Bribery is one of the most well-known and widespread forms of corruption. It exists worldwide and can pose a serious threat to an organization's integrity.

We tend to think that bribery just affects big multinational companies and is irrelevant to our daily lives, but the effects of corruption can be profound. It can erode our trust in political and economic systems, institutions, and leaders and have a knock-on effect on people's personal lives.

Bribery and corruption are endemic in large areas of the world, and they're seen as a justified way to secure a competitive advantage in business.

This illegal and unethical practice could pose a serious risk to your organization if an employee were found guilty of committing a bribery offense.

The consequences for organisations involved in bribery include; substantial fines, imprisonment, termination of contracts and significant reputational damage. Within the UK, failure to prevent bribery can result in fines of up to 10% of turnover and being prohibited from tendering for European Union public contracts.

It's essential that organizations have the right training in place to ensure that staff can identify potential bribery situations and follow the correct procedures to demonstrate compliance.

Anti-bribery training will ensure that staff is fully educated on bribery, its different forms, the implications of committing bribery, and how an offense can be reported.

Many organizations do not consider themselves at risk of bribery, but it's vital that they comply with anti-bribery and corruption laws. Anti-bribery training is a necessity, and this is especially true for organizations operating in a global marketplace.

Effective Anti-bribery compliance training will ensure that staff can:

- Describe and understand all applicable local and international laws
- Identify different types of bribery, particularly the distinction between hospitality and bribes
- Understand the criteria for adequate procedures to ensure compliance
- Awareness of the penalties for bribery and corruption
- Awareness of responsibility to report concerns and instances of bribery
- Understand the implications of bribery on your organization and society at large.