The company’s in-person courses on Business Conduct Compliance are back, with sessions held in Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico, the latter in conjunction with Internal Audit.

The new round of Business Conduct Compliance courses began in Ecuador and Colombia, followed by sessions in Neuquén, Monterrey, Reynosa and Comodoro Rivadavia. With new content and a more practical approach, they aim to provide tools and tips to help employees adequately assess certain situations or issues that could involve a risk of corruption for Tecpetrol.

Marina Callejo, Business Conduct Compliance Director, explains that, “The role played by companies in anti-corruption matters has changed over the last few years. The private sector has been assigned a critical responsibility, requiring it to play a far more active role and make concrete efforts to combat corruption in different industries. In a context of increasingly complex environments, greater regulatory demands, more and new risks, it is essential that we all contribute to maintaining and strengthening Tecpetrol's corporate culture based on making good decisions that take into account Compliance risks."

At a global level, various studies have been held which examine the concept of "Behavioral Compliance" in an organization. The Basel Institute on Governance published a report highlighting the importance of promoting Compliance habits from a behavioral point of view to reinforce the company's own standards and values. The objective is to be more efficient when combating the institutionally fragile contexts that sometimes end up facilitating corruption. “These studies indicate that a proactive approach is far more effective than simply incorporating more procedures and controls,” expands Marina.

The new course provides practical tools for each employee to use when making decisions. "Recognizing our biases, identifying risks, evaluating the possible consequences of our actions are some of the considerations that we all must bear in mind when taking decisions."

The Business Conduct Compliance courses held in Reynosa and Pesquería (Monterrey) were carried out in conjunction with the Internal Audit Department, and incorporated the general guidelines underpinning the Code of Conduct, tackling the issues of internal control, conflict of interests, and transparency in management, among other concepts. "Internal control helps us to meet the company's objectives so that we can carry out our tasks effectively and efficiently, minimizing errors and the need to rework things, and preventing irregularities or fraud," explains Vilma Bettini, Chief Audit Executive. She adds that, “Transparent management, an essential tenet of the Code of Conduct, helps us to take decisions in complex situations or when the procedures do not cover all possible scenarios.”

Both agree that this type of training activity, buttressed by the commitment of all employees, is crucial to accompany the company's growth within a structure of integrity, transparency and compliance with the law, fundamental values for Tecpetrol.