Next-Generation Internal Controls: Meeting the 2025 U.S. Anti-Corruption Challenge

Priority 

What “good” looks like in 2025 

Practical levers 

1. Embed anti-corruption into ESG governance 

Integrate bribery-and-fraud risk into the enterprise-level risk appetite statement and the ESG scorecard reported to investors. 

Map COSO’s new Sustainability Reporting guidance to your existing SOX control matrix so that anti-corruption, ESG and climate data share control owners and testing cycles. ey.comauditboard.com 

2. Real-time compliance analytics 

Continuous monitoring flags outlier payments, override journals, and vendor changes within 24 hours. 

Deploy AI-enabled anomaly detection fed from ERP + payment platforms; script automatic “pause-and-review” workflows for suspicious wires > $25k. 

3. Beneficial-ownership & third-party assurance 

Central repository reconciles FinCEN filings, sanctions lists and vendor master data. 

Perform quarterly entity validation; require automated “kill switch” to suspend vendors lacking BOI confirmation. 

4. Independent internal audit (IA) over culture & data 

IA’s plan dedicates ≥ 20 % of hours to data governance and culture audits (speak-up, retaliation, incentives). 

Align IA charter with DOJ ECCP questions; use employee sentiment analytics and whistle-blower statistics as audit evidence. 

5. Agile disclosure committee 

Pre-mortal drills for climate, cyber or corruption events determine whether to file an 8-K vs. voluntary disclosure. 

Maintain a “red-team” calendar aligned with SEC, DOJ and FinCEN reporting clocks.