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Anti-bribery and corruption policies in sport governing bodies

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Venue: Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street

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A seminar as part of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre Public Seminar Series

Given by: Christina Philippou, Principal Lecturer, Accounting & Financial Management Department, Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth.

Synopsis

In this presentation, drawing on ongoing research, Christina Phillipou from the University of Portsmouth Business School, will be examining anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies in sport governing bodies, and offering some potential recommendations for good practice in this field going forward.

While anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies are common corporate governance requirements in financial and other industries, the sport governing body sector has historically lagged behind in policy implementation this area, as demonstrated by the consistent media exposure on the subject during successive governance scandals at sport governing bodies.

Drawing on interview data with forensic accountants, anti-bribery and corruption consultants, and sport governance officials, this presentation reports on their perceptions of the policies currently in place in sport governing bodies, and will put forward some practical recommendations for reform aimed at minimising financial corruption within them.

Biography

Christina Philippou is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with audit experience across a variety of business sectors. She spent 8 years working as a forensic accountant for a Big Four firm in London, undertaking disputes and expert witness work; fraud, insider trading, bribery and corruption investigations; regulatory and US sanctions compliance work; and anti-money laundering, compliance, and fraud risk reviews. She has also been a member of accounting training teams for solicitors and barristers, including acting as a financial expert for advocacy training for the Inner Temple. Her research interests are in the areas of forensic accounting, financial corruption, and sport governance.

Background reading

  • Brooks, G., Aleem, A., & Button, M. (2013). Fraud, corruption and sport: Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Chappelet, J.-L. (2016). Autonomy and governance: necessary bedfellows in the fight against corruption in sport. In Transparency International (Ed.), Global Corruption Report: Sport (pp. 372). Abingdon, Oxon Routledge.
  • De Waegeneer, E., Van De Sompele, J., & Willem, A. (2016). Ethical codes in sports organizations: Classification framework, content analysis, and the influence of content on code effectiveness. Journal of Business Ethics, 136(3), 587-598.
  • Geeraert, A. (2016). Indicators and benchmarking tools for sports governance. In Transparency International (Ed.), Global Corruption Report: Sport. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
  • Graycar, A. (2015). Corruption: Classification and analysis. Policy and Society, 34, 87-96.
  • Mason, D. S., Thibault, L., & Misener, L. (2006). An Agency Theory Perspective on Corruption in Sport: The Case of the International Olympic Committee. Journal of Sport Management, 20(1), 51.
  • Masters, A. (2015). Corruption in sport: From the playing field to the field of policy. Policy and Society, 34(2), 111-123.

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