PwC survey finds fraud on the rise
The British public consider fraud to be on the rise in the UK with a decline in public morality the single biggest contributing factor.
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ survey found 76% of the British public thought fraud was on the increase. More than 90% of respondents said companies should be legally required to implement anti-fraud procedures and investigate fraud.
However, despite an overwhelming majority – 68% – saying they considered submitting false travel expenses at work to be a ‘serious wrongdoing’, less than half said they would report such an offence to relevant authorities.
These findings highlight the unwillingness to report fraud in the UK and raises questions about the success of the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act. The Act was designed to encourage whistleblowing of incidences of fraud at work.
Will Kenyon, UK investigations partner at PwC, said: ‘Too few people are prepared to act and help authorities to investigate economic crime.
‘At a time when fraud is becoming prevalent, harder to detect, and perpetrated in new ways, it is critical that the public start to treat fraud as a fundamental social and economic problem which requires a partnership between government, companies and the public themselves.’