Tag Archives | disclosure

Hungary’s whistleblower law offers no real protection

Since a new government came to power in 2010, Hungary has witnessed the emergence of new patterns and forms of corruption. The symbiotic relationship between the government and powerful business groups has deepened. Many oversight institutions have become less independent. Government decision-making lacks transparency, as private interests have captured the legislative process. As a result, […]

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Will billions in fines alone make banks respect the rules?

How banks implement international financial sanctions may not strike many as the sexiest news story of the day, but its importance comes alive when one remembers that holding a banking license and taking deposits from the public at large is not a right, but a privilege. It is bestowed on certain companies by the public […]

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GRI: Germany’s corporate reports do not deliver what they promise

Sustainability reporting is a marketing instrument. In order to enhance their image, companies pride themselves on reporting on their environmental and social impact in accordance with the GRI Guidelines. The Guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative are the leading standard of sustainability reporting worldwide and Application Level A is the highest stage of the system. […]

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Transparency comes calling on telecoms, banking sectors

Our recent report on corporate transparency has exposed lamentably low levels of country-by-country reporting across the business spectrum. This means 69 of the world’s biggest companies operate in India, for example, but only two disclose how much money they made there, and not one discloses Indian tax payments on their main corporate website (see the […]

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Brussels waters down Euro-Parliament Code of Conduct

In the European Parliament the issue of codes of conduct is a hot topic at the moment. As one Member of the European Parliament recently stated on facebook, “What my employment was before I was elected, is not of the European Parliament or your business.”  Unfortunately, it seems that some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) […]

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Why investors should care about transparency

On July 10, Transparency International issued a report showing that the world’s biggest companies are disclosing more about their measures for preventing corruption, but not so much of their financial data in the countries where they operate. Investors should take note of these findings. Risks associated with corruption can have devastating damaging effects on a […]

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Where do Multinational Corporations go on their holidays?

…and how much money do they spend when they get there? Despite their global reach, Transparency International’s recent Transparency in Corporate Reporting report – which assesses 105 multinational companies’ anti-corruption reporting –  shows that these companies reveal very little information about their financial and non-financial contribution to the countries in which they operate. The European […]

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The financial sector: a culture of transparency?

The recent global financial crisis highlighted the need to broaden the discussion about regulation and oversight of the financial system. Transparency and related risk assessments of financial institutions have surged to the top of the agenda. In our study on transparency and disclosure of measures for reducing corruption risk among the world’s largest companies published […]

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Stress-testing the supervisors: how transparent is the European Banking Authority?

Last week the Transparency International’s EU office was back among the bankers at the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Banking Issues (see previous post here). Quite a lot has happened since that February meeting. Most importantly, Transparency International’s EU Office decided to become a founding member of Finance Watch a new Brussels-based civil society body that will […]

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