Although every case is different and must be analyzed in its respective context, there are 3 actions that are usually aligned with best corporate practices:
1) Make the conflict of interest transparent to whoever is responsible for knowing it.Be it the rest of the members of the collegiate acra company search, be it the authority in charge of knowing it, be it the interested parties for example, the client, your bosses or the shareholders. Hiding the actual or potential conflict of interest invites anyone to assume that wrongdoing was intended.
2) Leave a documentary record of your timely report.Although disclosing it is a good start, documenting it is vital. Anyone who feels affected by a decision will argue that they suffered from a biased resolution. Conflicts of interest must be recorded in reports, minutes or declarations and updated over time as they evolve or are extinguished.
3) Excuse yourself from knowing or voting on cases in which you have acknowledged being conflicted. Disclosure assumes that your best judgment may be inappropriately affected. This forces you not to get involved in the formal discussion of the subject, nor to issue a vote or decision in a certain sense. The organization will need to find a way to process the matter in your absence.
Those of us who belong to boards of directors or bodies of authority must avoid to the limit of our capacity anyone doubting that we are acting in the best interest of the company or institution. Each act must reaffirm our responsibility for the affairs of third parties, that is, our fiduciary obligation.
And beware, the conflict of interest may not be a conflict. But if it does appear, it should be treated as a matter in itself. The maxim of the topic states: to avoid conflicts of interest, it is extremely important to avoid the appearance of a conflict.