Fraud and cybercrime are on the rise, but the C-Suite is still unprepared. According to the 13^th EY Global Fraud Survey, Overcoming Compliance Fatigue: Reinforcing the Commitment to Ethical Growth, U.S. respondents reported that the fraud incidence rate doubled to 16 percent from 8 percent over the last two years.

The survey, including in-depth interviews with more than 2,700 executives in 59 countries, showed that nearly 40 percent of all respondents believe that bribery and corruption are widespread in their country.

Executives are less likely than their teams to attend anti-bribery/anti-corruption (ABAC) training (38 percent) or participate in an ABAC risk assessment (30 percent). In all, one in five businesses in the survey do not have an ABAC policy, and less than 50 percent of respondents have attended ABAC training.

Twenty-one percent of CEOs said that they had been approached to pay a bribe in the past, compared with 10 percent of all C-Suite interviewees. Forty-five percent of organizations have not introduced a whistleblowing hotline.

In addition, cybercrime is gaining ground, yet 48 percent of respondents considered it to be of fairly low risk to their business.

The survey findings suggest that C-Suite executives might not have a proper appreciation of cybercrime risks. Respondents see hackers as the biggest concern (48 percent) and are underestimating risks from organized crime syndicates and foreign states.