Sofis Solutions, the first company in Uruguay to be certified in ISO 37001:2016

Montevideo, June 22, 2019.

Sofis Solutions becomes the first company in Uruguay and the first in Latin America in the Information Technology (IT) sector to obtain the ISO 37001 certification, which proposes a series of measures that help public and private organizations prevent, detect, and combat bribery through the implementation of an anti-bribery management system.

This certification was obtained in May 2019 under the accreditation scheme of the United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS), a leading global provider of quality and security solutions. The main goal within the organization is to promote an anti-bribery culture and implement adequate controls to combat bribery and foster an ethical business culture.

During the process, Laura Viré, responsible for the management system at Sofis Solutions, led the planning and execution of the activities to achieve this milestone. She shares her experience in the certification process through the following interview.

What is ISO 37001:2016 certification and what is an anti-bribery management system?

"ISO 37001:2016 certification consists of a series of measures, controls, and procedures to prevent, detect, and address the risk of bribery that an organization might face. The ISO standard requires a context study, stakeholder analysis related to the management system, and risk level assessment to determine the necessary measures to mitigate bribery.

The anti-bribery management system is designed to achieve annual objectives defined together with the organization's management. This system comprises policies, standards, processes, procedures, controls, indicators, and other elements that interact continuously with a focus on continuous improvement and meeting the anti-bribery objectives."

"measures, controls, and procedures to prevent, detect, and address bribery risks"

Why is it important for the company to get ISO 37001:2016 certified?

"Primarily, it is to operate transparently in commercial matters. It also promotes a culture of transparency and trust in relationships with business partners, such as suppliers or Sofisul (located in El Salvador).

This certification is very important because there are international organizations contracting Sofis’ services that have transparency as a fundamental principle and thus establish policies, codes of ethics, and anti-corruption practices. These organizations value avoiding financial costs caused by bribery, social deterioration, legal risks, and especially risks to reputation and trust loss among business partners, including clients.

Currently, Sofis Solutions is the first company in Uruguay to obtain this certification and the first in Latin America in IT, demonstrating commitment to transparency and ethics. This differentiates the company when choosing business partners. Moreover, the certification encourages other public and private organizations to follow suit, committing to ethics and anti-corruption and anti-bribery measures."

"(...) this certification encourages other organizations, both public and private, to lead by example and commit to ethics and anti-corruption and anti-bribery measures."

How was the certification process?

"The process began at the end of 2017 when I trained in designing anti-bribery management systems at the request of management as a strategic initiative. The course held in Uruguay was the first offered by UNIT (Uruguayan Institute of Technical Standards) on ISO 37001, marking the beginning of anti-bribery efforts in many Latin American countries and serving as a starting point for such practices in both private and public sectors.

Our first step at Sofis was to develop and communicate the policy, including actions to mitigate bribery risk. Then we updated and designed new processes with controls and indicators, planned internal audits, and had management review the entire system.

Additionally, we conducted an assessment of internal and external contexts and performed a thorough SWOT analysis, studying stakeholders and bribery risks linked to company activities.

Two-stage audits were conducted by Intertek: the first on May 16-17, with international auditors providing observations to address; the second stage reviewed corrections, closed some issues, and identified new observations and improvement opportunities that we are currently addressing."

Was the entire company involved in the process?

"Yes, the entire company was involved. The certification scope includes core processes such as software project management, development, maintenance, and support. Risk analysis was performed for all involved processes, and actions were planned to prevent bribery across company areas.

Training involved all staff, beginning in 2018, with evaluations to confirm knowledge acquisition and practical case exercises in meetings to reinforce training and address questions."

How is Uruguay and the region regarding this certification?

"Sofis Solutions is the first company in Uruguay and the first in Latin America in IT to obtain this certification. Currently, Uruguay has no local certifying body for this standard, so we worked with Intertek under UKAS accreditation."

Sofis joins the United Nations Global Compact. How does this certification align with its principles?

"The Global Compact's principle 10 states that companies must work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Sofis Solutions aligns directly with this principle, committing to avoid bribery and corruption and to develop programs, policies, and plans addressing these issues internally and in collaboration with partner companies.

Another key aspect of the Global Compact is protecting the organization's reputation and its stakeholders’. Investors prefer companies committed to ethics. Worldwide organizations financing projects demand anti-corruption practices including transparency and integrity.

This principle requires developing internal and external ethical organizational practices, establishing policies, plans, processes, and actions to combat bribery and corruption, and sharing best practices to encourage others to improve."

Sofis Solutions is a Uruguayan company specializing in digital transformation for the public sector in Latin America through consulting, development, implementation of IT systems, organizational change management, and training services.