and Germany (69%).
Just over two-thirds (68%) of respondents in Colombia have conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments in the past five years. Again, this is behind the global average (82%) but ahead of several other countries such as Germany (63%) and Australia (66%).
Respondents in Colombia appear to be “self-aware” when it comes to looking out for bribery and corruption risks. Almost six in 10 (59% vs. 26% globally) ranked their own region of Latin America as the most at-risk region of corruption taking place, with sub-Saharan Africa a distant second (17%
vs. 16% globally).
Respondents in Colombia also demonstrated awareness of the threats they were facing both internally and externally; a lack of visibility of third parties was ranked by 51% as the biggest risk factor compared to 46% globally. Employees’ actions was cited as the top risk by 27% of respondents
(vs. 23% globally). Weak record-keeping was the greatest concern for 22% of respondents in Colombia (vs. 31% globally).
feel the impact of illicit activity has been somewhat significant
54%
feel the impact
of illicit activity has
been very significant
25%
say their organization’s ABC controls are effective
42%
Asia Pacific
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
79%
17%
4%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
60%
37%
3%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
22%
22%
56%
Mexico
Of the respondents surveyed in Mexico, 86% indicated that fraud, corruption or illegal activities have very significantly or somewhat significantly impacted their organizations, which is in line with the global average of 82%.
However, organizations in Mexico appear to have relatively low confidence in their approach to dealing with bribery and corruption risk, with only 60% of respondents saying the issue gets the attention and investment it deserves at board level. This figure is below the global average of 72% and puts Mexico well behind neighboring U.S. (84%) in terms of belief in the board-level response to bribery and corruption risk.
That said, organizations in Mexico are among the most likely in the world to have carried out an enterprise-wide bribery and risk assessment in the past five years, with 79% of respondents confirming such an assessment took place. This is only marginally below the global average (82%) and in between the average scores of its Latin American counterparts Brazil (89%) and Colombia (68%).
Mexico is also using technology and data analytics to an impressive degree, with 82% of respondents using analytics to proactively detect bribery and corruption risk, just four percentage points behind the global average (86%).
Despite this proactive approach to bribery and corruption risk assessments, respondents in Mexico still appear very aware of the potential risks they’re facing, with 56% citing a lack of visibility over third parties such as suppliers, customers, and distributors as the greatest challenge—almost 10 percentage points more than the global average (46%).
The same number (56%) of respondents from Mexico voted Latin America as the region with the highest risk of bribery and corruption, much like respondents from Brazil (45%) and Colombia (59%); however, the global average was much lower at 26%.
Mexico
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
89%
10%
1%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery
and corruption risk?
84%
15%
1%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat
related to bribery
and corruption
19%
28%
53%
U.S.
Much like their UK counterparts, respondents in the U.S. appear to be confident in their approach to mitigating bribery and corruption risk.
Respondents in the U.S., alongside those in the UK and Italy, are the world’s most likely to state that bribery and corruption risk is given sufficient board-level attention in their organizations (84%), and they’re also the most likely to have undertaken a recent enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessment (89% vs. 82% globally).
They’re also using technology and data analytics to a high standard, with 91% of firms using data analytics to proactively detect bribery and corruption risk. Along the same lines, they are the least likely to judge their own internal record-keeping as the greatest threat to their anti-bribery and corruption strategies (19% vs. 31% globally).
Despite this top-down investment and the use of technologies to combat risks, respondents in the U.S. still understand that their businesses aren’t immune to bribery and corruption. Over half (53% vs. 46% globally) stated that a lack of visibility over third parties—including suppliers, customers and distributors—was the biggest internal threat to their organizations when it came to effectively mitigating these risks.
Respondents in the U.S. also have clear views on where in the world bribery and corruption takes place. In fact, they were twice as likely to rank the Middle East and North Africa as the highest-risk jurisdictions (42% vs. 22% globally), with a similar number (43%) ranking sub-Saharan Africa as the second-highest risk region, against 30% globally.
U.S.
Australia
China
Hong Kong
Singapore
France
Germany
Italy
UK
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Switzerland
UK
Brazil
Colombia
Mexico
Canada
U.S.
