金融违规猖獗，员工知情不报怎么办

    对于同事的违规行为视而不见，这在很多金融服务公司已经司空见惯。虽然近年来金融业频频爆出丑闻，包括明富环球（MF Global）倒闭、瑞银（UBS）和法国兴业银行（Societe Generale）的流氓交易员、次贷危机、高盛（Goldman Sachs）声誉受损等等，但近期一项研究显示，大多数员工在明知同事行为违规的情况下依然是知情不报，直到一切演变成一起严重的金融危机。

    事实上，有半数违规行为在被内部员工发现后都没有上报。总部位于弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的咨询机构公司执行委员会（Corporate Executive Board）对150家公司（其中很多都是金融服务公司）的50万名员工进行了一项为期四年的调查，2011年公布的调查结果显示，即便是有员工报告此类不道德行为，60%的经理们表示如果涉事金额没有超过100万美元，他们才会上报高管。

    不当行为未予上报，是因为人们“害怕遭到报复，害怕丢掉工作、失去晋升或获得奖金的机会，”公司执行委员会的董事长兼首席执行官托马斯•莫纳汉称。许多员工认为，不当行为最终会隐瞒过去，公司不会采取行动。莫纳汉指出，很多公司都没有建立起健康、合乎道德规范的企业文化，让员工深信“自己不会遭到报复，公司会对不当行为采取行动”。

    金融服务公司的员工对非法行为知情不报潜藏着巨大的风险。公司可能面临高昂的罚款和法律成本，声誉受损，并受到更严格的监管审查。莫纳汉称，针对违反《美国反海外腐败法》（U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act）的公司，罚款已高达1亿美元。

    为什么要造成100万美元的损失才警示员工，揭发违规行为呢？莫纳汉称：“人们需要确信无疑，违规可能带来巨大的灾难。”否则，他们就会保持沉默，以免危及自身的职业稳定。

    经理与员工没什么不同，他们也往往选择隐瞒不报，担心遭到报复或因违规事件受到指责，不管是不是他们的责任。莫纳汉说，经理们担心：“如果我把这些问题曝光，我会遭到唾弃吗？”

    莫纳汉指出：“公司需要重视的最关键因素是，‘如何让员工能够放心地举报不良行为？’”

    至于如何改变公司文化、鼓励检举不当行为，莫纳汉建议管理者必须“预先”让员工知道，不道德的行为时有发生，但检举者都会得到保护。同时，他建议管理者应明示将采取什么手段来纠正不道德行为，并广而告之。莫纳汉还认为，管理者需要惩罚、开除有不道德行为的员工。

    公司执行委员会制订了一个“道德资本”度量表，从预期明确、鼓励员工检举、对同事的信赖、直接经理的领导能力、沟通开放度以及最高层的立场等六方面对公司进行打分。加拿大皇家银行（Royal Bank of Canada）在这些排名中居于靠前的25%。但具有讽刺意味的是，2012年4月3日，美国商品期货交易委员会（Commodity Futures Trading Commission）指责加拿大皇家银行通过虚构交易，骗取税务优惠。加拿大皇家银行否认所有指控。

    Turning a blind eye to the wrongdoing of colleagues has become the norm at many financial services firms. Despite the MF Global debacle, the rogue traders at UBS and Societe Generale, the subprime mortgage mess, and Goldman Sachs' tarnished reputation, most corporate employees continue to withhold information about misconduct by colleagues on issues they know are wrong, until it turns into a major financial imbroglio, according to a recent study.

    In fact, employees do not report 50% of observed misconduct. And even when unethical behavior is reported, 60% of managers said they'd only divulge information to a senior executive if the impact of the case exceeded $1 million, according to a 2011 study of 500,000 employees at 150 companies (many, but not all, financial services firms) over four years, conducted by Corporate Executive Board, an Arlington, Va.-based consulting firm.

    The improper conduct goes unreported because people "fear retaliatory action, including losing their job, failing to get promoted, failing to get a bonus," explains Thomas Monahan, chairman and CEO of Corporate Executive Board. Many employees expect that the misconduct will be buried under the table and no action will be taken. Indeed, companies have failed to create a healthy, ethical culture where people feel "they will not be retaliated against and the company will go and do something" about the wrongdoing, Monahan suggests.

    When illegal practices go unreported at a financial services firm, the stakes are high. Firms face significant fines and legal costs, reputation damage, and tightened regulatory scrutiny. Fines of $100 million have been leveled against companies that have defied the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, says Monahan.

    Why would it take a one million dollar loss to influence staff to blow the whistle on an illegal practice? Monahan says, "People need to be highly convinced that this is a potential catastrophe to take the risk." Otherwise, they'll stay mum and avoid the threat to their career stability.

    Managers are no different from employees, often choosing to squelch rather than report illegal incidents. They also fear retaliation and being blamed, justifiably or not, for the wrongdoing. "Will I be a pariah if I bring these issues to bare?" they wonder, Monahan argues.

    "The most important thing companies can focus on is, 'How do you make it okay for someone to feel comfortable sharing negative information?'" Monahan notes.

    For companies to change their culture and encourage wrongdoing to surface, Monahan says leaders must communicate "preemptively" to let staff know that unethical actions are going to happen at times, but if they surface these issues they will be protected. He says they should also describe what action was taken to resolve any ethical lapses and spread the word. Monahan also argues that managers need to penalize or dismiss employees that commit unethical acts.

    Corporate Executive Board has come up with an "Integrity Capital" scale, which rates companies based on six components, including clarity of expectations, encouraging staff to speak up, trust in colleagues, direct manager's leadership, openness of communication, and tone at the top. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) scored in the top quartile on these rankings. Ironically, on April 3, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused the RBC (RY) of fabricating bogus trades to generate ample tax benefits. RBC has denied the charges and all wrongdoing.