British businesses are suffering some of the highest fraud rates in the world as corruption and bribery rise sharply, a leading accounting firm warns today. A report by PwC says the cost of fraud to British companies has almost doubled, as crime beneath senior management level flourishes.
The research comes amid a range of government anti-fraud initiatives. Tony Parton, a PwC partner, said the research showed fraud was a concern "not just ethically but to the bottom line".
The biennial PwC report - based on interviews with more than 5,000 organisations worldwide - said British businesses suffered fraud twice as often as the global average. Almost halfthe 300 British companies surveyed said they had suffered fraud since the last survey, with the average cost almost doubling to £1.75m. The number reporting bribery and corruption also almost doubled, with more than a tenth saying they had lost a business opportunity to a competitor who had paid a bribe in Britain or overseas.
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