Why corporates need better anti bribery and corruption software

It’s easy to think bribery and corruption scandals only happen to ‘other companies’. The truth is, they happen because of outdated, manual due diligence programmes that simply aren’t built to handle the complexity of today’s third-party relationships. Supply chains are getting longer, riskier, and harder to monitor. Upcoming ESG regulations, like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), add even more pressure. Effective anti-bribery and corruption software is your first and best line of defence. After all, a compliance programme is only as strong as the technology behind it. In this article, we explore what makes ABC technology truly effective and what to consider when assessing new vendors to strengthen your own third party risk management programme.

What is anti bribery and corruption software?

Anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) software helps compliance teams identify third parties that pose the highest risk of bribery and corruption. Corporations onboard thousands of third parties each year, sometimes as many as 5,000 to 10,000. Without the right technology, assessing risk at this scale becomes slow, manual, and inefficient. 

Typical ABC software features include screening third parties against global watchlists, sanctions databases, politically exposed persons (PEPs), and corporate records. It then evaluates factors like country of operation, industry, ownership structure, and background history to assign a risk score or category. Some vendors offer real-time alerts when a third party’s risk status changes, such as newly surfaced adverse media or fresh sanctions.

While these features are standard in most ABC software, they often fall short when it comes to providing real context about a third party. They screen against compliance databases, but offer little insight beyond the surface. Plus, high-risk third parties rarely show up on official watchlists. More advanced ABC software closes that gap by searching and analysing open web sources. This is where an extraordinary amount of risk data exists but remains underused.

Why is anti bribery and corruption software important?

Every compliance team wants to be efficient. But as regulations tighten and third party risks become more nuanced, compliance analysts are expected to shoulder a heavier load. Conducting a full assessment on each third party simply isn’t feasible when you have hundreds, or even thousands, of entities to assess each month. 

Modern ABC software automates due diligence to lower the barrier for deeper checks. By automating the risk assessment process, compliance teams can shift from being stretched thin to working in a more focused and strategic way. Skilled analysts are freed from manual groundwork to concentrate on what really matters: analysing and mitigating controls for high-risk relationships. 

The time savings are both immediate and substantial.

Faster onboarding becomes a competitive advantage, as better efficiency accelerates third-party processing. Suppliers, distributors, and partners can join the ecosystem more quickly and safely. That’s a win not just for compliance, but for other teams across the business who are waiting for third parties to be cleared. Most importantly, compliance transforms from a bottleneck into a business enabler. The real question isn’t whether companies can afford ABC software. It’s whether they can afford to operate without it.

How to choose the right anti bribery and corruption software 

Goes beyond screening databases: Traditional screening tools are limited. They provide a narrow risk lens and offer a static snapshot. They don’t provide the depth or context needed to uncover real risks. Without broader, real-time insights, companies are left with an incomplete view of who their third parties really are.

Turns unstructured data into insight: To truly understand a third party’s risk level, companies need more nuanced insights drawn from open sources like news articles, interviews, press releases, exposés, and market reports. Contextual data adds depth and clarity to risk assessments, helping compliance teams make better-informed decisions

Automates the end-to-end research process: Initial due diligence isn’t just screening. While it involves screening against compliance data, it also does the unstructured piece. Initial due diligence pinpoints where risks are greater to concentrate compliance resources accordingly. It also demonstrates a risk-based approach has been taken to identify higher-risk relationships and apply enhanced due diligence.

Refreshes due diligence checks in real-time: Risk assessments, like risk itself, aren’t static. Just because a third party has a clean media footprint today doesn’t mean it will tomorrow, next week, or next month. Compliance teams must continuously monitor them using qualitative, real-time information from public online sources.

Why choose Xapien for ABAC due diligence 

Manual screening, web searches and questionnaires are too limited to efficiently and effectively catch third party risks. Global supply chains, the surge in third-party networks, and the incoming ESG regulation all require a more comprehensive, dynamic solution. 

AI is key to managing today’s growing risks. Its speed and sophistication allow compliance teams to harness unstructured data, uncover hidden threats, and maintain continuous oversight of third-party relationships.

Xapien uses advanced AI models to search, disambiguate, analyse, and summarise open-source information. It delivers narrative-driven due diligence reports that mirror the work of a human analyst. Unlike manual research, which can take days and still miss nuanced risks hidden in unstructured data, Xapien processes vast volumes at superhuman speed to uncover insights that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Xapien comprehensively understands financial crime risks, legal proceedings, compliance risks, jurisdictional risks, ESG risks and reputational risks. The result is a due diligence report that covers a full spectrum, giving compliance teams a holistic view of their third parties.