Shameless cross-posting from my LinkedIn article yesterday, because this is important and we’re very proud of it!
Business Integrity: Now With 100% More Swedish, and at Least 50% Less Existential Dread
Remember when due diligence involved checking they had auditors (like, you know, Enron and Wirecard) and policies (or not, like FTX) and then moving on to the next PPT slide, titled “Growth forecast”? Yeah, me too. It turns out that “trust but verify” doesn’t mean “trust and then just hope for the best.” Who knew?
After nearly a year of collaboration with the forward-thinkers at Swedfund and Transparency International Sweden, we give you the Business Integrity Tool, a practical, hands-on due diligence toolkit for impact investors who want to avoid that “Surprise! Your PortCo is under investigation” moment.
This isn’t just another compliance checklist. It’s a full-spectrum, sector-savvy, gap-spotting, action-planning, adaptable toolkit that helps you:
💡 Find integrity risks before they find you.
💡 Prioritise what matters.
💡 Build a real action plan.
And yes, it’s free because getting started on integrity risk management should be universally accessible.
What are you waiting for?
1️⃣ Download the tool (here ).
2️⃣ Use it before you write another glowing investment memo.
3️⃣ Share it with your compliance team, investees, or key partners.
What if…?
“My organisation is too small/too busy/underresourced to need this!” Sadly, corruption, fraud, and regulatory drama don’t care about your headcount or good intentions. This tool scales to fit from scrappy startups to the “we have a whole department for this” crowd. It’s fully editable.
“I don’t work in investment…” The tool works for any critical partnership—from key distributors in healthcare to JV partners to EPC contractors in project finance (renewables, infrastructure, etc.).
Why now/your timing sucks (ethical investing is so 2024)?
Business integrity isn’t just for the big scandals or the annual ESG report. It’s about building better businesses, making smarter investments, and, bonus-preserving peace of mind (and sleep).
I’ve done every type of integrity DD (background checks to board advisory) in the past 20 years, and even if you avoid the headline scandals, an investment with poor governance makes little commercial sense. I worked with a Nordic investor in Vietnam with eight high-performing investments they couldn’t exit. Why? The PortCo failed the acquiring investor’s governance sniff test (family-business shenanigans, tax-dodging, fraud, mainly). Aside from ethics, improving PortCo governance is good commercial sense; it adds value. Despite the best efforts of some, there remains an Ethical Investment Alpha, a premium.
The Business Integrity Tool is here. Use it, break it, improve it. Just don’t ignore it.
What next?
Try it. Roast it. Tell us what’s missing. Ask for help. Whatever you do, let’s make business integrity the new normal, preferably before the next headline.
This is just the first edition. We plan to update. Relatedly, we (Ethics Insight) are building an AI-powered risk assessment/triage tool (for investments and third-party selection)—a lite-version to get you started on risk-based decision-making, quickly. If you’d like (free) early access (Q3), contact me, and we’ll add you to the waitlist.
Developed by Transparency International Sweden, Swedfund, and yours truly at Ethics Insight. Proud, exhausted, and slightly less cynical than when I started.
Time for scare tactics?
As governance slips in many markets that used to set a (better) tone, is it time to re-examine the role of scare tactics? I’ve previously argued they were over-used. Lecturing middle-managers about FCPA fines and jail terms can be a tough sell (especially if their link to the US remains tangential). It was harder still in an era of virtue-signalling, where somehow even corruption prosecution became “woke” and polarising 🤦🏻♂️.
Maybe we need more relatable examples. James Clear’s newsletter gave an interesting example this week:
In some areas of life, your reputation is defined by your wins.
- Creative pursuits. One bestseller or hit song can erase the memory of the ones that didn’t work.
- Entrepreneurship. People rarely remember your failed business ideas, only your winning ones.
In areas like these, your mistakes fade away and the breakthroughs last. But in other areas of life, your reputation is defined by your losses.
- Crime. You can drive safely 364 days a year, but one DUI changes everything.
- Ethics and morals. One unethical decision can ruin a reputation and destroy trust.
In areas like these, your mistakes linger and consistency is rewarded.
Some areas of life reward your best day. Others punish your worst day. Know which situation you’re in, and you can better decide when to be risky and when to play it safe.“
Then open up the floor for discussion about how you tell the difference (between safe and risky situations).