Although attention has focused on publicsector initiatives to fight corruption on the demand side,private companies in every region have developed programs tofight it on the supply side. Policymakers and advocacygroups-such as Transparency International-consider suchpreventive efforts to be a critical component of theanticorruption toolkit. All types of firms-large and small,multinational and local-recognize that corruption raises thecost of doing business and should be prevented. Most companyanticorruption programs rely on compliance systems thatconsist of a company code of conduct, training, anddecisionmaking and reporting mechanisms. This selfregulatory approach was pioneered in the 1970s by U.S.multinational corporations after unethical practices wererevealed and in response to the 1977 Foreign CorruptPractices Act. Until recently this approach was greeted withskepticism outside the United States. Critics argued thatefforts to implement U.S. compliance-based techniques wouldfail in other business cultures. Skeptics also questionedthe effectiveness of company anticorruption programs. Butsuch views have changed considerably in recent years, andcompliance systems are being implemented by companies fromhigh-income countries as well as emerging markets. Moreover,anticorruption techniques have become more sophisticated inestablished U.S. systems.
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