Jubail contractors, suppliers learn more about ethics and integrity

The Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company (SASREF) inaugurated its business ethics awareness symposium for contractors and suppliers in Jubail Industrial City yesterday.
Legal consultants, industrialists, financiers and economists from the Kingdom and abroad discussed a number of professional topics related to business ethics and anti-fraud and corruption.
SASREF President Abdullah Al-Baiz opened the symposium saying that by organizing the event, SASREF is trying to achieve several objectives, including creating awareness of business ethics and fraud control measures in the Jubail Industrial Community and sharing business ethics and values. The targeted audience of the symposium includes contractors and suppliers in the Jubail Industrial Area.
Al-Baiz stated that the event highlights to all contractors/vendors that integrity is one of SASREF’s values and that ethical behaviors are the responsibility of every one.
The symposium explored numerous work papers and keynote speeches representing the best practices for raising awareness of the concept of business ethics and professional codes of conduct to suppliers and contractors, and identified methods of fraud and corruption and ways to address them by presenting the latest researches, laws and regulations that promote the integrity of workers.
The symposium held seven sessions during which papers were presented and workshops held for discussing business ethics, integrity, anti-fraud and corruption, with the participation of a number of local and international specialists and consultants.
Themes included a research paper entitled “SASREF Suppliers' Code of Conduct” presented by Mohammed Al-Khaldi, manager of contracts and procurement at SASREF. The paper emphasized policies, codes, and regulations of business ethics. It highlighted SASREF’s commitment to the environment, health and safety, as well as ethical business practices including bribery, fraud, gifts, gratuities and hospitality. Further, it addressed confidentiality and conflict of interest aspects on SASREF agreements.
Abdullah S. Al-Ammar, consultant at NZAHA who spoke on the issue of corruption and methods of detection and control, and adjusted procedures of protecting public funds, as well as combating and eliminating corruption as well as purifying the society from its severe impacts and consequences, and explaining the latest developments in this regard, laws and regulations that promote the integrity of workers.
Jim Lamond, VP business development at Shell Overseas Services, Saudi Arabia who discussed a paper entitled "Business ethics and compliance." This theme addressed the experiences of Shell in the concepts of business ethics and focused on the procedures, standards, and programs pursued by Shell, adjusting work ethic in all levels of the company's business in various parts of the world, and reviewed the code of conduct in Shell and its business relations and interests with its clients.
The speakers also included Shankar Pareek, operations manager at Anabeeb Co. with a paper entitled “Business Ethics & Fraud,” which focused on clarifying the best practices in the daily work routine and revealing aspects of fraud, challenges that stand in face of business ethics.
Also Abdulwahab S. Al-Gahtani of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, delivered a presentation entitled “Business Ethics and its Impact on Organizational Performance.” The presentation gave a brief introduction to the topic, definition and importance of business ethics, different types of ethical approaches, and the role of business ethics in global competition.
The presentation stressed upon unethical behaviors, the role of top level management in enhancing business ethics in organization, as well as explaining the relationships between business ethics and organizational performance based on profitability (law and order to avoid legal violations), revenue (increasing sales due to good reputation and quality of products), high return on investment (due to all consequences of good ethical practices), market share (due to good reputation), and image and reputation (due to good ethical measures and practices).
The speech also covered topics such as business ethics and organizational dysfunctional conflicts, and building partnership between all stakeholders to enhance ethical conducts of contractors, top level managers and employees.
Altaf Dossa, director, head of Forensic Services at KPMG Co.. focused in his speech on the top 10 risks facing organizations according to the KPMG survey, and the top 5 fraud related risks in the petrochemical industry.
He illustrated profile of the typical fraudster, and maturity of anti-fraud management in Saudi Arabia — code of ethics and anti-fraud policy, as well as the integrity barometer — measuring the ethical culture in organizations.
David Clements, director of Deloitte Forensic Co., reviewed the Ethics & Fraud booklet, defining theft, corruption and bribery, fraud control and whistleblower hotlines.