It may take sometime for Brazil to rebuild its economy and restore public trust. Earlier this week, Brazil’s senators made an unprecedented move by voting to suspend former President Dilma Rousseff and put her on trial for violating budget laws, Reuters reported. The country took a major blow in 2014 when news broke about the Petrobras scandal, which quickly permeated all levels of the industry and the government.
In a nationwide address, Brazil’s new interim President Michel Temer stressed the importance of uniting Brazil and rebuilding the nation. “Trust in the values of our people and in our ability to rebuild the economy,” Temer said. “It is essential to rebuild the credibility of the country at home and abroad to attract new investments and get the economy growing again.”
Thursday Evening Headlines: #Brexit, #BBC future, #DilmaRousseff defends herself in #Brazil and a London #sinkhole https://t.co/3ECFt6aYZy
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 12, 2016
While Temer’s party was also implicated in the sprawling Petrobras scandal for allegedly accepted bribes, during his address, he vowed to support the investigations into the corruption scheme, the Financial Times reported.
#VÍDEO Assista ao primeiro pronunciamento de Michel Temer como presidente interino: https://t.co/UwZlRIGOIG pic.twitter.com/n6HJJaX5x4
— Michel Temer (@MichelTemer) May 12, 2016
For companies looking to move their business into Brazil, it is essential that their compliance programs have the right mechanisms in place to mitigate risks and weather the country’s deep economic and political crises.
“The current scenario brings a better perspective of business environmental and the risks of doing business in Brazil,” Sao Paulo-based Shin Jae Kim, Partner, TozziniFreire Advogados recently told Ethisphere. “Before doing business, companies should conduct a comprehensive risks assessment based on specificities related to proposed business.” As the Petrobras corruption saga continues to unfold, this assessment will be a critical element that will build and improve compliance programs. Companies will establish their priorities based on the results of a risk map and each company will be able to develop policies, procedures and rules in order to prevent, detect and remediate violations and irregularities to minimize risks in their businesses.
Other top stories this week:
From PwC: Board Composition – Key Trends and Developments: This edition of Director-Shareholder Insights outlines how directors and investors might think about board composition and identifies some of the key issues related to board refreshment.
In Conversation with Daniel Trujillo: Time-zone hopping, internal meetings, program development and triathlon training—it’s all in a day’s work for the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at the world’s largest retailer, Walmart International. In this exclusive interview with Ethisphere, he discusses leadership, discipline, talent retention and the need to embrace change.
Culture Measurement – A Series on our Pillars: Part of the reason to measure culture is to figure out if it is as strong as you think it is – and where it is weakest. In this weekly blogpost series, Ethisphere’s Erica Salmon Byrne explains the importance of culture and why data remains a critical element of organizational success.
Upcoming events:
Take this conversation further on June 8-9 in Sao Paulo, Brazil for our 4th Annual Latin America Ethics Summit. Hear from members of the C-suite and other leaders from top-performing companies. For more information and to take advantage of our early bird discount rates, click here.
Live webcast: Join us for Part 2 of the 3-Part Data Insights series that highlights the best practices and learnings about culture from the 2016 World’s Most Ethical Companies data set. Register now.
