Corporate Anti-Corruption Programme
A corporate anti-corruption programme is a set of rules, standards and procedures for detecting, countering and preventing corruption in the activities of a legal entity. For some companies it is mandatory under the Law of Ukraine “On Prevention of Corruption”; for other companies and non-profit organisations it is a tool required by donors, foreign partners and banks. The lawyers and auditors of MK Audit draft the programme, help approve and implement it, and carry out an anti-corruption audit of documents already in place.
This page explains when the programme is mandatory, what it must contain and how to approve it correctly. The firm has worked since 2000, is listed in the Register of Auditors and Audit Entities (No. 4624) and is a member of DFK International.
When the programme is mandatory
The law requires an anti-corruption programme in two cases:
- at state-owned and municipal enterprises and companies with a state or municipal share above 50 percent, if the average number of employees for the reporting year exceeds 50 and gross income exceeds 70 million hryvnias;
- at legal entities taking part in public procurement procedures where the value of the procurement is equal to or exceeds 20 million hryvnias.
For other organisations the programme is voluntary, but its existence is often a condition of a grant agreement, of participation in a tender of a large customer or of opening an account with a foreign bank.
What is included
Under the law the programme must, among other things, contain:
- the scope of application and the persons covered by its provisions;
- a list of anti-corruption measures, standards and procedures and the order of their application;
- professional ethics standards for employees;
- rights and duties of employees and founders in connection with preventing corruption;
- rights and duties of the compliance officer responsible for preventing corruption and of staff reporting to that officer;
- the procedure for the compliance officer to report to founders or the governing body;
- the procedure for supervising and monitoring compliance with the programme and evaluating its results;
- confidentiality of reports to the compliance officer on corruption and protection of whistleblowers;
- procedures for protecting employees who report violations and for resolving conflicts of interest;
- procedures for staff training, internal investigations and informing state authorities;
- the procedure for amending the programme.
The compliance officer is appointed by the director or founder in accordance with labour law and in the manner set out in the programme. The programme is approved after discussion with employees, its text must be permanently available to employees, and its provisions are included in employment contracts and internal labour regulations.
Who needs it
| Organisation | Basis | What we prepare |
|---|---|---|
| State-owned or municipal enterprise | Legal requirement | Programme based on the model programme of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, adapted to the enterprise’s processes |
| LLC taking part in public procurement | Legal requirement for procurements of 20 million hryvnias and above | Programme, regulation on the compliance officer, approval order |
| NGO, charitable foundation, donor-funded project | Donor, grant agreement or charter requirement | Anti-corruption policy in two languages, conflict of interest policy, reporting procedure |
| Representative office of a foreign company | Group policy, foreign law requirements | Adaptation of the global policy to Ukrainian law |
How the work proceeds
- Request and proposal. You describe the organisation and the basis (law, donor, partner), and we send a commercial proposal within 1 day.
- Contract and checklist. We sign the contract, agree the timeline and send a list of documents for analysis.
- Execution. We assess corruption risks, prepare the draft programme and supporting documents, and agree them with management and employees.
- Result and support. We deliver the approved package, run training and advise the compliance officer during the programme’s first year.
Documents you will need
- charter and ownership structure, data on any state or municipal share;
- staffing table, average headcount and annual financial statements;
- information on participation in public procurement;
- grant agreements and donor requirements;
- existing internal documents: internal labour regulations, code of ethics, procurement policies;
- standard contracts with counterparties, contractors and sub-grantees.
Timing
Drafting a programme with a risk assessment takes 2 to 4 weeks; for a small NGO an anti-corruption policy is ready in 1 to 2 weeks. An anti-corruption audit of an existing programme, with a conclusion on compliance with the law or donor requirements, takes 1 to 2 weeks.
For more on the drafting stages, risk assessment and staff training see the page on anti-corruption programme development. For donor-funded projects the existence of policies is checked during a grant audit; anti-corruption clauses for contracts are prepared as part of contract drafting and review. Compliance with the programme’s financial procedures is easier to monitor when the organisation’s books are kept under our accounting services for NGOs and business.
Leave a request in the form below: we send a commercial proposal after reviewing the task and reply within 1 day.
What happens if a procurement participant has no anti-corruption programme?
The contracting authority may reject the participant’s tender if the law requires a programme and a compliance officer for that procurement. So the document should be approved before the bid is submitted.
Who can be the compliance officer?
The officer is appointed by the director or founder in accordance with labour law. It should be an employee with the relevant knowledge who reports directly to the director or governing body and does not combine functions that create a conflict of interest.
Can the programme be approved without discussing it with employees?
The law requires discussion with employees before approval. We prepare the minutes of the discussion and acknowledgement sheets so that the procedure is followed.
Does a programme under the law satisfy donor requirements?
Partly. Donors usually also expect a conflict of interest policy, anti-fraud procedures and an English version of the document. We add these elements to the programme.