Oyetunji Abioye
The scale of bribery and corruption has shown no improvement globally since 2012, despite the unprecedented level of enforcement activity and introduction of new corporate criminal liability laws in that time.
This is according to the 15th EY Global Fraud Survey, which surveyed 2,550 executives across 55 countries including Nigeria.
This year’s survey found this, despite regulators and law enforcement agencies around the world imposing more than $11bn of financial penalties since 2012.
According to the report, 38 per cent of global executives still believe bribery and corrupt practices remain prevalent in business.
The EY Global Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services Leader, Andrew Gordon, was quoted as saying, “The lack of improvement in global levels of corruption over the last six years shows that unethical behaviour in business remains a daunting challenge, despite intensified global enforcement.
“While corruption remains so prevalent, businesses remain vulnerable to significant financial and reputational harm. Management teams must identify and address the root causes of unethical conduct in their organisation.
“Compliance programmes need to keep pace with the impact of rapid technological advancements and the increasingly complex risk environment on business operations. More robust risk management should be considered a strategic means of improving business performance.”
The EY Nigeria Forensic/ Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services Leader, Osita Okeke, was quoted as stating that the high level of fraud and corruption occurring in businesses underscored the need for businesses to be more committed about their anti-fraud and anti-corruption initiatives.
Emerging markets still exhibit higher levels of corruption, according to the survey.
The difference in levels of corruption between countries remains significant, with 20 per cent of respondents in developed markets indicating that bribery and corruption occurs widely in business, compared with more than half (52 per cent) of those in emerging markets, and 90 per cent of Nigerian respondents.
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