Since the stock market crash of 1929, due diligence has been a vital component of good governance applied to diverse areas of risk faced by corporations. In the last decade, integrity due diligence (IDD) has evolved and become a focal point in response to such regulations as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and similar anticorruption laws around the world, such as the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, Chinese Anti-Corruption Laws, the Brazilian Clean Company Act, and the Mexican Anti-Corruption Laws. The steady increase in international commerce is also pushing this trend.
Lost in this compliance-driven environment is an appreciation of the strategic utility of in-depth IDD work, both to improve risk management in the broadest sense and to support better decisions on new investments and partnerships.