Setting the Right "Tone from the Top"

“Tone from the Top” is about ‘creating a culture where everyone has the responsibility for doing the right thing’ (Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 2012). It specifically refers to the COBIT 5 enabler 'culture, ethics and behaviour' of individuals – the fundamental success factor of IT Governance. 

This means that any sort of organisation consisting of senior levels adapting or setting a poor ‘tone from the top’ attitude can lead to an increase occurrence of fraudulent activities by employees. 

I recently experienced this firsthand at my job, where my manager sneaked in comments about doing “whatever I wanted to do” as long as the job was completed. However, this included drinking on the job and stealing drinks. For me this was a disaster, because it felt like this dishonest approach was forced onto me as a new employee and I was reluctant to follow my manager’s lead along with the rest of the organisation. 

Many companies face this problem where upper management appears unconcerned with ethics and passes on this attitude to employees who feel that ethical conduct is not a priority and so, are more likely to commit fraud (ACFE, 2006). Therefore, it is recommended that organisations regularly identify, evaluate, test and assess security measures to reflect a no-tolerance attitude towards risky behaviour of upper management. This will aid in the prevention of fraudulent activities committed by employees (Bayuk, 2010, p. 129).

References:

ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners). (2006). Tone at the Top: How management can prevent fraud on the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.acfe.com/uploadedFiles/ACFE_Website/Content/documents/tone-at-the-top-research.pdf

Bayuk, J. (2010). Enterprise security for the executive: setting the tone from the top (1^st ed.). ABC-CLIO Publishing.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers. (2012). Tone from the Top: Transforming words in actions. Forensic Services, Fraud, Corruption and Business Ethics, 4 – 5.