GoodCorporation becomes accredited validator for EITI

One of the greatest injustices of the modern world must be the on-going poverty that exists in developing countries rich in oil, gas and minerals. Not only are they poor, despite these highly valued, natural resources, they have a higher incidence of conflict and many also suffer from poor governance.

Among the causes of this disparity is the lack of transparency concerning the payments made by extractive industries to these developing countries. In 2002, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was founded, aiming to encourage greater transparency, stronger accountability and improved governance in order to promote greater economic and political stability in resource-rich parts of the world.

The EITI is currently working with 28 countries that are seeking to achieve Compliant Country Status. To do this, they must register to become an EITI Candidate Country and meet the four sign-up indicators stipulated by the EITI. A workplan towards transparency is then agreed and a two-year framework imposed. Within two years a Candidate Country must undergo validation by one of the EITI accredited validators. Once a country is compliant it must undergo validation every five years. Validation is an essential element of the EITI as an international standard. It provides an independent assessment of countries implementing the programme and the measures they have taken to achieve compliant status.

GoodCorporation has just become an accredited validator for the EITI a move that endorses our expertise in non-financial auditing and our in depth knowledge of the extractive industry. GoodCorporation achieved one of the highest scores for our application and has become one of only 14 companies worldwide to be accredited as an EITI validator.

We fully endorse and support the EITI. Transparency is essential for businesses wishing to trade with developing countries and sadly, in many parts of the world this has been hard to achieve. Aid, such as the £50bn paid each year by the OECD into developing countries is a great sticking plaster, but it will not lift these countries out of poverty. We firmly believe that the EITI is the next major step towards the eradication of world poverty as it is a tangible means of ensuring that developing countries, rich in resources, can become economically self-sufficient. We look forward to working with countries around the world to help them achieve this.