The impact of the oil-for-food scandal is being felt far beyond the offices of AWB. It's tarnishing the reputation of other Australian exporters.
Anti-corruption organisation, Transparency International, has ranked the 30 leading exporting nations on how likely their companies are to pay bribes.
Australia has slipped from first to third place.
“The rankings based on business experience in terms of our businessmen likely to be vulnerable to bribes are likely to be pay bribes to be able to earn business… so it's just not general public perception” Mike Ahrens Transparency International Australia said.
Australia now trails Switzerland and Sweden.
“People would see the steps that we've taken in investigating these issues when they're raised in relation to Australia as a very serious treatment of official corruption,” Federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock said.
But opposition leader Kim Beazley disagrees, “Australia's reputation has now been damaged - damaged - by the failure of this government to maintain proper oversight of the wheat board's activities in relation to Iraq.”
And it could make it harder for Australian companies which operate overseas.
“I think it is damaging I think they'll be more prone to be attacked to be cautioned and it will be very difficult in some of these high risk countries,” Mr Ahrens says.
At the same time, those investigated by the Cole Commission have received details of adverse findings that may be made against them.
The findings of the oil-for-food inquiry are due to be released by the end of next month.
Transparency International expects they will further harm the reputation of Australian exporters.
And those investigated by the Cole inquiry should now know whether they should fear the worst.
They've received notices from the commission, detailing any adverse findings against them.
They will also have been told whether they've broken any laws and have until mid-October to dispute the findings.
Then they must wait for Commissioner Cole to hand down his report.