According to a new Ernst & Young survey,
illegal business practices including bribery are still used by many organizations to secure or retain business, despite the rise in international anti-corruption legislation and law enforcement…
Key findings of this global, private sector survey include:
Although companies are doing more to establish anti-corruption programs, their efforts are being undermined by a lack of knowledge about relevant legislation.
Two-thirds of respondents claimed to know nothing about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Over two-thirds of respondents believed their internal audit teams were capable of detecting bribery and corruption.
The full survey is available here. Other notable findings are:
Regulatory enforcement is significantly stronger than...
Global Information Security Workforce Study Reveals Asia-Pacific Respondents Anticipate an Increase in Information Security Spending Across the BoardAvoiding reputation damage to the organization was viewed as a top priority for security programs by nearly three quarters of information security professionals surveyed in a worldwide study launched today by (ISC)2(R) ("ISC-squared"), the non-profit global leader in educating and certifying information security professionals throughout their careers.The 2008 Global Information Security Workforce Study ("GISWS") was conducted by analyst firm Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) on behalf of (ISC)2. It surveyed 7,548 information security professionals, including over 1,500 'C-suite' executives and security managers, as well as practitioners and IT...
* Fully 60 percent of global executives surveyed by The McKinsey Quarterly regard climate change as strategically important, and a majority consider it important to product development, investment planning, and brand management. * Fewer companies, however, act on these opinions. More than one-third of executives say their companies seldom or never consider climate change when developing overall strategy. * Nonetheless, executives express optimism about the business prospects of addressing climate change. Sixty-one percent expect the issues associated with climate change to boost profits—if managed well. * Despite the uncertainties around regulation, a remarkable 82 percent of executives expect some form of climate change regulation in their companies’ home country within five...
North American and European Executives Say Business Strategy Depends Largely on Innovation,Yet Corporate Responsibility for Innovation Is Highly Fragmented, Accenture Survey ShowsFrequency of innovation, “speed to market” are key competitive challengesNEW YORK; April 3, 2008 – Business strategy is driven largely by innovation, but corporate responsibility for the innovation process is highly fragmented, according to findings of a survey published today by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). The survey of 601 senior executives in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada found that innovation is a top corporate priority, but it also indicates that more senior-level accountability, greater CEO involvement and improved speed-to-market execution can help companies deliver on their...
The role of women in the economic and democratic development of a country has become a focus for international groups over the past few years. Women often face more barriers than men to entering the economy, including access to finance, cultural taboos, and insufficient sources of information in key areas like bookkeeping and marketing. Many countries have seen the growth of women’s chambers of commerce, groups that work specifically with women-owned businesses to assist them in advocating for legal and regulatory change.
In Bangladesh, CIPE works with the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) to bring women entrepreneurs’ issues into the spotlight with local and national-level officials. BWCCI recently released a situational analysis of women entrepreneurs...
Building and maintaining an ethical corporate culture is a growing imperative in today's business climate. So what are leading corporations doing to manage and reduce their risk of serious ethics and compliance ("E&C") failures?To answer this question, Integrity Interactive (in partnership with Client Insight LLC, an independent market research fi rm) surveyed corporate legal and compliance executives, to better understand current attitudes, expectations, and best-practices in the area of E&C risk management. Integrity's study focused on the following topics:Which E&C-related activities are considered "strategic" at the enterprise level?What forces drive current demand for E&C programs and services?Where do top-level E&C executives report in the corporate hierarchy?How are E&C program...
2008 Outlook: Managing Risk and Delivering Performance in a Challenging MarketAs the credit crunch bites and the threat of recession looms, how should finance directors respond to what the Bank of England describes as the most challenging economic environment they have seen for a decade? How can FDs manage investment with less funds available, cope with shocks when there is less room to be flexible and still meet market and stakeholder expectations? And how can finance teams deal with the challenges that the current tough economic environment is sure to trigger, not least:See full...
