Looking for consistency in corruption risk assessment: How key guidance materials stack up1

Abstract

The risk-based approaches for fighting corruption are a trending topic in the contemporary anti-corruption field. They are often presented as useful tools to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities within a system that may cause corruption. However, issues including lack of capacity, knowledge and expertise can affect their practical implementation. This paper discusses different corruption risk assessment methods with the aim to provide both practitioners and academics with a better understanding of the concept of corruption risk management. The study applies comparative methods to analyze five key corruption risk assessment guides, developed by different international organizations, in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses, which could facilitate experts in choosing the methodology that fits best their own needs and requirements. In addition, this paper argues that the most effective way to implement corruption risk assessment is as an organizational level assessment. This research is structured in four parts: the first part explains the concept of risk management and provides definitions of key terms. The second part describes the methodology used in the paper, while the third part presents the comparative analysis. Finally, all findings and results are discussed in the last part of the study.