Renewal of ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System certification

Montevideo, June 16, 2021.

The trust and reputation of organizations are vital in the business environment. Therefore, it is increasingly important to implement mechanisms that contribute to the fight against corruption in all its forms, through good practices linked to ethics and transparency in their activities and operations. As part of this commitment, Sofis Solutions renewed the ISO 37001:2016 certification of its Anti-Bribery Management System.

During the first week of June, Sofis Solutions completed its audit for the renewal of the ISO 37001:2016 certification of its Anti-Bribery Management System. For this process, the company previously conducted an internal audit in May, followed by the audit carried out by the certification company, Intertek. In this way, Sofis Solutions continues to execute practices that demonstrate its commitment to proactively contribute to the fight against bribery, as it has been doing since 2019.

The ISO 37001:2016 certification is an international standard that specifies a series of requirements for the implementation of an Anti-Bribery Management System, based on good practices to prevent, detect, and address bribery. Additionally, it allows an organization to demonstrate trust and transparency in its business relationships and activities.

Organizations that decide to implement an anti-bribery management system gain various benefits, both for themselves and their stakeholders, including: proactively combating bribery, developing an integral, transparent, and ethical culture, improving trust, reputation, and credibility in their operations and activities, developing efficient and transparent operations, and moving towards the continuous improvement of their products and/or services, ensuring process reliability and business resilience.

Lic. Laura Viré, coordinator of Integrated Management Systems, shares in the following interview how the work was carried out during the implementation of the Anti-Bribery Management System up to its renewal.

What impact has Sofis Solutions obtained during the implementation of the Anti-Bribery Management System?

"The impact of the Anti-Bribery Management System is undoubtedly positive; through its implementation and maintenance, it allows the development of a culture of integrity, transparency, and the sustenance of the commitment to combat bribery in particular, and corruption in general. The implementation helped improve the existing risk assessment programs and also focus them on defining different strategies and actions to address bribery risks.

Currently, there are indicators evaluating the benefits provided by the system's implementation, and this helps analyze the impact it has had on different areas and organizational goals."

What did the renewal process of the ISO 37001:2016 certification entail for the organization?

"The renewal process involves follow-up audits conducted by Intertek, a certification body accredited by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Services), which keeps the certificates active. The follow-up audit covers all items of the ISO 37001:2016 standard, just like an initial certification, and generally focuses on monitoring all activities that have been planned and carried out during the last year."

Ing. Gustavo Cirigliano, CEO of Sofis Solutions, mentions what it means for the organization to renew this certification: "Given Sofis Solutions' activity and stakeholders, this certification constitutes a very important value because it provides guarantees to the various actors regarding bribery issues. Moreover, cybersecurity attacks worldwide, and particularly locally, are becoming a very relevant factor concerning bribery or extortion risks in which an organization may be involved. Our Anti-Bribery Management System provides us with a framework for analyzing and managing these risks, as well as working in a context that addresses them."

The audit results confirm that Sofis Solutions' Anti-Bribery Management System is operating in accordance with the compliance framework of the ISO 37001:2016 standard, and opportunities for improvement have been identified to make it more efficient. The company indicates it will continue working on these improvements this year and will undergo a new audit next year.