ISO 37001:2025 Foundation: Anti-Bribery Management System

Foundation level: why that is the right starting point

This is a foundation course. It gives you the concepts and vocabulary of anti-bribery management without the depth required to implement or audit a full management system.

That is deliberately useful. A compliance programme only works when the people around it (managers approving expenses, staff dealing with agents and third parties) understand what an ABMS is asking of them. Training everyone to lead-auditor level is neither necessary nor affordable; training them to recognise bribery risk and understand the controls is.

The 2025 revision

ISO 37001 was revised in 2025. The course teaches the current version, including the integration of climate change considerations into bribery risk assessments, a stronger emphasis on compliance culture, and new references to conflicts of interest.

Why this matters for Australian organisations

Australia's foreign bribery regime was substantially strengthened by the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Act 2024, which introduced a corporate offence of failing to prevent foreign bribery, with an "adequate procedures" defence. That defence is the commercial reason ISO 37001 has become interesting to Australian boards, and this course is the accessible starting point for understanding what it involves.

This course is training, not legal advice. If you are assessing your own organisation's exposure, take proper advice on how the legislation applies to your circumstances.

Where to go next

If you need to lead an ABMS audit, the ISO 37001 Lead Auditor course builds directly on this material.

What you will learn

• Describe anti-bribery management concepts and principles
• Explain the main ISO 37001 requirements for an anti-bribery management system
• Identify actions organisations can take to achieve conformity to ISO 37001
• Recognise the key changes introduced in the 2025 revision of the standard

Course content

1. 1. Anti-bribery fundamentals

   Core concepts, principles and the scope of an anti-bribery management system (ABMS).

2. 2. ISO 37001:2025 requirements

   Clause-by-clause requirements, and what changed in the 2025 revision.

3. 3. Risk assessment and due diligence

   Identifying and mitigating bribery risk through due diligence.

4. 4. Controls and continual improvement

   Financial and non-financial controls, monitoring, internal audit and reporting.

Exam and certification

Closed-book written exam delivered online through PECB Exams. Duration: 1 hour.

Your fee includes your first exam attempt and one free retake within 12 months. After passing, you can apply for the relevant PECB credential.