Assessing General Technical Knowledge, Audit Process Knowledge, and Personal Skills and Capabilities of Internal AuditorsProtiviti’s second annual survey, found that internal auditors are looking more seriously at technological solutions, including Computer-Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs). These help to automate activities such as ongoing monitoring of certain internal controls and free the internal audit team to lend their expertise to their organizations in other ways. The survey was designed to gauge how internal audit professionals perceive their present capabilities, where they currently see need for improvement, and how they prioritize those needs.See full Article (subscription...
Some companies report much less fraud than others. Why? Because they are more likely to take aggressive steps to police against fraud. This article explores how companies should attack fraud so they can achieve that high-level excellence. How does your company’s antifraud effort stack up?See full Article (subscription...
Companies Need To Invest In Green Operations And Buildings Before Talking Green To Be Seen As Environmental LeadersEcoAlign, a strategic marketing agency focused on energy and the environment and an affiliate of DEFG LLC, today released the results of the third EcoPinion survey on green brands and brand messaging.The third EcoPinion Survey highlights the fact that very few brands have any resonance in the market for green products and services. Consumers largely have a neutral, wait-and-see stance on company commitments and leadership on renewable energy, energy efficiency and the environment."There is a great opportunity to become a green brand leader with the right commitment and marketing approach," stated Andrea Fabbri, COO and Chief Marketing Officer. "But the current emphasis on...
A large chunk of the book industry is embracing green publishing, and sustainability is steadily spreading through the book world, says a new report."Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts," co-commissioned by the Green Press Initiative and the Book Industry Study Group, says that more than half of the publishers surveyed plan to increase the amount of recycled paper they use and about 60 percent have or are working on an environmental policy.The report is based on a survey of 76 publishers, who represent about half the U.S. book market, and a number of mills, printers, retailers, distributors and wholesalers, according to the Associated Press.Of the publishers that don't have environmental policies, the survey found, some don't take environmental issues seriously enough, and others do...
The nature of environmental challenges has changed considerably in recent decades.Nonetheless, the global nature of environmental problems has long been known, as issues such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, global warming, ozone depletion and tropical deforestation do not respect international borders.One can argue, however, that it is only in recent years that these problems have become widespread matters of concern among the general public. The issue of climate change was at the forefront of the debate on global environmental problems in 2007. This culminated in the 2007 Nobel Peace Price being awarded to advocates for change in this area, namely the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the environmental activist Al Gore "for their efforts to build up and disseminate...
Final results from in-depth survey indicate global growthComprehensive results of the most in-depth study ever conducted on the internal audit profession have been published by The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation (IIARF). With the participation of more than 9,300 respondents from 91 countries, the study found that, overall, internal auditors around the world share many similarities - such as their roles within organizations, increasing regulatory influence, and practicing in conformance with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards).However, the study also found that internal auditing has varying levels of maturity - depending on the culture in which it’s practiced. Known as the IIARF’s Common Body of Knowledge...
Last week, we released the findings of yet another CIPE survey of the Iraqi business community. Why such a survey? Well, if you are going to do anything related to the economic rebuilding of the country shouldn’t you have an idea of what the private sector thinks? It helps to know business views because it is the private sector that must ultimately attract investment, create jobs, provide products and services, pay taxes, and become a key player in facilitating political stability.
So, working with our local partners, we went out and polled 1,630 Iraqi business owners. The sample was selected randomly from the registers of various Iraqi chambers of commerce and the Iraqi Businessmen Union. Although it is difficult task as one might imagine, we tried to cover the whole country...
Workplace stress is the most frequently cited reason U.S. employees consider leaving their jobs. While employers acknowledge that stress is affecting business performance, few are taking steps to address it, according to two surveys by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading global consulting firm.Nearly half of U.S. employers (48 percent) say stress caused by working long hours is affecting business performance. However, only 5 percent are addressing this concern, according to Watson Wyatt’s 2007/2008 Staying@Work report. Similarly, more than one-quarter (29 percent) of employers believe stress caused by widespread use of technology such as cell phones and personal digital assistants is greatly affecting business performance, but only 6 percent are taking action to confront the issue.See...
