Taiwanese companies reported fewer economic crimes than their global or regional peers, but more cases of bribery and procurement fraud, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Taiwan showed on Wednesday last week.
A quarter of Taiwanese respondents said they were the target of economic crimes, far fewer than their global peers’ 50 percent and the Asia-Pacific region’s 46 percent, PwC’s annual crime and fraud survey showed.
This might be because Taiwanese firms are generally cautious when responding to fraud, but it might also indicate that they are less aware of the risks associated with fraud and economic crimes, the firm said, adding that it might also indicate that control measures are relatively ineffective.
Misappropriation of assets is still the most common type of fraud in Taiwan, accounting for 39 percent of all fraud, followed by bribery and corruption at 35 percent, the survey showed.
Bribery and corruption is higher than the global 25 percent rate and the Asia-Pacific region’s 30 percent, it found.
Of economic crime victims, 17 percent said they have suffered from procurement fraud, it showed.
Bribery, corruption and procurement fraud in Taiwan could be higher, PwC said, adding that about 31 percent of Taiwanese respondents believe they have lost business opportunities due to competitors’ bribery practices, higher than the global 22 percent and 26 percent in the region.
In addition, 26 percent of Taiwanese economic crime victims reported being the target of intellectual property theft, much higher than the world’s 7 percent and the region’s 6 percent, the survey showed.
This might be because 40 percent of the Taiwanese respondents are in the technology and manufacturing industries, compared with 17 percent in the world and 20 percent in the region, PwC said.
“Taiwanese companies, regulators and law enforcement agencies should pay attention to the issue, because the science and technology industry makes great contributions to the nation’s economy,” PwC Taiwan head Joseph Chou (周建宏) said.
Sixty-eight percent of local respondents that reported being victims of economic crimes said that the most devastating type come from within, as 79 percent were committed by middle and high-level managers.
The high ratio of ranking perpetrators poses a challenge to fraud control, because they are privy to a company’s confidential information, the company said.
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