Committing to and implementing an ethics and compliance program often means the need for big changes in how the company operates, and changing the status quo is never easy.

Corporate Secretary, whose mission is to increase company’s management efficiency, is a key person in corporate governance system.

Corporate governance is essentially nothing but a value-creating process through quality decision-making. That value should be shaped in the company as well as among its shareholders and other beneficiaries. In this sense, corporate governance is necessary to enable the shareholders and the public to trust the economic system and its institutions.

In order to develop a strong compliance program, a company must first understand the risks associated with its operations and surrounding environment. A corruption risk can be defined as any process or scenario where the opportunity for corruption may arise.

The Ministry of Justice had submitted the New Draft RA Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan for its implementation in 2019-2022.

The key elements of the anti-corruption compliance program in business companies are regular trainings and courses, as well as applicable laws, company’s ethics and compliance policies, procedures and resources in order to direct it to its management, employees and board members.

It should be noted that the problem of corporate governance can be approached from the opposite point of view: identify the potential shortcomings and omissions of the corporate governance system, consider the characteristics that the corporate governance system describes as ineffective and the lack thereof in other equal conditions as a prerequisite for an effective corporate governance system.

An event dedicated to the International Anti-Corruption Day was held in the framework of the EU-funded “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project on 19 December. The RA Anti-Corruption Strategy 2019-2022 was discussed during the first part of the event.

The Third Conference of the Armenian CSOs’ Anti-Corruption Coalition was held on 19 December, 2018, within the framework of an anti-corruption event dedicated to the International Anti-Corruption Day.

Each company has its own business culture, its traditions, its corporate identity, its management style and philosophy. Consequently, the formation of corporate behavior rules is a very personal process. For this reason, the development of a common pattern of corporate behavior rules is practically impossible. It is possible to outline the main stages of the action: