The FINANCIAL -- A task force of the Global Compact Working Group on Anti-Corruption has developed a guidance document that allows for thorough and consistent reporting of anti-corruption matters across companies. In the coming weeks, a field test will be conducted on an anonymous basis to enhance user-friendliness and usefulness of the tool.

"While the importance of corruption for the corporate responsibility agenda is widely acknowledged, the Global Compact annual participant survey demonstrates that corruption, for a variety of reasons, remains one of the most challenging topics for companies to implement, monitor and report on. Providing practical guidance on reporting is seen as one way of taking on this key challenge," Global Compact reported.

“Establishing an accepted and consistent disclosure framework on the tenth principle is a major step forward in making transparency and anti-corruption integral to corporate practices,” said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the Global Compact Office.

The tool provides guidance on a broad set of reporting elements and is rooted in existing reporting practice. It provides examples of indicators used by initiatives such as PACI, FTSE4Good, Transparency International, the Global Reporting Initiative and the International Corporate Governance Network. Recognizing that companies, large and small, implement the tenth principle at different speeds, the matrix provides guidance for reporters on a basic and a desired level.

Launch of the Pilot Comes at a Crucial Time

This week, the effective implementation of the main legislative and institutional framework to prevent and combat corruption - the UN Convention against Corruption - is at stake during a meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Review of Implementation of the Convention. Ahead of this meeting, the chief executives of 24 companies from around the world expressed their support for the Convention while calling on governments to ensure a more effective and robust implementation. Likewise, clear guidance material on reporting will empower companies to live up to their own commitments and responsibilities to counter corruption.

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