Our Stance and Basic Policy on Compliance
Companies aiming for sustainable growth need employees who fulfill their social responsibilities and who possess a strong sense of ethics. They also need to earn the trust of stakeholders. Based on this belief, Advantest has established The Advantest Way as a basic principle for our management and business execution, which lays out our corporate mission, vision, core values, corporate mantra, ESG for sustainability, and specific ethical standards, in order to enhance our ethical awareness.
Compliance Promotion System
Advantest gives guidance and advice to all Group employees to ensure that they fully understand and comply with The Advantest Way and has established a global management structure.
The Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), who is the officer in charge of compliance, is responsible for collecting compliance-related information such as legal compliance, human rights protection, information security, and Corporate Ethics Helpline for the entire Group, and corrective actions are taken under the supervision of the CCO. Aggregated information is also reported to the Board of Directors through the CCO. Information gathered is also reported to the Executive Management Committee and the Board of Directors by the CCO.
The Compliance Department, which assists the CCO, plays a central role in strengthening the Group-wide compliance system by conducting periodic employee compliance awareness surveys and expanding and disseminating the internal reporting system. Based on the results of the employee compliance awareness survey, training is conducted by region and division according to respective risks, while policies and process rules are improved.
A Disciplinary Committee has been established to ensure due process and to enhance the reasonableness, appropriateness, and transparency of disciplinary actions.
Moreover, in order to fulfill our responsibilities as a member of international society, regular compliance auditing is conducted by the global audit team to confirm whether business is being conducted appropriately under each country’s laws and regulations.
Compliance Education
When globally deploying its business, Advantest believes that it is important to ensure thorough legal compliance worldwide and to pay attention to compliance across the Group, after obtaining a good understanding of the different laws and regulations in each country.
In fiscal 2023, we systematized basic compliance education common to the entire Advantest Group and began its implementation as the Group-wide Compliance Education Program. Educational programs on "The Advantest Way," "ESG," "Fair disclosure/Anti-insider trading," "Anti-corruption and Anti-bribery," "Export control," "Intellectual property," "Information security," "Personal information," "Prevention of anti-competitive action," and "Prevention of embezzlement and breach of trust" are implemented once a year on a global basis. To ensure that all employees of the multinational Group can accurately understand the content, the training is translated into up to 16 languages. Moreover, training is implemented in each country based on the relevant country's ordinances.
Advantest has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with waste management companies in its efforts toward the exclusion of anti-social forces
The Tokyo metropolitan government and other regional governments have issued organized crime exclusion ordinances, and each company is obligated to make efforts to stipulate in writing that it will terminate contracts if the business partner is found to be an anti-social force.
Furthermore, as a request for a comprehensive overhaul of corporate behavior and as a method to exclude anti-social forces, the Japanese Business Federation (Keidanren) recommends concluding the above memorandum.
To comply with the organized crime exclusion ordinances and the recommendations of Keidanren, the Advantest Group signs a Memorandum of Understanding that stipulates it will terminate contracts if the business partner is found to be an anti-social force with all partner waste management companies.
Prevention of Bribery and Compliance with the Anti-Monopoly Act
The basic philosophy of the Advantest Group, which is embodied in The Advantest Way, attaches great importance to the awareness of one's responsibilities to society, and to the maintenance of integrity in one's conduct. Advantest implements a variety of measures to prevent the occurrence of bribery or other corrupt practices, and to prevent anti-competitive behavior.
Prevention of Bribery and Other Corrupt Practices
As a supplement to The Advantest Way, Advantest has also formulated an Anti-corruption and Anti-bribery Policy, which clarifies, in detail, Advantest's rules in relation to the prevention of bribery and other forms of corruption throughout the world.
All Group employees participate in annual "anti-corruption and anti-bribery training" (e-learning) to enable all employees to fully comprehend this policy and to behave in a manner that does not violate any laws or regulations of the country they are in.
In fiscal 2023, Advantest was not the subject of any legal action relating to bribery or other corrupt practices. Moreover, there have been no cases of violations of the company's internal rules on money laundering or insider trading.
Compliance with the Anti-Monopoly Act
Advantest educates its employees about all aspects of anti-competitive behavior prevention as part of its Code of Conduct training, which places particular emphasis on the need to comply with the Anti-Monopoly Act. Education on the Act is provided to personnel in all relevant departments, including procurement divisions, along with management and new recruits. Going forward, Advantest intends to continue providing education and training aimed at ensuring fair business practices. In addition, Advantest's Internal Auditing Department samples purchasing transactions to verify that there are no violations of any kind.
Advantest was not subject to any legal action for anti-competitive behavior in fiscal year 2023.
Internal and External Reporting System
Advantest requires all officers and employees to disclose any suspected violations of laws, regulations, internal rules, or corporate ethics. The Company has established a reporting hotline as an alternative means of communication. The reporting hotline is available in multiple languages, and confidentiality and anonymity of whistleblowers is ensured. In addition, in several countries, the Company has contracted with law firms to establish external hotlines where officers and employees can report directly.
We have also established a reporting hotline that can be used by external stakeholders, including our business partners.
Information regarding the whistleblower and the content of the report, both internally and externally, will be handled appropriately by the appropriate person in charge within the company. Advantest prohibits unfair disadvantageous treatment or retaliation for filing a report.
Community Engagement
Advantest engages in business activities as a member of the community and society, and our stakeholders include various organizations, governments, and local government as well. Our goals are the sustainable growth of Advantest, participating in businesses that will resolve social issues, and contributing toward the attainment of a sustainable society through collaborations with these organizations, institutions, and local communities.
Economic and Industry Organizations
Through our participation in various organizations and associations related to the business and trade, semiconductor and electronics industries, Advantest collects information on elements such as next-generation technology standards and enforcement of further social regulations which will lead to future business opportunities and risks, in our efforts to enhance the sustainability of our company. We also make efforts in expanding our contributions toward a sustainable society by deepening our understanding of various social issues through participation in various organizations.
Of the organizations Advantest participates in, such as the Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), SEMI, and Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan, some may make proposals regarding political and social issues. Participation in organizations does not necessarily imply that we fully endorse that organization’s perspective concerning various policies.
Political Contributions and Sponsorships
There are cases in which Advantest makes donations, etc. to various organizations. When doing so, screening and decisions are made in accordance with our internal regulations with regard to purpose and public interest, including whether the initiative contributes to social development and the degree of contribution made toward social missions. These donations, etc. are properly implemented under the relevant laws and regulations of each country.