What is International Anti-Corruption Day?

Established 20 years ago by the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), International Anti-Corruption Day is on 9 December. It aims is to shine a light on the way corruption impacts the world. This year’s theme is ‘Uniting the World against Corruption’, highlighting its impact on peace, security and economic and environmental development.

By bringing the global community together it highlights that tackling this crime is everyone’s responsibility.

Why is it important to combat corruption?

Corruption has a significant negative impact on the social, political and economic systems of countries. It undermines democracy, harms the economy and causes government instability. Ultimately, unchecked corruption undermines public welfare, the rule of law, our human rights and trust between a government and its people.

While corruption has existed throughout history, society’s expectations of shining a light on it have increased. From China to Venezuela, Australia to the UK, the media has covered several cases of corruption-related issues and allegations this year.

Global regulatory initiatives

Global governments and business have also taken action to tackle corruption and other financial crimes. Professionals have demonstrated their ability to adapt quickly to the ever-changing compliance and reporting requirements placed upon them.

Last month STEP reported on the global regulatory changes outlining how sanctions against Russian individuals have become embedded in practitioners’ day-to-day activities.

Countries across Latin America have increased transparency through the automatic exchange of information. Globally, the OECD has reported positive developments in its work to address base erosion and profit-shifting.

There has been an increase this year in anti-money laundering (AML) and beneficial ownership proposals from New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Jersey, India, South Africa, Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. The UK government has placed more accountability and scrutiny on the UK regulatory bodies responsible for AML supervision (all 22 of them!).

STEP: What action we take to prevent and address crime

At STEP, we deplore and strongly oppose any form of corruption and the significant harm it causes society.

As a professional body, we play a vital role in tackling corruption through training, educating and supporting our members to uphold high levels of integrity and ethical standards.

In recent years, there has been increased focus on the role lawyers, accountants and other professionals can play in enabling criminality, whether wittingly or unwittingly.

We work alongside governments, regulators, law enforcement and international bodies and support our members to combat corruption, tax-evasion, money laundering and the financing of international terrorism. We will continue this work and provide support to facilitate national and international cooperation and to improve monitoring and enforcement systems.

We pride ourselves on setting, maintaining and upholding high standards for our members in relation to their behaviour, knowledge and skills. Professional standards is threaded throughout STEP’s work.

We keep our members updated on technical and legislative developments through our continuing professional development content, such as policy guidance, reports, webinars, conferences, newsletters and publications like the STEP Journal and Trust Quarterly Review.

We work with a range of stakeholders globally to ensure that our members are recognised for their specialist expertise and to help influence public policy. These include the FATF, OECD, governments, professional and regulatory bodies and Anti-Money Laundering Europe. We are also engaged in the Tax Crime Alliance, a public private partnership which raises awareness of fraud and tax evasion. You can read the various consultation responses we have submitted in this area on our Consultation Tracker.

We review members’ CPD to ensure it is appropriate and meets their needs. We also investigate complaints or matters that may impact upon the professional reputation of STEP, its members and the industry. We do not shy away when things go wrong. Where a breach of STEP’s Code of Professional Conduct is upheld, decisions are published on our website, against the member’s name in the Directory and a notice is placed in the STEP Journal. We may also refer matters to a regulator or the police. The Disciplinary Panel may provide advice, a reprimand, impose a fine or conditions on membership such as requiring specific CPD requirements, and suspension and exclusion from membership.

We stand united in the fight against corruption in all its forms.

#UnitedAgainstCorruption #IACD2023 #UNCAC20 #Community #Collaboration #STEP Values

Sarah Manuel, Head of Professional Standards at STEP