KPMG LLP, an audit, tax and advisory firm, has released a survey that suggests that ethics in companies and organizations may be trumped by pressures to succeed.
74 percent of the 5,000 U.S. workers surveyed said that they had personally observed misconduct within their organizations within the last 12 months.
Pressure to “do whatever it takes” to meet business goals was the most-cited cause of corporate fraud and misconduct, with 59 percent of respondents citing it. That was followed by belief that rewards will be based on results and not the means used to achieve them; the belief that the code of conduct is not taken seriously; lack of familiarity with the standards that apply to the job; and other reasons.
A summary of the survey’s findings shows variations by industry, with 80 percent of government employees reporting that they witnessed misconduct, as compared to 73 percent of healthcare employees, and 65 percent of employees in the banking and finance industries.