Case study: How TISCO Group combats corruption
Established in 1969, TISCO is considered Thailand’s first finance company, providing financial and investment services that include investment banking, provident fund management, hire purchase loans, and securities. TISCO Group has underlined and committed to transparency throughout its history of offering financial services Tweet This!, adhering to corporate governance and anti-corruption policies while nurturing integrity among its employees.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by TISCO Group published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
In 2010, TISCO Group signed a pledge to join Thailand’s Private Sector Collective Action Against Corruption (CAC), a private sector initiative to fight corruption and, in 2019, its pledge was extended for a third round, enabling TISCO Group to fight corruption under the CAC framework for another three years. In order to combat corruption TISCO Group took action to:
- implement a Code of Conduct
- apply anti-corruption policies and practices
- implement a Supplier Code of Conduct
- apply a Whistleblowing Policy
- establish the HR Help Line
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) TISCO Group has identified;
- How TISCO Group proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by TISCO Group to combat corruption
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report TISCO Group identified a range of material issues, such as business performance and growth, customer data protection, risk management and business continuity, responsible lending, cyber security. Among these, combatting corruption stands out as a key material issue for TISCO Group.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups TISCO Group engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Shareholders
| · General and extraordinary shareholders’ meeting · Analyst meetings · Investor roadshows and TISCO meetings with institutional investors and analysts · Tele-Conference with institutional investors and analysts · Information disclosure via SET Portal, print media, and TISCO website · Inquiries handled by the Investor Relations Unit |
| Employees
| · Monthly meetings of executives at all levels · Training for employees at all levels · Staff Newsletters · Organising activities to support good relations, exchange and share experiences of employees, such as TISTALK · Employee engagement survey · TISCO HR Helpline · Communication programmes to instil knowledge, values and corporate culture for new employees · Direct communication from Top Management to Mid-level Management |
| Supervisory Authorities
| · Communicate through Compliance function and Regulatory Reporting unit · Related activities such as examinations conducted by regulators, discussions between management and regulators on important issues |
| Business Partners and Creditors | · Meetings with business partners · Assessments of business partner satisfaction |
| Customers
| · Individual meetings with customers · TISCO Contact Centre · Site visits to corporate customers · Training and seminars arranged on economy, finance and investments for customers · Channels to get feedback and complaints from customers · Public Relations via various channels such as press releases, TISCO website and mobile application |
| Community and Society
| · Surveys on community/ public needs · Engaging with communities in social activities · Promoting financial literacy through: – “TISCO Financial Camp” for youth and teachers – “Smart Saving, Smart Spending” for communities nationwide – Staying abreast of financial deception which might be harmful to motorcycle loan customers |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics TISCO Group engaged with its stakeholders through surveys.
What actions were taken by TISCO Group to combat corruption?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report TISCO Group reports that it took the following actions for combatting corruption:
- Implementing a Code of Conduct
- TISCO Group commits to materialise anti-corruption practices within the organisation and places great importance on a workplace environment that encourages internal control. Accordingly, TISCO Group’s Code of Conduct lays the foundation for nurturing a corporate culture of honesty and integrity within the Group’s operation. In addition, TISCO Group has constructed a reporting chain of command that provides a healthy balance of power whereby authorisation and responsibilities properly reflect the nature of work and where TISCO Group is able to work to achieve its goals.
- Applying anti-corruption policies and practices
- TISCO Group makes sure that its Anti-Corruption policies and practices are reviewed on a regular basis and are in compliance with others within the industry. The essence of the practices and policies are effectively communicated to executives and employees through various channels, such as the intranet, e-Learning, and town hall meetings. TISCO Group also incorporated an anti-corruption test as part of KPI (Key Performance Indicator) score, in which every employee is required to take a test and achieve a full score of 100. In 2019, 4,964 employees went through the e-Learning training on the subject, which accounted for 98.70 percent of the entire staff, excluding senior executives.
- Implementing a Supplier Code of Conduct
- TISCO Group delivers a Supplier Code of Conduct to each individual supplier to express the Group’s business intentions. TISCO Group requests that suppliers cooperate with the Group by signing and complying with the Supplier Code of Conduct, which incorporates anti-corruption practices. TISCO Group also expresses its intention to fight corruption by actively participating in activities held by organisations, associations, or other initiative groups that conduct anti-corruption activities.
- Applying a Whistleblowing Policy
- TISCO Group has formulated a Whistleblowing Policy that covers the processes and channels involved with expressing grievances and includes measures to protect whistleblowers. The policy and grievance channels are communicated to third parties and employees through TISCO Group’s website and the intranet, respectively.
- Establishing the HR Help Line
- To encourage reporting of mistakes and operational irregularities and ensure transparency, fairness, and equality, TISCO Group has established the HR Help Line as another independent channel to listen to employee grievances. Senior Executives have been appointed to represent the HR Help Line to ensure transparent and impartial review and operation. The filing person’s name is kept confidential in accordance with the TISCO Group’s practices of whistleblowing and grievance filing. Recognising the significance of complaints and grievances received from the various channels, TISCO Group examines these grievances on a transparent basis to deliver justice to every concerned party. After such an examination, if a staff is found to be involved in a violating practice, he/she will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with TISCO Group’s work rules and regulations. In 2019, there were no grievances regarding irregular practices among staff filed through the channels.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures
2) Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken
Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Targets: 16.5
Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Targets: 16.5
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by TISCO Group, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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