O Pró-Ética seal originated from the union of efforts between the public and private sectors to promote a more upright, ethical and transparent corporate environment in the country.
On December 9, 2010, during the celebrations of the International Anti-Corruption Day, the CGU - Comptroller General of the Union and the Ethos Institute for Business and Social Responsibility created the Corporate Registry Pro-Ethics, a pioneering initiative in Latin America, created to promote with the business sector the voluntary adoption of integrity and corruption prevention measures, fostering the creation of a more upright, ethical and transparent corporate environment.
The understanding was that the fight against corruption must extrapolate the state sphere and not be an exclusive responsibility of the government, since for a viable solution it is necessary to effective participation of the private sector in tackling the issue. Therefore, there was a need to raise awareness in the private sector about the importance of preventing and detecting acts of fraud and corruption, in order to encourage combat measures.
O Pro-Ethics was established with the following objectives: Fto encourage, within the scope of the private sector, the implementation of measures to promote ethics and integrity and against corruption, make companies aware of their important role in fighting corruption, reduce the risks of fraud and corruption in relations between the public sector and the private sector, and recognize good practices for promoting integrity and preventing corruption in companies that voluntarily adopt desired and necessary measures to create a more upright, ethical and transparent environment in the private sector and in its relations with the public sector.
In 2014, a process of restructuring the Pro-Ethics, with the aim of adapting it to the changes brought about by Law No. 12.846/2013, expanding the number of participants and increasing publicity around the positively evaluated companies. This restructuring ended in 2015 with the creation of a new evaluation methodology and over the years there has been a continuous process of improvement and appreciation of the Pro-Ethics.
More details about the background, objectives and even the international recognition that the Pró-Ética won, you can check it out at the official link:
https://www.gov.br/cgu/pt-br/assuntos/etica-e-integridade/empresa-pro-etica/historico
Making companies aware of their relevant role in fighting corruption is one of the objectives of Pró-Ética een November 2022, registration for the label began. With the publication of the new Decree 11.129/22, which improved the wording of the evaluation parameters on integrity programs, the rules for obtaining this seal were adapted to the evaluation methodologies already applied within the scope of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU). The Pró-Ética seal demonstrates that the company was recognized by the Management Committee for its efforts to ensure ethics and integrity.
To request recognition, the company needs to answer an evaluation questionnaire, available on the program's website, about ethics, integrity and corruption prevention measures effectively adopted by the company. It is necessary to prove that the company's measures are effectively implemented.
The questionnaire has 75 questions, each worth one point, divided as follows: top management commitment and commitment to ethics (25 points), policies and procedures (25 points), communication and training (15 points), reporting channels and remediation (15 points), risk analysis and monitoring (15 points) and transparency and social responsibility (5 points).
After evaluating the responses and documentation, the Management Committee decides on the approval of the company ercompanies that obtain a score equal to or greater than 70 points receive the Pro-Ethics seal, requiring at least 40% of the points in each area evaluated by the questionnaire.
Some important practices for a recognized integrity program involve Compliance, for example, which are measures adopted to ensure compliance. Compliance also addresses Corporate Governance. Another recommended practice is Due Diligence, a risk management process that is carried out in cases of company negotiations. This process evaluates partners and suppliers that relate to the company.
It is also recommended as a practice to obtain recognition of Pró-Ética, identification of potential risks, whether legal or reputational. In addition to the management and monitoring of third parties and also social responsibility.
In addition to promoting some changes in the criteria, both mandatory and optional, contained in the questionnaire, the Management Committee also decided that the companies' adherence to the register must be renewed annually, therefore, the recognition of the company as Pro-Ethics will be retroactive. The purpose of this action is to monitor the maintenance of the compliance or integrity of the company over time, and no longer guarantee the brand in perpetuity for the next two years, as it currently is.
Get in touch with Taticca Allinial Global Brasil, which provides integrated auditing, internal auditing, accounting, taxes, corporate finance, financial advisory, risk advisory, technology, business consulting and training services, for more information, through the website www. taticca.com.br or e-mail taticca@taticca.com.br and learn more.