Page 23 - CCCA Magazine Summer 2015

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f you are a company that continues to run around saying ‘I “The only way you can do it is [by] triangulation,” says
don’t need to worry about this,’ then you are kidding your- Drimmer, emphasizing internal and external oversight in driv-
iself,” says Sandy Boucher, a senior forensic investigator at ing a compliance culture. You have to constantly look at your
Grant Thornton. “There are still a lot of people who are still learnings—when something worked, when something didn’t
trying to fght this and it is wrong-headed. They need to get on work and when some language was not clear; it is a constant
with it.” state of vigilance.”
With operations in 11 countries, Barrick provides whistle-
Develop Policies blower protection, local compliance offcers, regular training
In developing anti-corruption policies, in-house counsel are piv- and certifcation of employees, and formal and informal audits
otal in nurturing a culture of compliance embraced by the CEO consistent with best practices identifed by Transparency Inter-
as much as a junior employee. Getting it right demands vigilance, national Canada. Peter Dent, President of the anti-corruption
collaboration, clear communication and regular training to keep advocacy organization and National Leader of the Forensic Ser-
abreast of widening international enforcement. vices Practice at Deloitte, says Canadian leaders in compliance
“You cannot understand the area of anti-bribery and cor- tend to be those corporations required to fle with the U.S. Se-
ruption by looking [only] at the Canadian laws,” warns Janne curities and Exchange Commission.
Duncan, Senior Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright in Toronto, Last year, Canada moved to “medium” from “low” on the
citing international conventions, increased multi-jurisdictional Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s
cooperation and the passage of new country-specifc laws. “It (OECD’s) country ranking of anti-corruption enforcement.
truly is a global issue.” Still, Dent cautions, “until Canadian enforcement increases dra-
Complacency is not an option, even for those with compre- matically, it may not have the same impact in the boardroom
hensive measures in place. and among the senior executive team of a Canadian company
“If you were to look at the marketplace in Canada, you would that it does in the U.S.”
see that Barrick [Gold Corporation] has one of the stronger anti-
corruption compliance policies out there,” says Take Action
Jonathan Drimmer, the Washington-based Vice- Too few Canadian companies recognize the ur-
President and Assistant General Counsel for gency to toughen anti-corruption practices, la-
the world’s largest gold producer and a former “There are still a lot of people ments veteran trade lawyer Milos Barutciski,
United States Justice Department War Criminals who are still trying to fght who assisted in development of the 1997 Anti-
Prosecutor. That said, he adds, “all I see is risk.” this and it is wrong-headed. Bribery Convention of the OECD and later ad-
He joined Barrick in 2011 with a mandate They need to get on with it.” vised Ottawa on the drafting of the CFPOA.
to update the company’s anti-bribery and anti- “General Counsel get it on a general level,
fraud policies given the close watch on global but the actual practice of compliance is woefully
mining by regulators, lenders, civil society and unsophisticated and lagging our American cous-
media. Over the past four years, Barrick has ins,” says Barutciski, Co-Chair of the Interna-
strengthened its codes of business conduct and tional Trade and Investment Practice at Bennett
ethics, anti-bribery, anti-corruption and sup- Jones. While the C-suite and General Counsel
plier ethics; added a global risk assessment pro- are aware of the issues, and in some cases, are
gram and a cross-functional anti-corruption very sophisticated and fully aware, the actual
committee (with monthly meetings to monitor implementation of compliance gets done as a
Barrick’s global practices); embraced third-par- checklist and an administrative thing.”
ty assessments to validate or improve policies; sandy BOuCher When an issue erupts, one early test is know-
and adopted a “100% investigation policy” to Senior Forensic Investigator, ing when to contact authorities.
probe red-fagged transactions. Grant Thornton “If you think you have a problem, it is impera-

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