The focus of due diligence for interactions between companies and existing or potential 3^rd-party partners is shifting, with more attention now being paid to potential conflicts of interest than to worries about bribery, corruption, cybersecurity or fraud.  Those findings were derived from a new survey by software and services company Navex Global. 

What prompted the shift?  Andrew Foose, VP of Navex's advisory services team had this to say: “Our working theory is that the company officers overseeing their third parties have put significant effort into identifying risks of bribery and corruption over the last few years, largely in response to aggressive enforcement actions by various governments around the globe.” Many may feel they have addressed their bribery and corruption risks reasonably well and are less worried about it. Also, it’s possible their 3^rd-party due diligence focused on bribery and corruption may have revealed that conflicts of interest among vendors, consultants and suppliers is a larger, more difficult problem than they previously realized.

“We see this as a good thing if it’s true because it may mean business leaders are beginning to realize that compliance is not so much about avoiding enforcement actions like bribery and corruption laws, as much as having a clean running organization whose business is not distorted by improper ties and interests."