Turning to the wider global economy, the survey also identified a perception in emerging markets that individuals responsible for corruption are not being held to account, with 70 per cent of respondents in Brazil and 56 per cent in both Africa and Eastern Europe believing that although governments are willing to prosecute, they are not effective in securing convictions.
 
“Increased levels of global cooperation between law enforcement agencies are making it harder for fraudsters and bribe-payers to evade prosecution. However, with respondents indicating that such misconduct is showing no sign of abating, companies continue to be exposed to major risks driven by the illegal actions of a small minority of employees,” said David Stulb, EY global leader of fraud investigation and dispute services.

EY said there are more positive indicators, however, particularly in markets where governments and regulators have taken steps to crack down on impropriety. In India, for example, where steps to increase transparency and crackdown on corruption have been taken by the government, the proportion of respondents that believe bribery and corruption happens widely in the country declined from 67 per cent in 2014 to 58 per cent this year. In China, 74 per cent of local respondents report that enforcement is effective, indicating the apparent effectiveness of the Chinese government’s commitment to tackle corruption.

Robust compliance, robust growth?
Expanding into new markets is essential for most companies, yet such expansion brings new and less familiar risks, the survey said. It added that companies are frequently failing to take appropriate steps to respond and reduce their risk exposure, for example:
- One in five do not identify third parties as part of their anti-corruption due diligence; 
- One in three do not assess country or industry-specific corruption risks before making investments; and 
- Only half use technologies such as forensic data analytics to identify and mitigate risks.