In a 1987 speech, Leon Febres Cordero, then Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador, identified corruption as a great problem confronting his country and commented on the paralyzing effect on democratic institutions. He issued a challenge to his audience of accountants: deal with corruption before crisis dimensions are reached. The objective of this paper is to point out ways of containing corruption as it affects government, to avoid major national problems. The first section defines the types of corruption that can be contained by accountants; examples are given of corruption in particular nations. Next, characteristics of corruption are explored; then a flexible program to combat bureaucratic corruption is decided. This program can help raise levels of integrity and strengthen the position of those fighting corruption.