According to a study conducted by Transparency International (TI) Lithuania, “Circle K Lietuva” UAB (100 points), “Energijos skirstymo operatorius” AB (100 points), and “Tele2” UAB (100 points) provided the most information to the public. This year, the overall score of companies was 36 points out of 100; 32 points in 2017, and 22 points in 2014.
The latest report on private sector transparency evaluates the 40 largest companies in Lithuania. TI Lithuania analyzed each corporate website in search of publicly available information on each company’s anti-corruption program, organizational structure and financial reporting.
6 out of 40 companies received a score of 0.
In comparison to previous years, companies published more information about their methods to curtail corruption in their respective fields. For publicizing this information in 2017, on average, they received 32 points out of 100 and 36 points in 2019. Almost half of the companies (17) published their code of conduct, and 16 published what types of gifts they could and could not receive. One out of three (13) companies had a confidential channel to report possible wrongdoings.
Companies did a little worse in revealing their financial information. In 2019, the average was 36 points, whereas the 2017 average was 37.5.
One out of three companies publicly reported which business associations they belonged to. The most common were the Association of Lithuanian Trade Companies (“Lietuvos prekybos įmonių asociacija”) and the Investors’ Forum (“Investuotojų forumas”) but, in total, they participated in more than 20 associations.
More than half (23) of the companies publicized their shareholders, and almost half (18) reported their annual income.
“Business in Lithuania is becoming a more transparent field, and business leaders have a better understanding regarding public accountability. This is the first year when we have seen a significant increase in the number of companies who received a score of 100 or nearly 100. It makes it clear that a perfect score isn’t “Mission Impossible”. I believe that this result won’t go unnoticed, and will perhaps act as a guiding star to leaders of other organizations.”, said Sergejus Muravjovas, CEO of Transparency International Lithuania.
The companies were selected based on their income records for 2018, which were announced by the business news outlet “Verslo Žinios”. When website analysis was conducted, analysis results were sent to all companies. Each company was granted an opportunity to publish missing information and, thereby, to improve their score. 15 companies used this opportunity to improve—they improved their score by 16 points on average.
The Transparency in Corporate Reporting assessment conducted in Lithuania uses a similar methodology as the Transparency in Corporate Reporting: Assessing the World’s Largest Companies which is produced periodically by the Transparency International Secretariat. This evaluation was conducted by implementing the Integrity Pacts project, financed by the European Commission.
The content of companies’ websites was assessed between September and October 2019.
Short version of the evaluation can be found here.
Detailed companies’ assessments – www.skaidrumas.lt/imones
More information: Sergejus Muravjovas, +370 689 97579, info@transparency.lt