Defence companies must provide clear guidance for their employees to ensure that business is conducted with integrity. Codes of business ethics and standards are the statements that define a company’s values and commitments to its employees, the public, and its shareholders. Standards should be set high and cover a broad range of subjects.

Codes of conduct that are thorough, direct, and clarify the appropriate actions of individuals help prevent corruption.   

Transparency International has a broad range of knowledge on developing good corporate business conduct programmes.  The TI private Sector programme is widely recognised as one of the world’s authorities in this area.  They have many useful documents and guides. In addition, based on our research on codes of conduct and standards in defence ministry and the armed forces and [hyperlink] and the development of compliance programmes that focus on companies as a whole[hyperlink], TI-DSP can provide guidance for companies on how to improve their codes of conduct and standards for employees.

Several aspects of good practice in codes of conduct carry over from government guidance. This includes several subjects that overlap, including bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation requirements. In all organisations, developing a comprehensive ethics programme is an on-going, constant exercise to train people in the standards expected and to monitor adherence, and to lead by example from the top.

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