ICSA Meeting - Bribery Act one year on

 Tolhurst Fisher was pleased to host the summer quarterly meeting of the Essex Branch of ICSA, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, at its Chelmsford office.

Audience members included representatives from large companies with significant overseas interests, freelance company secretaries, and SME’s. The event focused on developments stemming from the Bribery Act one year on from implementation.

Edward Garston, a senior associate in Tolhurst Fisher’s company commercial department, focused on the legal practitioners’ view, illustrated by cases brought under the Act.  He also offered general advice on compliance and good governance.

Trina Hill, a chartered secretary and lecturer, gave the in house practitioners’ view by looking at the procedures a large multinational corporation adopted to ensure compliance.

After the presentations there was a lively Q&A session, much of which concentrated on whether the Act had produced the desired results. The general consensus was that companies are being forced to undertake large amounts of work to comply with the Bribery Act with few visible benefits.

Edward commented, “it was interesting to hear about the practical effects of the Act on businesses and particularly those businesses that trade overseas. The Act is recognised globally as one of the most rigorous interpretations of the requirement to implement anti-bribery legislation and it is clear that businesses are finding it difficult to understand exactly how far the Act goes.”

For further information please contact Edward on 01245 216110 or at egarston@tolhurstfisher.com.