Deloitte’s Conduct Watch Survey, released on Sept 23, found that 91% of Asia Pacific organisations have implemented whistleblowing programmes, an increase from 87% in 2023. This shows a stronger recognition of the importance of whistleblowing and highlights an increased commitment to ethical practices.
The survey – which polled 500 participants across Asia Pacific spanning 10 different industries – found that 66% of respondents held that whistleblowing policies were of high priority, an increase from 58% in 2023.
Top management is assuming more responsibility for whistleblowing practices. In 2024, 43% of board level members and 32% of C-suite executives are overseeing their organisations’ whistleblowing programmes, a significant increase from 14% and 11% respectively in 2023.
Organisations have employed whistleblowing programmes to foster a proactive ethical culture that enhances workplace transparency and values financial integrity. Between 2023 and 2024, organisations have placed an increasing emphasis on improving the culture of ethics (25% to 26%) and encouraging a positive and transparent working environment (21% to 23%).
The focus on detecting fraud and financial misconduct increased from 23% to 28% while there has been a decrease in initiatives mandated by legal, regulatory or group requirements from 20% to 11%, suggesting that organisations are becoming more intrinsically motivated to implement whistleblowing policies.
Whistleblowing has become an increasingly useful tool for organisations to safeguard their interests and their stakeholders. The most anticipated and observed benefits of a clear whistleblowing programme are early detection and prevention of fraud (35%), creating a safe working environment (31%) and enhancing stakeholder confidence (20%).
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Despite the clear benefits and increased importance being placed on whistleblowing policies, clearer and more consistent communication of such policies are needed.
Of those surveyed, 44% indicated that they do not stick to a specific timeframe for communicating whistleblowing policies to stakeholders, while less than a quarter (24%) provide annual communication regarding their programmes.
Furthermore, 61% of challenges organisations face in implementing a whistleblowing programme involve employee issues including independence of the reporting process, lack of awareness of the whistleblowing programme and fear of retaliation, marking an improvement from 69% in 2023. Given these challenges and the ever-changing demands on businesses, sufficient consideration needs to be given to the benefits of engaging an external whistleblowing service provider to manage stakeholder concerns.
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Looking ahead, disclosure trends in the past two years have shown an increasing trend of heightened awareness and vigilance regarding ethical standards within organisations. Human resource and conflict of interest were the most common disclosures, representing 24% each. Conversely, disclosures relating to fraud fell from 18% in 2023 to 13% in 2024.
Yang Ping, Deloitte Global and Asia Pacific conduct watch leader, recognises the importance of whistleblowing policies noting that “amidst the evolving regulatory landscape and increasing stakeholder expectations, it is pertinent for organisations to implement and continually refine their whistleblowing policies as strong corporate governance would inevitably affect investor sentiments.”
