Tackling corruption
01 Jul 2015In our roundtable debate, Grant Thornton partners from Brazil and India discuss how businesses can behave in an ethical manner and thrive, in spite of corrupt practices.
At the G20 summit in Australia in November 2014, global leaders reaffirmed a commitment they made in 2010 to tackle the negative impact of corruption on economic growth, trade and development.
They agreed to take action on bribery, public- and private-sector transparency, integrity and international cooperation on anti-corruption.
“At the end of 2014, corruption continues to represent a significant threat to global growth and financial stability,” the G20 said. “It destroys public trust, undermines the rule of law, skews competition, impedes cross-border investment and trade, and distorts resource allocation.
“As a group of the world’s largest economies, the G20 remains committed to reducing the incidence of corruption and building a global culture of intolerance towards corruption.”
GrowthiQ brought together Grant Thornton partners from Brazil and India – key G20 economies that are no strangers to corrupt practices – to discuss how businesses can grow ethically in an environment where corruption is rife.
Read more about the impact of corruption, how to deal with it and how to change the culture of acceptance.
The impact of corruption
“A recent study by the OECD showed that India’s GDP would increase by around 5% if all the corrupt payments were brought into the real economy.” Vidya Rajarao, Grant Thornton India
Dealing with corrupt practices
"It requires tremendous staying power and cash flow, but if you stand your ground first time round, the second time round, you won't be asked to make a corrupt payment.” Vidya Rajarao, Grant Thornton India
Changing corrupt cultures
"Companies are now required to invest more in software changes to adapt to internal revenue service information system requirement to monitor conversations between clients and vendors.” Daniel Maranhão, Grant Thornton Brazil