Compliance at DAkkS

To fulfil our statutory mandate and to measure up to the trust placed in us, we attach a great deal of importance to quality, professionalism and impartiality in our daily work, and our actions are consistently guided by the applicable laws, standards and binding rules. In addition, our compliance management system ensures that the Executive Board and staff always act in accordance with the spirit and letter of the law.

Compliance measures help to ensure that the conduct of all DAkkS staff, assessors working for DAkkS and where applicable also third parties is in accordance with the law and prevailing rules. These measures include assistance with protection against violations of the law and the consequences they involve. In addition, compliance measures are intended to avert potential damage to DAkkS.

Compliance is taken very seriously at DAkkS

The Legal and Compliance unit reports directly to the DAkkS Executive Board and supports it in its inherent responsibility for ensuring compliance with legal provisions and internal company guidelines.

 

Legal and Compliance develops and maintains the company’s in-house management system, contributing to the fulfilment of its statutory mandate, achievement of the company’s objectives and compliance with legal requirements. Together with the DAkkS managers, this establishes a compliance culture within the company that has an impact both internally and externally. On the basis of jointly defined goals and the analysis of risks, compliance measures geared towards the avoidance of compliance violations have been introduced, such as the DAkkS anti-corruption guidelines.

Principles of corruption prevention at DAkkS

Under the DAkkS anti-corruption guidelines, the acceptance of benefits is subject to a transparent notification and approval procedure. For employees of DAkkS and for external parties falling within the scope of the anti-corruption guidelines, for example external assessors, the following principles apply:

 

General value limit

  • DAkkS has set the general value limit up to which benefits may be accepted at 25 euros. As a general rule, a benefit may not be accepted if this threshold is exceeded. It should be noted that several benefits granted by a single benefactor should generally be considered together. For assessments, for example, this means that all benefits granted to an office holder in this context during an assessment phase must be added together and may not exceed the value limit of 25 euros in total.
  • The acceptance of cash is of course prohibited, regardless of the amount.

 

Minor services

  • Minor services that facilitate or expedite a business appointment (for example pick-up by car from the airport or train station) are generally permitted.

 

Participation in hospitality

  • Participation in hospitality by clients, business partners or other third parties in the course of business dealings is permitted if it is customary and to a reasonable extent. This does not apply if the nature and extent of the hospitality is significant in value. In individual cases, the role of the employee is one of the benchmarks used here.
  • Invitations to dinner at a restaurant in connection with the timing or substance of statutory decisions are generally not considered customary and appropriate hospitality in this sense (unless the value limit of 25 euros set out above is not exceeded in total, i.e. added to the other benefits granted to an office holder).

If benefits are granted with a view to bringing about a specific decision (for example a positive evaluation in the context of an assessment) or in return for a positive decision, acceptance is prohibited regardless of the value. DAkkS would therefore also ask you, as our clients, to adhere to these requirements.

For DAkkS clients

Please avoid even the appearance of unfairly influencing the decisions in your case. Note that this may apply even to small business courtesies.

 

Your contact

If you have any questions on this subject or wish to report potential compliance violations, please contact the persons listed here in confidence.

Sina Maass

Head of Legal and Compliance

Sina Maass

Representative for Anti-Corruption

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