Indian Inc Needs Effective Whistle-Blowing Framework, Says EY

They represented domestic entities as well as Indian subsidiaries of multinational companies with annual revenues ranging from up to 5 billion to 100 billion.

"India Inc still needs to make significant headway to benefit from an effective whistle-blowing frame work," Arpinder Singh, Partner and National Leader, Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services at EY said.

Going forward, it is necessary for the management to pay more attention to the intricacies of the framework through efficient monitoring, support and oversight and most importantly, establishing a robust fraud response plan, he noted. Around 56 percent of the respondents indicated that "less than 25 percent of the complaints reported the need for further investigations.

"This indicates that majority of the complaints received were not within the scope of whistle-blowing. Lack of clarity on the purview and inadequate training can be major deterrents in establishing an effective mechanism," EY said. In terms of sectors, the survey found that automotive and telecom are able to derive greater benefits from implementing a whistle-blowing mechanism as compared to others.

This appears because the organisations surveyed were led by global mandates and the nature of investments seemed to incorporate leading practices, it said.

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