Deloitte Online Poll: More Than Half of Business Professionals Think it Impossible...

Deloitte Online Poll: More Than Half of Business Professionals Think it
Impossible to Achieve Transparency Promised for Bailout Fund Spending

Most Say Regulation Will Increase for All Industries

NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- More than half (58.2 percent) of business
professionals polled on a recent Deloitte webcast said the level of
transparency the Obama administration promises to attach to bailout spending
is not possible.

"Stimulus funds need to be infused into the economy as quickly and efficiently
as possible in order to stimulate growth," said David Williams, leader of
Deloitte's Financial Advisory Services practice. "However, the legislative
process as well as the public's desire for transparency surrounding how
stimulus funds are allocated do not bode well for getting stimulus funds into
the economy quickly."

Most poll respondents (80 percent) indicated that the emphasis on transparency
and accountability in government spending will translate into wider
regulations for all businesses. And, 40.5 percent said that - regardless of
whether their companies will benefit from stimulus funding - the government
emphasis on transparency and ethics will lead them to address their companies'
anti-fraud programs and controls.

"Beyond conducting fraud risk assessments to figure out if existing controls
adequately cover risks unique to their organizations, executives and boards
will need to gain a better understanding of the False Claims Act," said
Williams. "While familiarity with this term is almost nonexistent today, the
False Claims Act is likely to achieve increased visibility as bailout money is
further injected into the economy."

In fact, 79.8 percent of respondents admitted they were unfamiliar with the
False Claims Act.

"Currently, the government's primary civil fraud enforcement mechanism, the
False Claims Act, empowers individuals to 'blow the whistle' on companies that
defraud the government and receive a 'finders fee' if the government collects
fines or retribution," continued Williams. "In addition, if two bills pending
a vote in the Senate expand the reach of the False Claims Act, enforcement
efforts by the FBI and DOJ will accelerate. Furthermore, we would expect that
the amount of money the government recovers will increase substantially in the
coming years, well beyond the average of $1 billion recovered annually during
the past two decades."

More than 1,540 business professionals from the financial services; consumer
and industrial products; technology, media and telecom; banking and
securities; energy and resources industries; and other industries responded to
the survey questions during the March 23 webcast, titled "Oversight of the
Fiscal Stimulus Bill: Transparency in a New Age."

About Deloitte
As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Financial Advisory
Services LLP and Deloitte Services LP, separate subsidiaries of Deloitte LLP.
Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal
structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

SOURCE Deloitte

Lauren Mistretta, Public Relations for Deloitte, +1-312-486-4259,
lmistretta@deloitte.com; or Shelley Pfaendler, Vice President, KCSA Strategic
Communications, +1-212-896-1248, spfaendler@kcsa.com