A third of UAE executives have resigned over ethics: EY

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Wednesday, Apr 19, 2017

Dubai: Nearly a third of UAE executives have resigned from a job over concerns about unethical conduct at their company, a survey has found.

The biennial EY Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) Fraud Survey found 42 per cent of UAE respondents believed regulatory activity had a positive impact on their company’s ethical standards, compared to 28 per cent worldwide.

It also found 32 per cent felt under pressure to withhold information ore concerns about misconduct rather than report it.

Only 9 per cent of UAE respondents were aware of whistle-blowing hotlines used to monitor compliance with anti-bribery and corruption laws.

Nearly three-quarters — 74 per cent — believed prosecuting individuals would reduce bribery, fraud and corruption.

Regulations

The survey interviewed 4,100 executives in large corporations in 41 countries.

Michael Adlem, EY Mena Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services Leader, stated: “Despite the need for more improvement, UAE executives have a lot more confidence in regulations as a deterrent of unethical behaviour compared to their global counterparts.

“Even though a third of UAE executives are not afraid to leave their job if they are aware of unethical conduct, a third of UAE executives are also willing to withhold information about ethical misconduct.

“The different extremes in behaviour and lack of awareness about whistle-blowing hotlines indicates a need for companies to work harder at setting the right tone on business ethics to foster a more unified culture of ethical behaviour,”

Staff Report