{"id":28203,"date":"2017-05-04T07:29:14","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T07:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=28203"},"modified":"2017-05-04T07:29:14","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T07:29:14","slug":"wal-mart-seeks-anti-corruption-certification-in-talks-with-regulators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/business\/wal-mart-seeks-anti-corruption-certification-in-talks-with-regulators.html","title":{"rendered":"Wal-Mart seeks anti-corruption certification, in talks with regulators"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWal-Mart seeks anti-corruption certification, in talks with regulators<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>
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\n\tWal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) said on Wednesday it was considering getting certified under a new international program that could help companies defend themselves against isolated cases of corruption or poor business practices.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed the so-called anti-corruption compliance program and Wal-Mart is hoping to be the first U.S. company to get certified under it, said Jay Jorgensen, Wal-Mart's executive vice president and global chief ethics and compliance officer.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t"We have begun looking for a company that would certify us," Jorgensen told the Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk Summit in New York.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe ISO is the world's largest developer and publisher of international standards.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tJorgensen added that Wal-Mart was interested in seeing the program develop in the United States, with the government laying out its own anti-corruption compliance framework or adopting ISO standards to help protect companies that follow it and defend themselves if something goes wrong.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tJorgensen also shared a recent development in which federal agencies have contacted the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer about compliance programs.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t"Over the past couple of months … some of the federal agencies have reached out to say 'hey do you have any feedback for us, anything we are doing is unreasonable?,'" Jorgensen said.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWal-Mart has given feedback to federal agencies and will continue doing so and the company would also be open to speaking with state regulators about compliance, he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tJorgensen cited an example of how a broken baby shampoo bottle in California is treated as hazardous waste that retailers have to dispose off through an incinerator.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t"We would love it if California would say 'hey we would like some feedback," Jorgensen said.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tJorgensen, who joined Wal-Mart in 2012, has been instrumental in revamping Wal-Mart's compliance systems around the world and building a dedicated ethics and compliance team. That team has a staff of over 2,300, including over 500 in the United States and over 1,800 in international markets.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSince 2013, Wal-Mart has invested more than $141 million in global ethics and compliance systems, Jorgensen said.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMore recently, Wal-Mart has created licensing teams that monitor the more than 56,000 licenses and permits Wal-Mart needs to operate in global markets using a centralized licensing system that reduces the error of wrongdoing and increases transparency, he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the last four years, the Wal-Mart board's compensation committee has conditioned a portion of its most senior executives' compensation on making adequate progress toward annual compliance goals. In its latest compliance report, Wal-Mart said it has achieved over 200 of these board-level objectives, including over 60 that relate specifically to its anti-corruption program.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWal-Mart's ethics and compliance system came into focus after a New York Times report in 2012 found Wal-Mart had engaged in a multi-year bribery campaign to build its Wal-Mart de Mexico business.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThis was followed by an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into potential misconduct by Wal-Mart, including violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in some overseas markets including China, Brazil, India and Mexico.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIn October, Wal-Mart rebuffed a proposal by U.S. prosecutors to pay at least $600 million to settle a corruption probe into the company's practices in markets including Mexico, India and China.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSo far Wal-Mart has spent about $800 million on legal fees and an internal investigation into the alleged payments and to revamp its compliance systems around the world.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tsource:-http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-compliance-walmart-idUSKBN17Z2PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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