Business leaders, CEOs and executive boards need to apply all due diligence in order to protect their company reputation, in addition to their personal reputation. Now more than ever before regulator, shareholder and other stakeholder scrutiny are in sharp focus; there are many varied interests in modern companies many of which have a financial stake.
It is essential for business leaders to undertake all due diligence when entering into any commercial venture regardless of the level of investment, the type of ‘hook up’ or indeed which established or emerging market it resides in. The internet continues to evolve as too does the continuing globalization of the economy, and it is fair to say that doing business abroad is now far easier than perhaps even a mere decade ago.
Reputational Compliance
The problem is of course that along with more opportunities for trade, there are equally more opportunities for the potential of fraud and/or criminal action to be exploited against the unwary. Any business leader or executive board which enters in to partnership without seeking sound intelligence about the country, the organisation and the individuals they are dealing with are guilty of gross negligence.
It is risky doing business in your own country where the law and regulatory bodies are robust, and policing of business and banking is of a sophisticated nature. Doing business in jurisdictions where there is a lack of familiarity, and where some business practices are less than open and honest, falling foul of corruption, bribery and other criminal activity is a real danger.
What may be considered and viewed as unacceptable business practices to the more developed nations, may be viewed as acceptable in other areas of the world and regarded as practices which keep the wheels of industry turning. Unfortunately, if one falls foul of corruption or bribery which could have been prevented with the application of research and robust intelligence gathering, then there really is no one to blame other than the individual or group which ‘got taken’.
Corruption, bribery and other criminal action may be in the form of digital and cyber crime activities, shipments of products going missing, forged cargo manifests in addition to local government corruption. These and many others are very real threats; however, by undertaking research and weeding out the dangers, your business and its reputation can continue to thrive, as too can the rewards for shareholders and other stakeholders within the business.
This article originally written by Mark Jagger and first published here
