Cerico and Thomson Reuters Collaborate on KYBP Solutions

Blue chip companies around the world are increasingly required to undertake significant due diligence on suppliers to ensure their compliance with legislation such as the Bribery Act and Modern Slavery Act. Failure to do so can result in the corporate being held responsible for the conduct of its agents.

This has caused many businesses to implement sophisticated Know Your Business Partner (KYBP) programmes across hundreds or even thousands of suppliers.

Cerico, which is majority-owned by international law firm Pinsent Masons, leads the market in delivering comprehensive online KYBP programmes and has built solutions for over 50 FTSE 250 businesses.  These solutions provide unprecedented visibility into conduct risk across their global supply chains.

Thomson Reuters Third Party Risk has also helped numerous organisations quickly and effectively respond to their compliance obligations through WorldCheck, a comprehensive database which brings together key risk data. For instance, WorldCheck allows organisations to quickly and efficiently cross-check individual directors against over 530 sanctions, watch, regulatory, and law enforcement lists.

By integrating WorldCheck into the Cerico platform, corporates have access to a comprehensive and efficient KYBP process which can be tailored to their own needs.

James Armstrong, Chief Executive of Cerico, says:

"Boardrooms around the world are struggling to achieve greater transparency over conduct risk within their supply chain, and so are risking personal liability as well we significant financial and reputational harm for any wrongdoing. By joining forces with Thomson Reuters, Cerico is able to offer a more holistic solution which removes some of the pain in embedding effective compliance processes. Through our Know Your Business Partner solution we are helping clients to save time, cut cost and reduce risk."

Howard Presland, Global Head of Third Party Risk at Thomson Reuters, says:

"We have been impressed with the Cerico platform and approach to Know Your Business Partner, and believe that by integrating WorldCheck into that we can bring to market a unique solution which is legally led but facilitated through technology and up-to-the-minute data. We are hugely excited by the opportunities this will bring across multiple sectors and geographies."

Richard Foley, Senior Partner at Pinsent Masons, says:

"Cerico continues to lead the market in developing legally-led solutions powered by PinsentMasons. We look forward to collaborating with Cerico and Thomson Reuters to ensure clients have access to solutions which are not just incredibly efficient, but also legally robust."