Research by YouGov for KPMG Forensic has revealed that 83 per cent of respondents would report their colleagues to their bosses for major incidents of fraud, while 44 per cent would report them for minor incidents like stealing office stationery. This is large rise comapred with past surveys.

The survey also found that 94 per cent of the 1,807 respondents said that they felt that accounts manipulation was unacceptable or that they felt uneasy about it. This may be because of the role that accounts manipulation had in relation to recent corporate failures.

39 per cent of respondents admitted to having lied to cover up for mistakes. This demonstrates the lengths that some employees are prepared to go to safeguard their positions, as well as indicating what represents the boundary of ‘acceptable’ behaviour.

One area which demonstrated some surprising results, was the reaction towards email and internet use. Over half (51 per cent) think that there should be some restriction on personal email at work, and a third of those surveyed (30 per cent) thought personal email should be completely prohibited within the workplace. Furthermore, a high percentage (52 per cent) think employers have the right to monitor staff emails, an area over which companies have been sensitive to in the past as it raises concerns over employee privacy.

Although over half (66 per cent) said it was totally unacceptable for profits to be dishonestly increased in accounting books, this attitude becomes more lenient for lower levels of fraud. The level of dishonesty that is thought to be acceptable varies depending on the ‘crime’ in question, with people bending the rules to suit their own purposes, such as taking a day off or stealing office stationery.

Other Findings
– 41 per cent admitted to having lied in the past to their boss to enable them to have a day off.

– 78 per cent thought it acceptable to steal items of stationery.

– 52 per cent would put personal letters through the work postage system.