Rising cyberthreats, integrity risks, greenwashing concerns creating openings for frauds: EY report

Rapidly-rising cyberthreats, integrity risks and greenwashing concerns in environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices are creating openings for fraud and unethical conduct, said EY’s recent Global Integrity Report.

Organisations continue to remain vulnerable in volatile market conditions, with 78% of respondents in India, who were part of the report, admitting that it was challenging to maintain their standards of integrity in periods of rapid change or difficult market conditions.

“While the standards of corporate integrity show discernible signs of improvement, many organisations were still facing heightened risks around unethical behaviour and diminishing standards of compliance,’‘ said Arpinder Singh, India and Global Markets Leader, Forensic & Integrity Services, EY.

Amidst shifts in regulatory expectations and economic stress, 60% of respondents from India said that regulators have taken action against their organisation for breaching integrity standards or regulations, compared to 38% in emerging markets. At the same time, 65% in India cited that it was difficult to adapt to the speed and volume of changes in regulations, as compared to 47% in emerging markets.

Out of the 100 professionals surveyed from India, only 33% believe that sanctions are applied to demonstrate behaviours that do not reflect integrity. Organisations must exercise greater vigilance in hiring people committed to building a culture of integrity as 96% in India said they experienced failures in up to 10% of employee background checks, according to the EY report.