Assuming the mistake, creating an inspection program and acting quickly are essential steps to regain credibility

Reformulate yourself. This was the measure adopted by Siemens after leading one of Germany's biggest corruption scandals. Investigated by officials in his country and the United States, the company paid a $ 2007 billion fine in 1,6 for bribing authorities in several countries to win attractive contracts. That same year, the company took an important step: it consolidated its corporate governance department and adopted a well-structured compliance system. In addition to the payment of the fine, some steps were taken. Siemens collaborated with the authorities' investigations, dismissed corrupt officials and took on an enforcement and rules program. Such measures made the company a model of corporate governance, even after the scandal. “We were not ashamed to assume our mistake, which is perhaps one of the great challenges of the Brazilian market”, points out Reynaldo Goto, director of compliance for the group in Brazil, where fraud in São Paulo train contracts were discovered in 2013 and reported to the Public ministry. A similar strategy has been taken by Petrobras, whose contracts and members are being investigated by the Lava Jato operation. In 2015, the Governance, Risk and Compliance department was created and in December of the same year the "Daqui pra frente" hotsite was launched for executives to answer the main questions from the public. The state company also conducts research with the external public. "The results obtained contribute to guide the company's actions in search of recovering its image", says the company.

Source: O Estado de São Paulo newspaper (12/04)

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