On 10 January 2019, the Council of the national register of chartered accountants (“Ordine dei Commercialisti”), together with the Italian banking association ABI (“Associazione Bancaria Italiana”), the Consiglio Nazionale Forense and Confindustria, published a document titled “Consolidated principles for defining organisational models and the tasks of the supervisory body and the prospects for a review of Italian Legislative Decree No. 231 of 8 June 2001” (the “Document”). The stated aim is to ensure the adoption of a corporate compliance system that is able to effectively prevent the commission of the predicate offences set out in Legislative Decree 231/01. More in detail, the Document provides interesting information on: (i) defining the principles to be followed when preparing 231 models; (ii) identifying the rules of conduct to be observed by the supervisory bodies in performing their function – without these, even the most well-structured model will not be deemed to have been effectively implemented and will not be effective in avoiding penalties being imposed on the entity if offences are committed; (iii) drawing up proposals to amend policies in order to remedy the main failings identified with respect to the principles underlying Legislative Decree 231/01. The Document in issue, together with other important actions taken at legislative level, are concrete evidence of the importance that corporate sustainability is assuming in the Italian legal system. In fact, 231 models act as a guarantee of the legality, transparency and proper functioning of all management-related aspects of a business. In this context, worth mentioning is that the Italian Senate is currently debating a bill that, if approved, will make the 231 organisational model and the supervisory body mandatory, where certain conditions are met.
