Online compliance solutions business Cerico has joined forces with business information company Thomson Reuters to collaborate to help large corporates respond to increasing pressure from regulators to police their supply chains. The move comes as companies globally are forced to undertake more due diligence on suppliers to their ensure compliance with legislation such as the Bribery Act and Modern Slavery Act. Failure to do so can result in the corporate being held responsible for the conduct of its agents.

Know your business partner

Companies are now introducing Know Your Business Partner (KYBP) programmes across hundreds or even thousands of suppliers. Cerico, which is majority-owned by international law firm Pinsent Masons, builds solutions to give companies visibility into conduct risk across their global supply chains. WorldCheck, a comprehensive database which brings together key risk data, is part of the Thomson Reuters Third Party Risk solution. It allows organisations to quickly and efficiently cross-check individual directors against over 530 sanctions, watch, regulatory, and law enforcement lists. WorldCheck has been integrated  into the Cerico platform to produce a comprehensive KYBP solution.

Greater transparency

James Armstrong, Chief Executive of Cerico, says: 'Boardrooms around the world are struggling to achieve greater transparency over conduct risk within their supply chain, and so are risking personal liability as well as significant financial and reputational harm for any wrongdoing. By joining forces with Thomson Reuters, Cerico is able to offer a more holistic solution which removes some of the pain in embedding effective compliance processes. Through our Know Your Business Partner solution we are helping clients to save time, cut cost and reduce risk.'