Survey reveals substantial admissions that staff are aware of dishonesty at work.
Large numbers of London-based managers and employees are prone to dishonest behaviour, according to new research
A KPMG survey, conducted by pollsters YouGov, shows that nearly half of workers in London (44 per cent) have witnessed wrongdoing by a manager or colleague.
When asked whether they believed that the management at their companies sets a good example for honest behaviour, 45 per cent said that “some were more trustworthy than others”, and 10 per cent said they did not.
Alex Plavsic, head of fraud investigation services at KPMG, said: “Bosses must show consistent levels of good behaviour and lead by example if they are to expect it from staff.
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“This can make a significant contribution to reducing the risk of fraud being perpetrated in their businesses.”
When asked what type of misconduct people across the UK had seen at work:
- 28 per cent cited theft of stock or supplies, for personal use and for resale
- 27 per cent said fiddling of expenses
- 23 per cent revealed they had witnessed monetary theft, ranging from cashing of company cheques to payments to fake companies.
- 14 per cent said they had worked at companies where some level of accounting fraud had occurred.
- 8 per cent named misdemeanours such as tax evasion, accepting back-handers in return for contracts and examples of people running another business using company resources.