China
Hong Kong
Singapore
France
Germany
Italy
Europe
Latin America
MIDDLE EAST
North America
UK
Brazil
Asia Pacific
Mexico
Canada
U.S.
2%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
20%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
52%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
94%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
18%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
58%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
68%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
36%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
50%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
64%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
38%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
36%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
58%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
34%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
48%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
66%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
52%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
70%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
86%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
42%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
46%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
54%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
40%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
72%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
64%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
46%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
54%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
20%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
52%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
64%
United kingdom
Middle East
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
75%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
93%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
46%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
48%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
62%
Middle East
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
66%
34%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery and corruption risk?
58%
42%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat related to bribery and corruption
24%
22%
54%
Australia
Australia has comparatively low confidence in its ability to identify bribery and corruption risk. Fewer than two-thirds (58%) of respondents said their organizations were giving bribery and corruption risk enough attention and investment
at the board level. That’s well below the global average (72%) and one of the lowest in the world, on par with Canada (58%) and just below Germany (61%). This is perhaps not surprising, given the relatively low level of enforcement
action in Australia.
Australia appears to have work to do when it comes to conducting enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments, too, with only 66% of respondents saying that such an assessment has taken place over the past five years. This means that one in three Australian firms aren’t seeing the full picture of their risk exposure.
Yet despite this, Australia performs quite well when it comes to the adoption of technology to identify bribery and corruption risk. Eighty-two percent of respondents in Australia said their organization employed data analytics to proactively combat risk, just a few points below the global average (86%).
When it comes to assessing their own organizations’ vulnerabilities, it’s clear that more than half of respondents (54%) think a lack of visibility over third parties such as distributors, suppliers, agents and customers is a key risk area. Out of its Asia Pacific neighbors, Australia shows the highest levels of concern regarding external risks compared to other regions like Singapore (41%) and China (37%).
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
25%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
51%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
67%
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
66%
34%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery and corruption risk?
58%
42%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat related to bribery and corruption
24%
22%
54%
Australia
Australia has comparatively low confidence in its ability to identify bribery and corruption risk. Fewer than two-thirds (58%) of respondents said their organizations were giving bribery and corruption risk enough attention and investment
at the board level. That’s well below the global average (72%) and one of the lowest in the world, on par with Canada (58%) and just below Germany (61%). This is perhaps not surprising, given the relatively low level of enforcement
action in Australia.
Australia appears to have work to do when it comes to conducting enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments, too, with only 66% of respondents saying that such an assessment has taken place over the past five years. This means that one in three Australian firms aren’t seeing the full picture of their risk exposure.
Yet despite this, Australia performs quite well when it comes to the adoption of technology to identify bribery and corruption risk. Eighty-two percent of respondents in Australia said their organization employed data analytics to proactively combat risk, just a few points below the global average (86%).
When it comes to assessing their own organizations’ vulnerabilities, it’s clear that more than half of respondents (54%) think a lack of visibility over third parties such as distributors, suppliers, agents and customers is a key risk area. Out of its Asia Pacific neighbors, Australia shows the highest levels of concern regarding external risks compared to other regions like Singapore (41%) and China (37%).
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
39%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
46%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
63%
EUROPE
Europe
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
66%
34%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery and corruption risk?
58%
42%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat related to bribery and corruption
24%
22%
54%
Australia
Australia has comparatively low confidence in its ability to identify bribery and corruption risk. Fewer than two-thirds (58%) of respondents said their organizations were giving bribery and corruption risk enough attention and investment
at the board level. That’s well below the global average (72%) and one of the lowest in the world, on par with Canada (58%) and just below Germany (61%). This is perhaps not surprising, given the relatively low level of enforcement
action in Australia.
Australia appears to have work to do when it comes to conducting enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments, too, with only 66% of respondents saying that such an assessment has taken place over the past five years. This means that one in three Australian firms aren’t seeing the full picture of their risk exposure.
Yet despite this, Australia performs quite well when it comes to the adoption of technology to identify bribery and corruption risk. Eighty-two percent of respondents in Australia said their organization employed data analytics to proactively combat risk, just a few points below the global average (86%).
