The majority of executives believe their boards are not sufficiently prepared to deal with the new risks related to fraud and corruption as companies return to growth, reveals the Ernst & Young 11th Global Fraud Survey, Driving Ethical Growth – New Markets, New Challenges. In addition, more than three-quarters of executives believe their boards are increasingly concerned about their personal liability from fraud, bribery and corruption.

The biennial survey, which includes responses from more than 1,400 CFOs and heads of internal audit, legal and compliance in major corporations in 36 countries, shows that from a global perspective, corporate boards in Latin America (95%), the Middle East and Africa (87%), Central and Eastern Europe (84%) and Australia (81%) are particularly concerned about their personal liability for the companies’ fraud, bribery or corruption. While 72% of directors in North America are concerned about these risks, the survey reveals that U.S. boards are asking more questions about bribery and fraud than their global counterparts.

Globally, 16% of companies report experiencing an instance of fraud over the past two years.  In the U.S., however, only 9% of companies report experiencing an instance of fraud – a decline from 15% in the U.S. two years ago.  Western Europe is one region where a growing number of companies have experienced an instance of fraud– rising to 21% from 10%.  This difference may be attributed to the fact that U.S. companies are more diligent about assessing risk than their global counterparts – 82% of U.S. corporations say they have carried out a fraud risk assessment in the last 12 months, compared to only two-thirds of companies globally.

“We found that U.S. companies are asking the CFO for reviews of anti-fraud, bribery and corruption at a much higher rate than in other regions,” said Jeff Taylor, Americas Leader of Ernst & Young’s Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services. “At the same time, we also saw that, even as incidents of fraud have risen globally in the past year, they have dropped in the United States. These requests are being taken seriously, as personal liability, not just the potential financial impact to the company, has become a great concern among senior level executives when it comes to instances of fraud.”

Further details are available at Corporate Compliance Insights.