TI-USA First Quarter News Update, March 2009

 

We are pleased to provide the following 2009 1st Quarter update on TI-USA’s activities.  See the highlights of our efforts to:

 

TI-USA Well-Represented in Ethisphere Annual Ranking of 100 Most Influential People in Business.  Ethisphere’s year-end 2008 listing of people who “pushed the envelope in legal compliance, business ethics, sustainability or social responsibility” included TI-USA Board Members Ben Heineman, Michael Hershman, Michael Johnston, and President Nancy Boswell.  See Ethisphere.

Promoting Government Accountability

 

TI-USA Welcomes President Obama Emphasis on Transparency & Ethics: TI-USA welcomed President Barack Obama's declaration on his first day in office that "transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency," and his orders on expanding Freedom of Information Act disclosure and strengthening ethics rules. See TI-USA Press Release.

 

The Financial Crisis:

 

TI-USA Urges Congress to Strengthen Transparency and Accountability Measures in Stimulus Bill:  TI-USA called on Congress to include strong and explicit transparency and accountability mechanisms in the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and to ensure effective oversight in its implementation.  See TI-USA Submission.

TI-USA Board Member Warns of Weakness in Stimulus Plan:   TI-USA Board Member Professor Susan Rose-Ackerman warned in a Guardian opinion piece, The Private Contractor Pitfall, that "[t]o avoid waste and corruption, Obama's economic stimulus plan must demand greater accountability and transparency." See Article.

 

TI-USA Calls for Accountability of TARP Funds:  TI-USA sent a letter to Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, requesting Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner address concerns about the accountable management of TARP funds during his confirmation hearings. 

See TI-USA Submission.

TI-USA Chair Calls for Public Engagement to Promote Accountability:  At a speech at the University of Northern Iowa, TI-USA Chair Alan Larson called for public engagement in demanding greater transparency and accountability in the financial rescue package, noting, "[o]nly actively engaged citizens can bring about a restoration of accountability, transparency and integrity in public life.  As citizens, we need to light as many candles as we can. Consider working with Transparency International."  See Al Larson's Speech.

 

TI-USA Meets with U.S. “Sherpa” on G20 on financial crisis:  TI-USA President Nancy Boswell met with Michael Froman, the Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, on March 19, 2009,  to emphasize the need for the G20 and G8 to focus on anti-corruption by enforcing foreign bribery prohibitions and increasing corruption risk management in export credit and development assistance.  See TI-USA Recommendations.

TI-USA Urges U.S. Administration to Improve G8 Accountability for Prior Anti-Corruption Commitments:  TI-USA called on the U.S. Sherpa to the G8, Michael Froman, to promote prompt action and accurate reporting on prior anti-corruption commitments made each year as part of the Summit process, including implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the UNCAC, and ensuring the transparency of the financial markets.  See TI-USA Submission.

TI Chair Calls for Transparency in Financial Markets: Stating that "[t]ransparency is key to ensuring that confidence in the financial market is restored," TI Chair Huguette Labelle responded to an Economist opinion article that questioned the merits of transparency.  See Article and TI Response.

 

United Nations:

 

TI-USA Board Member Participates in UNCAC Meeting:  TI-USA Board Member Fritz Heimann participated in a meeting of the parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption in Doha, Qatar, to identify priority action items for particular focus to ensure implementation of the UNCAC’s preventive measures.

 

TI-USA Supports Initiative Mobilizing CEO Support for UNCAC Review Mechanism: TI-USA is working in cooperation with TI, the UN Global Compact, the World Economic Forum and the International Chamber of Commerce to mobilize global corporate support for a review mechanism to promote implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption.

TI-USA Calls on UN Leadership to Pursue Outstanding Corruption Cases:  TI Chair Huguette Labelle, TI-USA, TI-Switzerland, and TI-Canada have sent letters calling on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to support the independence of the UN investigative office, (the Office of Internal Oversight Services), and its ability to hire the staff necessary to pursue outstanding Oil-for-Food investigations and other procurement fraud cases.  See TI Submission and TI-USA Submission. 

 

Strengthening Private Sector Integrity

 

TI-USA Board Member Joins OECD Consultation on Internal Controls: TI-USA Board Member Fritz Heimann participated in the March 16, 2009 OECD Consultation on the importance of external audit and internal controls in countering bribery.  TI and all the leading accounting firms made submissions to the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

 

TI-USA has launched a campaign to garner support from the Obama Administration and the new Congress for the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention:   The campaign, which includes major US business associations, will work to stimulate critically important high-level attention to this issue.    

 

  • TI-USA Board Members Call for “War” on Bribery: TI-USA Chair Alan Larson and Board Member Ben Heineman called for stronger enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in a Bloomberg article, "Bribery Warrants Global War".  See Article. 

  • TI-USA Meets with State Department on OECD Convention Enforcement:  TI-USA Board Member Ben Heineman and TI-USA President Nancy Boswell met with Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Nelson to urge high level attention to promoting more consistent, vigorous OECD Anti-Bribery Convention enforcement among OECD countries, who unlike the US, are not adequately enforcing the Convention. 
  • TI-USA Engages Private Sector in OECD Campaign: TI-USA President Nancy Boswell provided an overview of the international legal landscape at the launch of the PwC Anti-Corruption Center of Excellence and urged private sector engagement in a campaign for consistent, vigorous enforcement of anti-bribery laws.

 

TI-USA Board Member to Co-Chair Financial Crisis Group:  The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) named Harvey Goldschmid, former SEC Commissioner to co-chair the high-level advisory group formed to consider financial reporting issues arising from the global economic crisis. Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), the Dutch securities regulator, will act as co-chair.

 

TI-USA Participates in Extractives Transparency Summit in Doha:  TI-USA's Michael Fine joined TI Managing Director Cobus de Swardt and other TI representatives, along with corporate, government and NGO leaders, at the 4th EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) Global Conference in Doha.  See TI Statement.

 

TI-USA Speaks to Aerospace and Defense Industry Sector: TI-USA President Nancy Boswell participated in the NATO Conference attended by NATO and government officials, defense company representatives and several TI National Chapters as part of the TI-UK initiative to raise integrity standards in the defense sector.  TI-USA's Michael Fine also participated in a conference organized by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for defense industry financial officers on compliance challenges.

 

TI-USA Supports  Collective Action Initiative: TI-USA is working with other core members of a multi-stakeholder initiative on private sector “collective action,” coordinated by the World Bank Institute (WBI), to develop an executive training program and other awareness-raising tools.  The executive training program is scheduled for launch in early June. See the WBI Site. 

Increasing Integrity in Development Assistance

 

TI-USA Advises MCC on Policy for Managing Corruption Risks in its Operations:  The Millennium Challenge Corporation launched a policy for addressing corruption risk in MCC-funded operations with input from TI-USA.  See TI-USA Press Release, MCC Policy, and TI-USA Recommendations.  Read MCC CEO Rodney Bent's response here.

TI-USA Board Member Meets with World Bank President on Anti-Corruption Agenda: TI-USA Board Member Ben Heineman met with President Zoellick, on March 17, 2009, to follow up on recommendations submitted by the External Advisory Group (EAG), particularly the importance of the president making a public statement and promoting action to implement EAG recommendations. Heineman and TI Chair Labelle are members of the EAG, which issued a report to the World Bank recommending concrete next steps on implementing governance and anticorruption reforms.  See Advisors' Report and President Zoellick's Response.