Certification for the anti-corruption management system ISO 37001 was completed in the Prague municipal company Operátor ICT (OICT) in August this year, the company will receive the certificate itself in September.
The ISO 37001 anti-bribery management system (ABMS) is one of the tools through which the prevention and detection of corruption, as well as an appropriate response to detected corrupt behaviour, is ensured with the help of appropriate anti-corruption measures. In doing so, OICT openly demonstrates its interest in enhancing its credibility and its commitment to preventing corrupt behaviour. OICT is one of the first municipal and state-owned companies to achieve this certification.
"I am really proud of the city's ICT Operátor, which is the only city company under the direct responsibility of the Czech Pirate Party. Since 2018, we are setting an example for other city companies in implementing anti-corruption system measures. In connection with the events of the past months, the implementation of anti-corruption measures is gaining attention again. Pirates have been striving for the introduction of anti-corruption measures for four years, unfortunately our coalition partners did not give our proposals the necessary priority," says Zdeněk Hřib, Mayor of the City of Prague.
"Transparent management and transparent operations, that is what we base our management of the company on. Therefore, the next logical step was to subject the set processes aimed at preventing corrupt behaviour to an audit. We do not underestimate the risks associated with possible influence on public procurement or bribery in particular and eliminate them at the very beginning of their possible occurrence. The certification audit confirmed that we have put appropriate rules into practice and also provided valuable feedback on what further measures should be taken. Obtaining the certificate is also a guarantee for both the city's management and the public that the company's priorities include the continued fight against corruption," says OICT CEO Tomáš Barczi, adding: "As a technical company, we are committed to standards and best practices, as evidenced by, among other things, further ISO certification for the ISO 27001 information security management system and the provision of ICT services according to ITILv4 best practice."
OICT prides itself on credibility and transparency. Beyond the legal obligations, it openly competes small-scale public procurement contracts with a value of over 500,000 excluding VAT, publishes data on awarded public contracts and has also established an anti-corruption hotline. "We hereby declare our commitment that the introduction of an anti-corruption management system and its continuous improvement is our priority and that we take it very seriously in our company. The completion of the certification is proof that our internal regulations, which define the effective prevention, detection and handling of bribery and corruption, have met the requirements of the international standard ISO 37001. With this step, we at OICT have joined the ranks of companies that have zero tolerance for any form of corrupt behaviour, whether direct or potential," emphasises Matej Šandor, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of OICT.
The aforementioned anti-corruption management standard is based on the most stringent anti-corruption standards (UK Bribery Act 2010) and also focuses on addressing unfair, unethical, fraudulent and illegal behaviour within the organisation.
To successfully pass the ISO 37001 certification process, a company must adequately implement a group of measures and safeguards designed to prevent, detect and address bribery:
1. establish and ensure the sharing of an ABMS organizational policy prohibiting bribery,
2. declare commitment and accountability on the part of top management,
3. communicate the organizational policy directly to employees and business partners,
4. appoint persons responsible for overseeing the anti-corruption program,
5. conduct regular training for employees,
6. regularly assess the bribery risks to which the organisation is exposed,
7. subject the due diligence processes of projects and the activities of the business partners involved to anti-corruption measures,
8. implement adequate financial and non-financial controls to prevent the risk of bribery,
9. monitor, regularly report, investigate and audit ABMS,
10. take corrective action and continuously improve the ABMS.
