Half of employees think corporate integrity is up, finds EY

Nearly half (49%) of employees and board members believe that integrity standards within their organisations have improved over the past two years, according to EY.

Furthermore, the majority (90%) are confident their colleagues do abide by relevant laws, codes of conduct and industry regulations.

The main drivers of this trend include increased direction from management (61%); stricter regulation and pressure from regulators and law enforcement (48%).

There is also demand from customers (37%), the general public (33%), and shareholders (26%); and pressure from employees (22%).

Half of respondents (50%) admit that it is challenging for their organisations to maintain integrity standards in difficult market conditions.

Almost a third (30%) say the current macro-economic environment presents the greatest external pressure on employees to violate integrity standards.

More than half of board members (56%) and senior management (53%) surveyed say that they frequently hear leadership stressing the importance of ethical conduct.

However, this drops to just a third (33%) for employees at more junior levels.

Andrew Gordon, EY Global Forensic and Integrity Services Leader, said: “There are clear signs from the survey that integrity standards are on the up, as better management, regulatory factors and customer demand all make their mark. It’s also clear that employees are largely confident that their colleagues do stick to the rules.

“But there’s no hiding the fact that both internal and external pressures on these standards persist – from economic upheaval and cyber threats to regulatory change– and companies who ignore these pressures, do so at their peril.”

He added: “High integrity standards are a vital currency for organisations on the global stage – not least because they have such a huge bearing on the extent to which companies are trusted – but they can only be upheld if senior people adhere to them; lead by example; and communicate their importance effectively.

“The “do as I say, not as I do” approach has been a persistent trend over recent years, and there also seems to be a tendency, borne out in this survey, for senior management to place more emphasis on communicating the importance of ethical standards with management than with other employees. All of this can have damaging consequences, not least for how more junior employees choose to act.”