Still too many red lights on the scorecardThe 2001 collapse of Enron gave companies, stock exchanges and legislators across the world the opportunity to revisit the corporate governance landscape. Weak areas should have been addressed and rectified so as to prevent another disaster that could have severe implications for stakeholders, particularly the vulnerable ones such as pensioners – The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is one direct action taken.But has enough been done to address the risks of corporate collapse and have we learned any lessons over the past few years? How far have we come, and the frightening question is – have we perhaps even regressed in some areas?See full...
A global survey of predominantly senior sustainability practitioners – from business, civil society, and academia – points to a leadership vacuum, such that critical issues related to sustainability are being ignored or inadequately addressed by both government and business leaders.The joint SustainAbility/GlobeScan survey was conducted on-line by GlobeScan, to identify drivers and obstacles to the global sustainability agenda.Fully seventy-five percent of 2,158 respondents view “current efforts of governments, businesses, and multilateral organizations” as being “very or mostly inadequate.” Firms such as GE, Shell, Novo Nordisk, and Patagonia nonetheless are recognized as “leading in this area.” Conversely, among those willing and able to identify a specific company that...
SummaryBusinesses are rapidly moving beyond the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as simply a necessary cost of doing business. Behind this new development is the unique role of the Internet in influencing buying behavior by providing ubiquitous, in-depth information about companies, their global supply chain partners, and their impact on society and the environment. To gauge how deeply CSR has penetrated the core of the corporation — it's strategies and operations, IBM surveyed more than 250 business leaders globally and found that two-thirds of them are focusing on CSR activities to create new revenue streams. Yet fewer than one-quarter believe they understand their customers' CSR expectations well, a potentially alarming finding at a time when new customer expectations -...
Citigroup and Bank of America post Highest Scores Among 16 U.S. BanksWhile encouraging progress is being made, the banking sector still has a long way to go in confronting the business challenges posed by global climate change, according to a first-ever report issued today by the Ceres investor coalition that analyzes climate change governance practices of 40 of the world’s largest banks.Banks and financial institutions, with nearly $6 trillion in market capitalization, are a key player in combating the impacts of climate change and supporting the investments necessary to move the world economy on a pathway to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.The report found that a growing number of European, U.S. banks and Japanese banks are responding to the risks and opportunities presented by...
Study by Heidrick & Struggles and USC's Marshall School of Business also shows wide dissatisfaction with SEC disclosure rulesCEO pay is "too high in most cases," say about one in three directors of U.S.-based public companies in a just-released survey by Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSII) and the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO) at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.The survey also found widespread unhappiness among directors regarding disclosure rules about executive compensation mandated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The rules were unveiled with great fanfare to give investors and corporate watchdogs better, timelier information about pay and other compensation for top executives. Despite those intentions,...
GlobeScan's research into corporate social responsibility has spanned more than 30 countries since 1999. Over the years, it has become apparent that understanding of the term "corporate social responsibility" (CSR) differs greatly from country to country, with developing nations appearing to focus more on product quality attributes and industrialized countries defining CSR according to labor issues, the environment, and community involvement. To test this general assumption, GlobeScan asked 100 respondents each in 20 countries in this year's survey for the most important thing a large company should do in order to be considered socially responsibleSee full Press...
To understand expectations of the level of executive engagement on CSR required within a company, GlobeScan specifically asked shareholders whether they agree or disagree that "In addition to their other duties, the head of a large company and its board of directors should be responsible for monitoring the company's social and environmental policies and practices." Strong majorities in all countries surveyed, including nine in ten shareholders in Europe and 94 percent in North America, agree that CEOs and boards should be responsible for monitoring their company's CSR practices.This high level of expectation that CSR be considered important at all levels of a company reflects the importance accorded to CSR by shareholders, and portends to even greater attention paid to CSR by corporate...
