No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • CCI Magazine
    • Writing for CCI
    • Career Connection
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Library
    • Download Whitepapers & Reports
    • Download eBooks
    • New: Living Your Best Compliance Life by Mary Shirley
    • New: Ethics and Compliance for Humans by Adam Balfour
    • 2021: Raise Your Game, Not Your Voice by Lentini-Walker & Tschida
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
    • Great Women in Compliance
    • Unless: The Podcast (Hemma Lomax)
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Events
  • Subscribe
Jump to a Section
  • At the Office
    • Ethics
    • HR Compliance
    • Leadership & Career
    • Well-Being at Work
  • Compliance & Risk
    • Compliance
    • FCPA
    • Fraud
    • Risk
  • Finserv & Audit
    • Financial Services
    • Internal Audit
  • Governance
    • ESG
    • Getting Governance Right
  • Infosec
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
  • Opinion
    • Adam Balfour
    • Jim DeLoach
    • Mary Shirley
    • Yan Tougas
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home GRC Vendor News

SAI Global Compliance Survey of Gift Policies Finds Most Organizations Mandate Employee Reporting

by Corporate Compliance Insights
January 9, 2014
in GRC Vendor News

Exceptions to Gift Policies Seldom if Ever Granted

Nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of North American-based organizations require employees to report on gifts offered or received from clients and vendors, and many outline acceptable and unacceptable gifts. More than a quarter (26 percent) of organizations never grant exceptions to their gift-giving and -receiving policies, while 52 percent of organizations rarely do so, according to the 2013 SAI Global Snapshot on Gift Giving and Receiving, a survey of 299 North American corporate compliance officers and ethics professionals.

“The holiday season brings increased risks associated with the giving and receiving of gifts to the forefront,” said Tim Whipple, President of SAI Global Compliance. “Clearly, many organizations are taking a hard-line stance on exceptions that could give rise to these risks and they are also utilizing registries to improve visibility and establish a comprehensive record to help mitigate the risks.”

Additional survey findings reveal that while 54 percent of organizations don’t set a limit on the frequency with which employees can give or receive gifts, many policies do spell out which gifts are acceptable. Promotional items, such as pens and calendars, are always acceptable in 48 percent of organizations, followed by food, which is always acceptable in 22 percent of organizations.

Other “always” acceptable items included flowers (21 percent), meals (17 percent) and desk/office accessories (16 percent). Most of these aforementioned items were also typically acceptable “under certain conditions.”

According to respondents, several items are overwhelmingly never acceptable, including:

  • Gift cards, certificates or cash equivalents (65 percent)
  • Trips and travel (60 percent)
  • Electronics and cameras (57 percent)
  • Crystal (56 percent)
  • Wine and spirits (50 percent)

SAI Global Compliance, the world’s leading provider of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) products, services and technology, commissioned the survey in December to coincide with the holiday season.  Complete findings from the survey as well as additional resources can be found on the SAI Global Compliance Conflicts-of-Interest Resource Center at: http://compliance.saiglobal.com/community/conflicts-of-interest.

“Now is the perfect time to remind employees about organizational gift-giving and -receiving policies,” said Whipple. “As we enter a new year, we recommend organizations review their policies to ensure they clearly correspond to their organizational values and pertinent compliance obligations.”

When looking at the specific limits on gift values employees can give without approval, 35 percent of organizations capped the amount at “modest,” or at less than $25. Ten percent had a cap at less than $50 and 12 percent of organizations capped the amount at less than $100 value. In some organizations (20 percent), gifts are never allowed, while 14 percent of organizations require specific approval.

For limits on the value of gifts employees can receive without specific approval, the findings showed 38 percent of organizations capped the amount at “modest” or at less than $25. Thirteen percent have a less than $50 value and 18 percent of organizations cap the value at less than $100. Employees are not allowed to receive gifts in 17 percent of the organizations.

Nearly all of the organizations use a variety of channels and training methods to educate employees on gift-giving and -receiving policies. The most commonly used methods to share these policies include:

  • Internal code of conduct or employee handbook (78 percent)
  • Stand-alone policy (55 percent)
  • Online (45 percent)
  • As part of travel and entertainment policy (29 percent)

Nearly two out of three (64 percent) organizations provide annual updates or reminders to employees on gifting policies. Ethics professionals report doing this through:

  • Training courses (74 percent)
  • Periodic reminders or ongoing communications (72 percent)
  • Employee handbook (71 percent)

About the 2013 SAI Global Snapshot on Gift Giving and Receiving

SAI Global Compliance commissioned a blind survey of chief compliance officers and ethics professionals in December 2013.  Respondents to the online survey included a total of 299 executives. Of that group, 31 percent reported their organizations have more than $3 billion in sales and 53 percent had 5,000 or more employees. The plurality, 40 percent, was from public companies and the industries represented included health care, financial services, insurance, health insurance, manufacturing and more.

More details on the 2013 SAI Global Snapshot on Gift Giving and Receiving can be found at: http://compliance.saiglobal.com/community/conflicts-of-interest.

About SAI Global Compliance

SAI Global Compliance provides a full range of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software applications, learning and awareness solutions and advisory services. With more than 25 years of experience and offices worldwide, we combine deep expertise with practical technology solutions to help thousands of organizations reduce risk, enhance compliance, streamline governance and make better decisions. For more information about our solutions and services, visit www.saiglobal.com/compliance.


Previous Post

Voluntary Disclosures, through the Eyes of FCPA Enforcement

Next Post

The Legacy of Heroic Leaders

Corporate Compliance Insights

Corporate Compliance Insights

Corporate Compliance Insights

Related Posts

robot nurturing a good idea

Innovation vs. Compliance: In the Age of AI, Why Not Both?

by Asha Palmer
June 17, 2025

As governments scramble to regulate AI, forward-thinking companies are writing their own compliance playbooks

human robot working as team pie chart

Smart Machines, Smarter Humans: Why Compliance Still Needs a Human Touch

by Roman Eloshvili
June 17, 2025

From the 2008 financial crisis to everyday judgment calls, the case for keeping humans in the compliance loop

data privacy leader concept

Who’s Minding Your Data? The Case for Dedicated Privacy Leadership

by Daniel Barber
June 16, 2025

As state privacy laws multiply and AI introduces new vulnerabilities, the question isn't whether you need dedicated privacy expertise —...

abstract obscured data colorful

NIST’s Differential Privacy Guidelines: 6 Critical Areas for Secure Implementation

by Michelle Drolet
June 16, 2025

Standard de-identification methods remain vulnerable to sophisticated attacks, but differential privacy offers mathematical guarantees that scale with emerging threats

Next Post
outstretched hand with barbed wire in background

The Legacy of Heroic Leaders

No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy | AI Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Research
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2025 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • CCI Magazine
    • Writing for CCI
    • Career Connection
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Library
    • Download Whitepapers & Reports
    • Download eBooks
    • New: Living Your Best Compliance Life by Mary Shirley
    • New: Ethics and Compliance for Humans by Adam Balfour
    • 2021: Raise Your Game, Not Your Voice by Lentini-Walker & Tschida
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
    • Great Women in Compliance
    • Unless: The Podcast (Hemma Lomax)
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Events
  • Subscribe

© 2025 Corporate Compliance Insights