Singaporean companies lead global ethics and compliance: Study

SINGAPORE: Singapore companies lead global ethics and compliance according to a recent study conducted by LRN Corporation, Singapore Business Review reports.

According to LRN Corp.’s E&C Programme Effectiveness Report, 90% of Singaporean companies have had to make tough decisions to stay aligned with their values. This figure stands 20% higher than the average seen in Asia Pacific and globally.

Moreover, nearly three-quarters of these firms have actively adjusted or abandoned initiatives to ensure compliance with ethical standards, especially in crucial business decisions, surpassing regional and global averages by 20%.

What’s striking is not just the willingness to make difficult choices but the effectiveness of Singaporean firms in enhancing their ethics and compliance programmes.

Compared to their global peers, these companies exhibit a greater readiness to embrace new training methods and a more frequent engagement in addressing ethical dilemmas.

The report highlights Singapore’s adaptability to the evolving business landscape. With more business risks today, the report said, “Respondents from Singapore respond more dynamically to changes than global and APAC peers around addressing risk controls, analysing regulatory requirements, and focusing on risks posed by overseas operations.”

One of the standout aspects of Singaporean corporate culture highlighted in the study is the implementation of incentives and disincentives for ethical conduct. The city-state outshines the global average in measuring “management performance, hiring, promotion, and bonus rewards” based on ethical behaviour.

A significant proportion of Singaporean businesses—three-fourths to be precise—incorporate ethical conduct as a criterion for promotions and bonuses.

Furthermore, 60% of these companies stated they had taken disciplinary action or terminated high-performing employees or executives due to unethical behaviour. This figure contrasts sharply with the global and Asia-Pacific averages of 40%.

Eric Morehead, the director of advisory service solutions at LRN, expressed his observations on the report. He noted:

“This year’s report shows that companies in Singapore are committed towards maintaining high E&C standards. They have taken action on ethical issues at a higher rate than worldwide peers and lead their global counterparts across several E&C metrics.”/TISG

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