competitor. Then the losing tender may cry, ‘Foul play! My price is better and you took them to the rugby, it must be improper. ”In a very competitive sector it might be in someone’s interest to misinterpret someone else’s hospitality,” adds Mumford. And regarding the banker’s use of the travel agent’s box, he says: “If they are not using the box, you might as well make some use of it – that is not improper.” Recent government guidance makes it abundantly clear that corporate hospitality itself is not generally a bribe: “Bona fide hospitality and promotional, or other business expenditure which seeks to improve the image of a commercial organisation, better to present products and services, or establish cordial relations, is recognised as an established and important part of doing business and it is not the intention of the Act to criminalise such behaviour,” says the guidance. “The government does not intend for the
Act to prohibit reasonable and proportionate hospitality and promotional or other similar business expenditure intended for these purposes. It is, however, clear that hospitality and promo-tional or other similar business expenditure can be employed as bribes.” The key words here are reasonable and proportionate and common sense should prevail – an approach that Mark Avery, business services director at Pricewater- houseCoopers, is taking.
TOP TIPS
• Use common sense – the new law is not intended to criminalise corporate hospitality. Some corporates set a monetary ceiling as a guideline
• Keep a clear record of all hospitality given and received to allow a straighforward audit
• Apprise yourself of your company policy regarding corporate hospitality
• Take a holistic view: if you are offered over- generous hospitality while you have a tender out, decline it – better to be safe than sorry
• If hospitality comes with a caveat, decline it
• As a general guideline, do not accept hospitality that is way more generous than your company would bestow on the same organisation
“The Act certainly affects us,” he says. “But
we have always had a clear policy around this sort of thing, so there is not such a fuss. We have reasonable limits on hospitality so that people can sleep at night: any hospitality over £1,000 needs to be cleared.” However, Avery does accept there are problem areas. “Where it gets tricky, is the question of what is the true cost of something? People need to interpret sensibly. Our line is, what would we reasonably do for our clients and therefore what would it be reasonable
to accept?” And regarding inspection visits: “A hotel is about rate and location, not lunch; someone has to be pretty shallow to let lunch swing the decision” he says. Simon Hall is advisor in forensic risk and compliance for KPMG and a specialist in anti-bribery and corruption. “If someone who is involved in our corporate travel has dinner at a hotel and stays the night, the hotel is raising product awareness and giving a taste of what it can offer so that the guest can make an assessment of its suitability,” he says. “You have to draw the line at what is proportionate and reasonable. If you are offered a five-star room for a week’s holiday at the time of a tender, it is disproportionate to the display of the product,” he says; and if it comes with a caveat: “’We will offer you this if you put us on your approved list’.” Hall advises companies and individual employees to consider the position of the person who is being offered the hospitality. He says: “If that person is in a position to exercise influence over a tender, is it intended to incite them to do something improper, to affect a decision on a tender or put a supplier on an approved list?” From a buyer’s viewpoint, audit everything
and anything you accept and marry up all the circumstances surrounding an invitation. If you smell even the smallest rat, then the sensible thing to do is decline the invitation. You don't want it coming back to bite you.
18 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
WWW.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM I 33
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