26 Mar 2015

Bribery, corruption culture growing in NZ - Deloitte

2:07 pm on 26 March 2015

A culture of bribery and corruption is growing in New Zealand, with kickbacks, conflicts of interest, under-the-table payments and personal favours becoming increasingly common, an accountancy firm says.

A Deloitte survey has found almost one in four Australian and New Zealand businesses have experienced some form of bribery and corruption in the past five years.

Deloitte forensic expert Lorinda Kelly said the growth seen in the domestic market is increasing in line with our exposure to global markets where corruption is more common, such as in China and India.

She said over a third of companies with overseas business interests had experienced some form of corruption in past five years, compared with 21 percent in the last survey, conducted, three years ago.

Ms Kelly said companies need to have a plan to deal with corruption and prepare staff to respond appropriately.