Fighting Corruption with Transparency

Corruption is all too often a nasty side-effect of business. Feeding on greed and murky business practices, it is growing as global and complex as business itself. Accountability is a powerful tool to counter it – and this is where SAP and Transparency International step in.

SAP and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) share a common goal – to make things run better. SAP focuses on businesses, government, and organizations that want to manage their operations in the best possible way. NGOs do the same, in addition to casting their net wider to include individual citizens and civil society, in their efforts to make the world a better place.

SAP collaborates with NGOs wherever possible. “We have a strategy and philosophy around corporate social responsibility,” says James Farrar, vice president of Corporate Citizenship at SAP. “Engagement and dialog with NGOs are a very important part of that.” SAP works with NGOs in many ways. SAP’s collaboration with Transparency International (TI), a nonprofit organization operating globally to combat corruption, is particularly synergistic. A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, based on a survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, says 63 percent of senior executives interviewed have experienced actual or attempted corruption.

“We engage with government, civil society, and companies to find solutions to this problem,” says Susan Côté-Freeman, program manager, private sector at TI. “We produce research to deepen the understanding of corruption and develop practical tools to combat it.”

This makes the group a natural fit for SAP. “As the global economy becomes a broader, deeper ecosystem, collaboration across partners worldwide in a value chain is held together by information technology,” Farrar says. “Corporate governance and accountability have become incredibly important, and IT is the enabler for transparency. The standard for transparency is heavily influenced by Transparency International. It’s important for SAP, as a technology provider and technology innovator, to get an early insight into where regulatory frameworks are heading.”

Likewise, TI appreciates what SAP offers. “We’re committed to achieving transparency in business, which is the opposite of corruption,” says Jermyn Brooks, director, private sector programs at TI. “SAP is also dedicated to creating transparency in business through its products, so it’s a very good match.”

Principles versus corruption

Transparency International has a tool for business called the Business Principles for Countering Bribery. The Business Principles provide a framework for companies to develop comprehensive anti-bribery programs, and evolved from the efforts of a steering committee drawn from companies, academia, trade unions, and nongovernmental bodies. SAP is a standing member of the committee. “SAP gives us input on whether our plans are moving in the right direction and helps us evaluate new tools,” Brooks says.

SAP also supports TI’s work with the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Economic Forum, and the UN Global Compact on the program RESIST. “We are developing potential scenarios and practical ideas with these organizations to assist companies in resisting demands for bribes,” says Côté-Freeman. “SAP helps create the scenarios. Its experience and know-ledge of governance help us understand the challenges that companies face.”

Spreading the word

Developing principles is one thing, disseminating them is another. “As business goes global, anti-bribery standards and practices need to globalize as well,” Côté-Freeman says. “We need to find faster ways to distribute the standards we’re creating. We’re looking at Web 2.0 technology. SAP knows how to transfer knowledge and ideas quickly and cost-effectively within a community and can be a very helpful partner there.”

SAP recently made one RESIST scenario available to its online business community. “We opened this up to one million people, and have gotten valuable feedback from our business process expert community,” says Farrar. “Now when they look at business process innovation in the future, they are sensitized to this issue and can bring that insight to the people that they are dealing with worldwide.”
That is a unique strength SAP brings to NGOs. Says Farrar: “SAP software is the backbone of most of the blue-chip companies in the world. If we can convey this issue to business process experts as they implement technology, we will be making great strides.”

SAP is sharing skills with TI so that the NGO can build its own communities more efficiently around the issue of corruption. “The people who know what TI is doing are in government, international financial institutions, and the big donor agencies and foundations,” Brooks says. “The man or woman in the street probably does not know Transparency International. Web 2.0 will give us an opportunity to reach very large audiences economically.”

SAP and TI also share a focus on small and midsize enterprises (SMEs). “We developed an SME version of our business principles for countering bribery,” Brooks states. “SAP is also interested in SMEs, which are a huge population. Even large companies recognize the importance of integrity standards within the small business community to help them select reliable vendors for their supply chains.”

That is where SAP and NGOs like Transparency International truly converge – in their drive to help business run better, and through that, make the world a better place.

John Martin, freelance journalist, Ithaca, New York