Analysing the impact of the failure to prevent bribery offence on corporate compliance reporting in the United Kingdom – towards a better model of corporate accountability?
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The UK Bribery Act (2010) and its failure to prevent (FtP) model represent a novel approach to corporate accountability that is gaining traction in other issue areas and jurisdictions as a mechanism to incentivise robust corporate compliance policies and thus contribute to the prevention of corporate misconduct. The expansion of the FtP model to tax evasion and fraud in the UK, as well as introduction of a comparable offence of Failure to Prevent Foreign Bribery in Australia, demonstrate that this FtP model is developing into an important feature of the corporate accountability landscape. There have even been suggestions that the FtP model should be expanded beyond financial crime, to address social and environmental harms resulting from transnational business practices, including arguments in favour of a ‘failure to prevent modern slavery’. Despite this, there is limited empirical research documenting the actual impact of the FtP Bribery on corporate behaviour. This article aims to fill this gap in the existing scholarship, establishing a foundation for further empirical research on the impact of the FtP model. While this article focuses on analysis of publicly available documents in the form of annual reports, we envision further research is needed into the impact of the FtP Bribery offence on corporate practices and the decision-making, including gathering the perspectives of compliance professionals, executives, and directors.
Source: Griffith Law Review
Authors: Hannah Harris, Liz Campbell
Institutions: Macquarie University, Monash University
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4402569135