Fostering a Culture of Ethical Behaviour

New research has found that 25% of employees in the UK still believe that bribery and corruption happens widely in business in the UK.

UK respondents to Ernst & Young’s latest Europe, Middle East, India and Africa Fraud Survey said that little progress has been made over the last 24 months, with few changes in the survey results from 2015. However, the findings still compare favourably to some other countries, with 51% of all respondents across EMEIA reporting that bribery and corruption is widespread in their country.

According to the survey, some companies in the UK are struggling to foster a culture of ethical behaviour: only 24% of UK respondents have frequently heard their senior management communicate about the importance of maintaining ethical standards in business, and only 29% of UK respondents felt that action has been taken by their company against an employee for breaching ethical standards or regulation, compared to 43% in EMEIA.

Forty-two percent of UK respondents believe that their senior management would act unethically to help a business survive, compared to 58% in EMEIA. Twelve per cent of UK respondents also said they believed their managers would offer a cash payment and that 16% would offer personal gifts to win or retain business.

“Bribery and corruption is still perceived to be a prevalent issue in the UK, despite increased focus and scrutiny from the Government and regulators,” said Jonathan Middup, Partner at EY Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services. “The picture we are seeing from the survey and in our conversations with clients is that while many companies may think they have an effective compliance framework in place, in reality some are struggling to create a culture where it is in employees’ interests to do the right thing.” 

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