Senior managers ignore unethical acts for revenue targets: EY survey

All’s not well on the ethical front, a survey of cubicle workers in corporate India found. Employees feel under pressure to withhold information about misconduct, senior managers ignore unethical behaviour to meet corporate targets, and one of every five respondents felt companies don’t investigate ethical breaches, the survey by consulting firm EY said.

A whopping 57% of Indian employees reported that senior management is ready to ignore dubious actions by employees to achieve revenue targets.

According to the India findings of EY’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) Fraud Survey released last week, one out of four respondents reported that companies did not take action against employees for breaching anti-bribery and anticorruption policies. “Fifty eight per cent of Indian respondents are willing to work for organisations involved in major bribery or fraud case, lower than China (66%) but higher than the average of other APAC nations (49%). Sixty per cent of Indian respondents also stated that organisations are reporting financial performance better than it is,” the report Asia-Pacific (APAC) Fraud Survey, Economic uncertainty or Unethical conduct: How should over-burdened compliance functions respond said.

While 78% Indian employees agreed that bribery and corrupt practices occur widely, 31% said they would offer cash payments to win or retain business.

One in five employees surveyed reported that breaches related to ethical standards and regulations are not investigated by Indian companies.