We are reposting an article as part of the debate about the value of the ISO anti-bribery compliance standard. This was first published when the ISO standard was released, but we believe it remains a relevant part of the debate today.

In preparation for an upcoming onslaught of exciting sports events during the 2026 Winter Olympics, athletes spend almost every hour of their day in training. They train their bodies as well as their minds, to maintain a level of competition that few are ever likely to experience.

For the past two decades, compliance has been defined by scale. Robust programs, multilayered policies, and sophisticated monitoring tools are all hallmarks of a well-managed compliance program. Yet, as this series revealed, resiliency is not a result of size but rather a product of connection. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of many economies, can leverage their small size into an advantage. These SMEs will shape the future of compliance.

In this second of a two-part series with anticorruption leader and Ukraine expert Matthew Murray about the status of, and risks to, Ukraine’s anticorruption agenda, I explore where he thinks there are opportunities and resources to move that agenda forward. 

In late July of this year, the Ukrainian government’s commitment to rooting out corruption appeared in serious doubt. On July 21, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) searched the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), leading to the arrest of individuals who were alleged to be linked to Russia. Transparency International-Ukraine was among the civil society organizations that condemned the raid, asserting that the search was part of a government effort to “to undermine the

Among the thousands of professionals displaced when USAID was dismantled were numerous lawyers whose work had undergirded the agency’s programs worldwide. Understanding that those skills could be transferred to serving other organizations in the international development and humanitarian assistance space – such as foundations, impact investors, multilaterals and non-profits, as well as corporations – a team of attorneys recently launched Mission Driven Counsel LLP.