The EY global fraud survey highlights increased pressure on companies to identify and mitigate fraud, bribery and corruption issues.

A survey of nearly 3,000 senior business leaders from 62 countries has found that nine out of 10 executives recognise the importance of transparency and almost four in 10 say that corruption is widespread in their country.

The EY global fraud survey – Corporate misconduct, individual consequences – shows that there is increasing pressure on governments to combat cybercrime, terrorist financing and misuse of offshore jurisdictions, while there is also increased pressure on companies to identify and mitigate fraud, bribery and corruption issues.

The survey, conducted between October 2015 and January 2016, highlights overwhelming corporate support for enhanced beneficial ownership transparency, with 91 per cent of executives recognising the importance of establishing the ultimate beneficial ownership of entities with which they do business.

“Business leaders are right to be focused on securing a deeper understanding of their clients, partners and suppliers. Enhanced transparency is clearly a focus of broad public interest,” said EY's David Stulb.

Bribery and corruption is a serious problem, with 39 per cent of respondents saying it is a prevalent problem in their country, while 32 per cent said they have had personal concerns about bribery and corruption in their workplace.

The survey also found that 42 per cent said that they could justify unethical behaviour to meet financial targets, while 16 per cent of finance team members below the CFO were ready to justify making a cash payment to win or retain business.

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CTMfile Take: It's clear that compliance officers face a huge challenge but so do corporate treasurers and all financial executives with responsibilities over company payments and cash flows, because, in a significant proportion of companies and jurisdictions, cash payments go hand-in-hand with corruption and bribery.