From ancient Greece to the present day, there is a quest to understand, to judge, criticize and improve moral behavior and human conduct in society. This human perseverance has always had a common goal, establish a better way of life for all of us – society. We call this "ethics"
At the same time that we outline what would be ethical or not, we establish standards of conduct that become habits, traditions to codes and laws. To ensure that these behaviors are followed by everyone, many organizations have established so-called ethics and compliance programs. In Brazil, some public institutions even gave a more complete name, the so-called integrity programs
This advance occurred largely at the expense of the corruption scandals that mainly plagued the United States starting in the year 2000 with the Enron case and later affected large European companies until it reached Brazil with the mensalão and operation car wash
The results of these investigations were very similar, companies paid extremely harsh fines, executives, partners and even advisors were dismissed, processed and imprisoned without counting the immeasurable damage to the image and the reputations forever recorded in books, articles, newspapers, films, among other means. Mesmo que as empresas envolvidas tenham mudado de razão/denominação social e endereço, they will always be remembered for the events that occurred. Digital memory does not forgive, she is eternal
On the positive side, these large corporations had to establish the so-called ethics and compliance (or integrity) programs, these programs involved the application of various elements such as the implementation of internal controls and ongoing education on ethics, laws, codes and standards of conduct expected by society as a whole. In addition to ensuring the effectiveness of the contractual and legal commitment among all related parties, additional elements, how continuous management of anti-corruption risks, processes to avoid conflicts of interest, audits, independent reporting channels and ongoing investigations have been implemented to ensure the highest standard of integrity
On the other hand, not everything is rosy! Those affected by these processes reacted just like in Italy with the "clean hands" operations, those involved in the lava-jato operation faced their setback. Despite the advances towards more ethical standards of conduct, what has been seen in recent years was a relaxation of the punishment process and new investigative initiatives. Executives and political entities had their penalties reduced or even canceled, assim como promotores foram perseguidos e/ou deixaram a promotoria
To complement this plot, recently the decisions of the new American government have also contributed to the weakening of the fight against corruption. By decision of the American President, one of the most important laws that drove investigations against government corruption worldwide, a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), suffered a request for suspension of its effects associated with a directive to the American Department of Justice to stop investigations against companies and individuals
Moreover, due to the aforementioned, we have been monitoring the growth of a scenario where many companies no longer take integrity programs seriously. We have seen several companies with integrity programs that lack any effectiveness, just for the company to say it has something or even just to participate in tenders, but in practice there is nothing. Or then, again the integration of integrity to the legal department, as well as the juniorization of integrity leadership to serve only the commercial interests of companies. Companies do not want the integrity officer at the table, but, yes, that it be just a "follower of orders"
What are the effects of this setback on corporate integrity programs and the degree of impact is still uncertain. The guardians of these programs, known as "compliance officers" or compliance executives, they are bewildered and many refer to the current times as difficult times or even "strange" times. Furthermore, the support from top management has really weakened. Had this setback not been enough, we still see the attack on a number of other programs that also involve the ethics of life, such as the cancellation of diversity and inclusion programs or sustainability programs like ESG
In light of this scenario, the doubt, the uncertainty and the fear of regression are established. At first, it is possible that some companies quickly adopt the new trend through reorganization, juniorization or even reduction of such ethics and compliance programs, clearly demonstrating that they did not act out of principle or values, but only out of obligation
However, others must maintain a certain standard as they realized that an integrity program goes far beyond compliance with laws. A company with the highest standard of conduct has much to gain, beyond reputation and image, all your supplier ecosystem, partners, clients and mainly employees want a better way of life, more ethical. In this integral environment, relationships are stronger and more transparent, the results are more solid and there is no doubt a whole that wants to see this company succeed
And for those who do not believe in ethics, no compliance or in integrity, those who believe only in making money and in the survival of the fittest, a reminder is necessary
First, every movement is pendular, everything that goes also comes back. Today, we are living a moment of attack on ethical principles, concepts already understood, judged, enhanced and tested. It is no longer necessary to prove that corruption is harmful to the social well-being of all. Therefore, care, this pendulum will return. Mainly when new and larger scandals of public and private corruption start to emerge again. The society is tired of being deceived
In second place, the third law of newton no longer needs to be proven, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This attempt to deconstruct the advances made for society has generated opposition that will soon become a counterforce. Promoters, judges, compliance executives, defenders of ethics, of sustainability, counselors among others are not idle, are reflecting, even if reluctantly, in search of a solution that will come. thinks Compliance is bad, "try not Compliance". Sadly, many companies are taking on this risk. They tossed a coin in the air and hope that the coin doesn't fall to the ground
Third, for those who have seen and lived through the scandals of numerous public and private companies involved in corruption, people imprisoned and convicted, businesses and families destroyed and a bad reputation eternalized you know that loosening all these programs is taking a huge risk. For those companies that value good governance and for those advisors who had to pick up the pieces after disasters, was any lesson learned or will another lesson be necessary in a few years
Finally, for all those who have ethics as a principle, not out of obligation, it is time for resilience, it is certain that the tares and the wheat will be separated soon. Until then it will be necessary to row without wind, to have patience, stay strong and do not retreat because in the end integrity pays off
