Featured Partner: ArcelorMittal

 
ArcelorMittal, one of the world’s leading steel and mining companies, operates under a singular purpose: “Smarter steel for people and planet”. Succinct yet significant, ArcelorMittal’s mission comes to life in the work of its 158,000 employees as they advance the world’s infrastructure through a culture of innovation by putting research and development at the heart of their operations.

Inherent to ArcelorMittal’s success is its global assurance – forensic services programme, an important pillar of its corporate governance and the driving force of the company’s anti-fraud initiatives. The group’s intention is to be the best-in-class, state-of-the-art forensic services provider, with the aim of preventing and detecting fraud in order to uphold ArcelorMittal’s zero tolerance policy.

A critical success factor enabling global assurance – forensic services to fight fraud successfully are its robust policy framework providing a strong mandate to the function, a whistleblowing management tool, and the effective use of communications and training to all staff on anti-fraud matters through online and offline communication portals and channels.

ArcelorMittal maintains a clear framework of company-wide guidelines to combat fraud. Compliance with regulations is a core responsibility, but this alone is not enough. Organisations today must strive to create a positive culture in which everyone wants to and knows how to do the right thing. Our code of business conduct, including additional anti-fraud policies and procedures, represents the fundamental policy under which ArcelorMittal operates and is applicable to all of its directors, officers and employees, and its subsidiaries worldwide. As the driving force of ArcelorMittal’s anti-fraud initiatives, the global assurance – forensic services programme provides a clear roadmap for fraud prevention and detection and is designed to embolden employees with the knowledge needed to maintain the organisation’s core values.

David Pedregosa Malagarriga, global assurance forensic region head Europe and Corporate: “It is a privilege being part of a company that aims to operate with the highest standards of business integrity. At the same time, these standards represent a responsibility for the global assurance department, which is supported by the know-how and cross-knowledge of its remarkable professionals.

The foundation for effective anti-fraud measures is a set of key concepts, including:

• Awareness, by training managers and employees at all levels on the company’s anti-fraud programme. In addition to the continuous in-house training on fraud awareness, global assurance has created a dedicated repository of fraud awareness material and has created a functional forensic academy, including online trainings and other anti-fraud content in multiple languages, both of which are accessible to all staff.
• Prevention, by supporting management in the implementation of internal anti-fraud controls and measures to minimise the risk of fraud. ArcelorMittal has established a framework of policies to lessen the risk of fraud and to support senior management in the fight against it. The managers, as risk owners, identify the risks of fraud and develop effective internal controls and processes to prevent and detect it. They make sure that all employees are compliant with these measures and ensure that the ArcelorMittal policy framework is respected by all staff. 
• Detection through whistleblowing systems and red flags. The whistleblower policy is the cornerstone of ArcelorMittal’s detection programme and provides staff and other stakeholders with the means to flag up fraud, while guaranteeing anonymity and protection against any type of retaliation. 
• Investigation of allegations of fraud and corruption. These investigations are carried out under the oversight of the global assurance department without delay. For its investigations, ArcelorMittal employs industry-leading digital forensic tools, and forensic services staff globally are skilled in their use. The investigation process is based on a strong governance framework that covers access to and retention of digital evidence and ensures compliance with company policies and relevant laws, including General Data Protection Regulation requirements.
• Reporting on the results of investigations to the relevant stakeholders. ArcelorMittal uses case management tools to guarantee end-to-end monitoring, tracking and reporting to relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, there is strong oversight through enhanced reporting and quality assurance review processes.

Perhaps most important to an effective implementation strategy are the multi-skilled certified investigators on ArcelorMittal’s staff. Armed with a structured competency framework and a robust training plan tailored to individual requirements, the internal assessment process has been refined to maintain the organisation’s high standards. To reach these competency standards, ArcelorMittal is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Corporate Alliance, sponsoring anti-fraud training for all employees and keeping its forensic specialists' knowledge up to date. 

As ArcelorMittal has continued on its path as an industry leader, it has collaborated with the ACFE and Corporate Alliance partner Anglo American to spearhead a discussion focused on fraud risks and trends in the metals, mining and energy industries. A roundtable brought together industry leaders around the world and provided an open-ended, free-range discussion of the types of fraud that the industry faces, and what can be done to detect and deter risks, as well as investigate and act on fraud when it occurs. 

Christian Quincke, region head, global assurance Europe and Americas, says: “By being trained and increasing our awareness of fraud, ArcelorMittal employees and stakeholders will better understand how to collaborate to identify potentially fraudulent activities, to be reported to global assurance, legal and compliance, or to the appropriate level of management, for appropriate investigation and actions.”