New guidance from the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office aimed at encouraging companies to self-report cases of overseas corruption represent a “sea change” in the agency’s approach to tackling corporate crime, according to a briefing from law firm Fulbright & Jaworski.

The guidance adopts several clear themes from the U.S Department of Justice, including the involvement of external legal advisers in investigating corruption, the use for the first time of SFO-approved corporate monitors as an ongoing compliance tool in settled cases, and a clear statement of the advantages and disadvantages of self reporting, the firm says.

With new legislation on bribery currently working its way through Parliament, the guidance is part of an SFO effort to change the U.K culture of corruption enforcement. Currently, companies are highly reluctant to tell prosecutors about fraud or corruption they discover, preferring to deal with the matter internally.

The SFO guidance sets out what it says are some of the benefits for companies that decide to self-report. The two main ones are a reduced investigative burden in which the company retains an element of control, and the possibility of less stringent civil rather than criminal sanctions.

However, Fulbright warns that those companies that do not embrace the new approach “can expect a more invasive, lengthy, and expensive investigation conducted by the SFO, criminal prosecution, and criminal sanctions.”

The Serious Fraud Office is the lead agency in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases of overseas corruption.

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