About our client selection process

In addition to following all relevant laws and regulations wherever we operate, we have long had policies governing what work we will and won’t do. In 2019, we strengthened this policy further to apply a more rigorous framework and set of criteria to evaluate our client service.

Under this policy, we assess potential paid or pro-bono projects across five key dimensions: country, institution, topic, individual, and operational considerations (our “CITIO framework”). This policy includes ‘bright-line’ rules for work we will not carry out under any circumstances. For example, we will not serve defense, intelligence, justice, or policing institutions in non-democratic countries (the only exceptions are international aid and humanitarian work, when approved by our global risk committee).

Other examples of work we will not perform include serving public- or social-sector clients in countries where we do not have an office. We have eliminated uncapped fee arrangements in the public sector, which we do not believe are appropriate for institutions funded by taxpayers. And we continue to not serve political parties, political advocacy groups, legislatures, or individual legislators’ offices.

About our process and policies

Each year, our client service risk committee, which comprises a global cohort of firm leaders tasked with helping uphold our high ethical and professional standards, reviews hundreds of current and potential client engagements. In some cases, the committee decides that work can proceed with additional or more stringent safeguards and conditions. In many instances, a decision is made to decline to pursue certain engagements altogether.

To support our rigorous approach to client service, we have upgraded our risk and governance processes, including tripling the combined size of our risk, legal, and compliance functions since 2015. We have also scaled up our due-diligence efforts, including instituting ongoing diligence of existing clients which includes periodic risk-based reviews alongside continuous monitoring of news and other public sources.

About our professional standards

To ensure awareness, understanding and compliance with these and other policies, all colleagues are required to complete an annual curriculum of Professional Standards & Risk learning programs that address the expectations outlined in our Code of Professional Conduct. All new hires are required to participate in onboarding sessions where they similarly learn about our values, complete digital training modules on key risks areas, and certify their compliance with these professional standards. These and other detailed guidelines are available to all employees via our online intranet and various learning modules.

To read more about these professional standards, please visit our Code of Professional Conduct here.

Client Service Policies

Related

Our code of conduct

Diversity

Environmental Sustainability

Supplier Standards