KPMG warns UK corporate fraud could hit a record high this year as the economy grinds to a haltThe latest KPMG Forensic Fraud Barometer reveals more than £1bn in fraud claims reached the UK courts in 2007 – the highest since 1995. Government bodies and agencies were the most popular target of organised, criminal fraud, accounting for £889m of the total.‘Organised gangs have been more active than ever, with a proliferation in VAT frauds, ID thefts and other forms of white collar crime,’ Hitesh Patel, a KPMG Forensic partner, told The Daily Telegraph.See full...
Investor calls for advisory votes on pay and other measures to reform executive compensation will resonate in 2008 as U.S. capital markets slide in the face of recession.A network of investors, led by Boston-based Walden Asset Management and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has so far filed more than 90 proposals calling for an advisory vote on pay, compared with 44 such resolutions at this time last year.The network’s membership--which ranges from retail shareholders to pension fund giants including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System--also has grown from 2007. Nearly 75 investors have come together this year to file the measure at primarily large and medium-sized companies.“Companies receiving the proposal include those where...
For the past 13 years, Spencer Stuart has conducted research on the developmental background and professional experience of the CEOs of leading companies in the US. This year our research was conducted among CEOs of S&P 500 companies.This annual research allows us to compare the career paths of today's CEOs with those of previous years and to determine the areas in which there has been the most change. It reveals emerging trends among these leaders and draws a more detailed image as to what sort of experience is required of today's company leader — and what makes today's CEOs.See full...
Canadian media company Corporate Knights and investment research firm Innovest Strategic Value Advisors have named their fourth annual Global 100 list of the most sustainable large corporations in the world.The companies – announced at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos – are selected according to how effectively they manage environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities, relative to their industry peers.“As global investors become increasingly concerned about economic prospects for 2008, we believe that the Global 100 will be particularly well positioned to weather the storm and deliver superior value to investors,” said Matthew Kiernan, CEO of Innovest, whose analysis underpins the list.The full list is available here. It includes corporate responsibility...
According to What Directors Think 2007, nearly one-quarter (23%) of the over 1,000 respondents to the sixth annual U.S. public company directors survey feel that a member of their board should be replaced.Why:* The director does not have the skill set needed... 36%* The director is not engaged.................................. 31%* The director comes to meetings unprepared........ 18%* The director has been on the board too long....... 17%See full...
This publication features the full results of the annual Corporate Board Member / PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP "What Directors Think" study, which gathers directors' opinions on topics such as director risk, board evaluations, CEO succession, and more.See full Report, in pdf...
Despite heightened efforts at regulation and companies' investments in controls, fraud remains a major threat to companies around the world. From simple theft to more complex schemes involving management and corruption, the threat continues regardless of a company's size, location or industry. With over eight years of data on trends, perceptions and incidents of fraud, PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Economic Crime Survey 2007 points to the continued evidence of the intractability of fraud. Entitled Economic crime: People, culture and controls the report reveals that internal controls alone are not enough to fight it. Instead, controls must be backed by a strong ethical company culture, a broad risk management programme, and "zero tolerance" of executives or other employees who commit...
An organization’s Code of Conduct, alternatively referred to as ‘Code of Ethics’ or ‘Code of Business Standards’, is the stated commitment of the behavioral expectations that an organization holds for its employees and agents. Such Codes are now commonplace for most corporations, increasingly shared not only with employees, but with customers and the public at large as well. To be successful, a Code must be believable by all stakeholders to which it applies. Certainly the subject corporation’s commitment in action has significant impact. However, how the Code itself is written, what it contains (and doesn’t), and how it is communicated all play instrumental underlying roles in whether it has the power to influence not only perceptions, but actions.See full...