Cutting edge practitioner .
Following on from the Bribery Act 2010, which came into force on 1 July 2011, companies of all kinds, particularly those doing business internationally are now very much aware of the risks inherent in any activity construed as bribery. In particular, those responsible for corporate governance realize that they must take practical steps to eradicate such practices, including the new offence of failing to prevent bribery.
Avoiding legal risks such as these requires firm action and therefore is no easy task, especially within a large and complicated corporate structure. Fortunately, practical help and guidance is at hand via this informative and revealing new book recently published by Globe Law and Business.
The book is referred to quite rightly as ‘a unique book from a unique group of contributors.’ There are thirty-one in all from a wide variety of jurisdictions and academic disciplines worldwide including, of course, consulting editors Stuart Weinstein and Charles Wild. Generally speaking, the contributors as a group offer a combination of legal expertise matched by penetrating academic analysis.
Interestingly, editors Weinstein and Wild –each with dazzling CVs -- lead the ‘Legal Risk Management Governance and Compliance’ course at the University of Hertfordshire, the first and only such course, apparently, in the UK. (Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Columbia offer such courses already.) ‘This text,’ they say, ‘comes at a critical juncture in the recognition and acceptance of this area as a significant part of both legal education and practice at a national and international level’
The book is designed to assist the informed professional on an incredibly wide spectrum of issues and policies involved in the development and implementation of a risk management and compliance culture with teeth. As the publishers point out, the book contains chapters on everything from board structures, corporate governance, fraud and bribery, arbitration, mediation, and data protection, as well as offshore and human resources issues – and we cite only a few examples here, of the book’s comprehensive context.
The book is divided, naturally, into three parts, with Part I covering legal risk management -- and matters relating to governance examined in Part II. Chapters dealing with compliance in Part III are usefully grouped under bribery and corruption… health, safety and environment… human resources… information systems… process management controls… and regulated industries, specifically the financial sector.
Writing in the Foreword, Lord Gold refers to the ‘real-world insights into risk management and governance’ provided by this innovative title, together with cutting-edge research in the field. ‘This book will be useful,’ he adds, ‘for any manager seeking comprehensive guidance as to how day-to-day risk, governance or compliance issues should be managed.’
