Global figures from Kroll, the spy firm, suggest that financial and other firms are not taking bribery-related risks seriously enough when dealing with their outsourcers and other 'third parties.'

More specifically, they are failing to train these firms and individuals, according to Kroll’s global 2015 Anti-Bribery and Corruption Benchmarking Report. Nearly half of all senior compliance officers who responded to the questionaire are still not doing so, despite the fact that more than one in five of the companies in the survey use more than 5,000 'third parties,' making them a significant risk factor.

The findings reveal that companies have improved at spreading anti-bribery and anti-corruption messages to their own workforces, with 66% reporting that they train employees annually on the subject. Just 27%, however, carry out annual training for 'third parties.'

Prospective third parties that have been screened and rejected most commonly fail to meet anti-bribery compliance standards because of general concerns about their reputations or their integrity, according to 72% of respondents. Sixty-three per cent cited clear-cut evidence of bribes in previous business dealings, while 62% reported potential third parties having questionable relationships with 'politically exposed persons.'

More than half (56%) had come across prospective 'third parties' with unusual contract and payment structures and a similar number (55%) had rejected at least one prospect due to known dealings with sanctioned entities. Half of firms said that potential third parties had failed to meet their standards because of their opaque or suspect corporate structures.

Kroll's experience is that companies are making more and more rigorous enquiries of 'third parties' as time goes on. Five years ago, very few compliance offers or legal counsel did any kind of proactive work to forestall potential problems.

Of the work that compliance officers are doing to educate their third parties about how to tackle bribery and corruption, the most common method is to include an anti-bribery statement in their 'codes of conduct' (67%). Fifty-nine per cent make it part of an onboarding questionnaire and process, while the same number includes certification in contract materials. Forty-eight per cent conduct online or web-based training, 39% conduct face-to-face or on-site training, and just 32% distribute or post printed materials for employees to read.

Other figures

By interrogating its group of "global compliance executives," Kroll also found out the following.

• More than 50% anticipate that the bribery and corruption risks to their company will increase.
• 66% automate their anti-corruption programme in some way.
• Most automated tasks concern training; only 26% automate the vetting of 'third parties.'
• A majority (52%) are not confident in their financial controls to catch potential books-and-records violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977.