Not all top execs against bribery, survey shows

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

More than one third of the executives surveyed believe fraud is widespread in their home country, a recent Ernst & Young study shows. The rate is even higher among executives in developing countries, such as Brazil with 84 percent, Indonesia with 72 percent and Turkey with 52 percent.

Some 16 percent of Turkish chief financial officers (CFO) surveyed would be willing to make unfair cash payments to win or retain business, according to Ernst & Young’s 12th Global Fraud Survey, entitled “Growing Beyond: a place for integrity.” Two years ago that same figure was just 4 percent.

On the global scale, 15 percent of CFOs surveyed said they would be willing to make cash payments to win or retain business, up from 9 percent in 2010.

“This group of executives, while not large in absolute number, responded that unethical and potentially criminal actions in the interests of business survival can be justified. Many appear to be insufficiently aware of significant corruption risks,” the report said.

The responses of a larger than expected minority of CFOs is concerning, the report said. “Responses among the nearly 400 CFOs interviewed should be cause for alarm for stakeholders,” it said.

Tighter monitoring

All of Turkish participants said regulatory authorities should maintain tighter monitoring to decrease risks regarding bribery and frauds.

More than one third of the executives surveyed believe fraud is widespread in their home country. The rate is even higher among executives in developing countries, such as Brazil with 84 percent, Indonesia with 72 percent and Turkey with 52 percent.

Irregularities in annual accounts are still a risk factor in many countries, the report said. So much so that respondents from Far East Asian countries think that financial performance misstatement can be justified. The survey was conducted with 1,758 executives including CFO’s, internal audits, legal department heads, from 43 countries. Fifty executives from Turkey were surveyed.

“Regulators and other external stakeholders rely on the CFO as a key interface with the business. Yet it must be recognized that some of the biggest financial statement frauds have been perpetrated by or with the complicity of CFOs,” the report said.