Living compliance
Imagine the scenario: a GIZ member of staff, who needs to get her car cleared by customs, is asked for a ‘tip’ to speed up the process. Instead she pays the official sum and is made to wait three days for her vehicle.
This is just one of the many situations encountered worldwide by GIZ employees in the course of their everyday work. Not all such circumstances are as obviously corrupt, however. Corruption can also be found where it is least expected. If we are to work efficiently and remain credible in what we do, we must guarantee compliance with laws, regulations and international standards.
Integrity advisors as neutral contacts
My job is to work with new members of staff before they take up a post and to familiarise them with situations that potentially harbour such risks. By signing their employment contract, every GIZ employee undertakes to comply with our Code of Conduct. But this does not contain a set of instructions that covers each individual case. So I’m constantly explaining how important it is to be vigilant and conscious of one’s actions. Integrity advisors are on hand as neutral contacts should a specific issue arise or where clarification is needed. Whistleblowers who wish to remain anonymous can also get in touch with GIZ’s external ombudswoman.
Many of the rules and regulations that are already part of everyday life at GIZ are required by our clients and commissioning parties. A prime example is invoice transparency. GIZ carries out regular internal audits at all its offices in order to identify potential weak spots at an early stage and prevent errors. In line with international standards, we also conduct additional audits that are certified by the German Institute of Internal Auditing (DIIR). It costs time and resources to send control and audit teams to places like Timbuktu, Manila or Lima – but when it comes to fulfilling our responsibility to our business partners it is certainly worth the effort.
External quality control of BMZ
Since the majority of our work is financed by the taxpayer, our policy is always to run further external checks – both for public and private contracts. The German Federal Audit Office inspects all organisations and bodies that receive funding out of the federal budget, including the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) – and therefore GIZ too. The auditors have unrestricted access to all documents, records and data. In similar procedures, we submit ourselves to inspections from the European Court of Auditors, the state audit offices and external auditors. On top of all this, BMZ is also subject to an annual external quality control, which looks at the economic viability of 50 projects worldwide. We implement all recommendations from the auditors immediately.
It is a challenging task, since GIZ is now broader based than ever before: our commissions come from the private sector, governments and the European Union. Each of our clients or commissioning parties has different requirements. But this is where we see compliance as a competitive advantage. Because we act responsibly, abide by the rules and allow ourselves to be measured against international standards such as those of the Global Compact, our work as a professional service provider is increasingly in demand. I am certain that compliance will become an increasingly important part of our work in the years ahead. Our guiding principle is to deal openly with challenges, exercise sound judgement, and take responsible, transparent decisions.
published in akzente 2/15