When it comes to assessing their own organizations’ vulnerabilities, it’s clear that more than half of respondents (54%) think a lack of visibility over third parties such as distributors, suppliers, agents and customers is a key risk area. Out of its Asia Pacific neighbors, Australia shows the highest levels of concern regarding external risks compared to other regions like Singapore (41%) and China (37%).
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
45%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
46%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
54%
North America
North America
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
66%
34%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery and corruption risk?
58%
42%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat related to bribery and corruption
24%
22%
54%
Australia
Australia has comparatively low confidence in its ability to identify bribery and corruption risk. Fewer than two-thirds (58%) of respondents said their organizations were giving bribery and corruption risk enough attention and investment
at the board level. That’s well below the global average (72%) and one of the lowest in the world, on par with Canada (58%) and just below Germany (61%). This is perhaps not surprising, given the relatively low level of enforcement
action in Australia.
Australia appears to have work to do when it comes to conducting enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments, too, with only 66% of respondents saying that such an assessment has taken place over the past five years. This means that one in three Australian firms aren’t seeing the full picture of their risk exposure.
Yet despite this, Australia performs quite well when it comes to the adoption of technology to identify bribery and corruption risk. Eighty-two percent of respondents in Australia said their organization employed data analytics to proactively combat risk, just a few points below the global average (86%).
When it comes to assessing their own organizations’ vulnerabilities, it’s clear that more than half of respondents (54%) think a lack of visibility over third parties such as distributors, suppliers, agents and customers is a key risk area. Out of its Asia Pacific neighbors, Australia shows the highest levels of concern regarding external risks compared to other regions like Singapore (41%) and China (37%).
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
46%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
71%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
75%
Latin America
Latin America
Yes
No
Don’t know
Conducted enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments?
66%
34%
0%
Yes
No
Don’t know
Sufficient board-level engagement in bribery and corruption risk?
58%
42%
0%
Lack of visibility over third parties
Employees’ actions
Weaknesses in record-keeping
Biggest threat related to bribery and corruption
24%
22%
54%
Australia
Australia has comparatively low confidence in its ability to identify bribery and corruption risk. Fewer than two-thirds (58%) of respondents said their organizations were giving bribery and corruption risk enough attention and investment
at the board level. That’s well below the global average (72%) and one of the lowest in the world, on par with Canada (58%) and just below Germany (61%). This is perhaps not surprising, given the relatively low level of enforcement
action in Australia.
Australia appears to have work to do when it comes to conducting enterprise-wide bribery and corruption risk assessments, too, with only 66% of respondents saying that such an assessment has taken place over the past five years. This means that one in three Australian firms aren’t seeing the full picture of their risk exposure.
Yet despite this, Australia performs quite well when it comes to the adoption of technology to identify bribery and corruption risk. Eighty-two percent of respondents in Australia said their organization employed data analytics to proactively combat risk, just a few points below the global average (86%).
When it comes to assessing their own organizations’ vulnerabilities, it’s clear that more than half of respondents (54%) think a lack of visibility over third parties such as distributors, suppliers, agents and customers is a key risk area. Out of its Asia Pacific neighbors, Australia shows the highest levels of concern regarding external risks compared to other regions like Singapore (41%) and China (37%).
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
75%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
93%
Middle East
Middle East
Asia Pacific
Europe
Middle East
Latin America
North America
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
74%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
94%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
76%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
92%
Italy
Germany
France
UK
Europe, Middle East & Africa
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
20%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
52%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
94%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
20%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
52%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
64%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
18%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
58%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
68%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
36%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
50%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
64%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
38%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
36%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
58%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
34%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
48%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
66%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
39%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
46%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
63%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
46%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
71%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
75%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
75%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
93%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
45%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
46%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
54%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
46%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
48%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
62%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
40%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
72%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
64%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
25%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
51%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
67%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
52%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
70%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
86%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
42%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
46%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
54%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
46%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
54%
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
74%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
94%
United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
rate their ABC programs as highly effective
48%
have concerns regarding what might be on the regulatory horizon in the next 12 months
76%
feel the compliance function will take on increased responsiblities in 2022
92%
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
