Workers in Sussex would consider it their duty to report a colleague they suspected of committing fraud.

A survey carried out by YouGov on behalf of KPMG Forensic in the South found 84 per cent of people would report a colleague for major incidents of fraud while 45 per cent would report them for minor incidents, such as stealing office stationery.

Paul Tombleson, Gatwick-based director of KPMP Forensic, said the results showed a change in the pattern of employee behaviour.

He said: "The impact some of the recent corporate failures, which have often resulted in huge numbers of job losses, may have led to a significant change of attitude towards fraud in the workplace.

"People now recognise it is not a victimless crime and those responsible should be reported and held to account for their actions."

Ninety-four per cent of workers said they felt accounts manipulation was unacceptable or were uneasy about it.

This may be because of the role accounts manipulation had in recent corporate failures, such as Enron and Worldcom.

The survey gave an insight into the causes of fraud, finding 42 per cent of workers admitted to having lied to cover up for mistakes.

Over half (64 per cent) said it was totally unacceptable for profits to be dishonestly increased in accounting books.

But attitudes became more lenient for lower levels of fraud, such as taking a day off or stealing office stationery.

The level of dishonesty thought to be acceptable varied. Forty-two per cent of workers admitted having lied to their boss to have a day off, 83 per cent thought it acceptable to steal items of stationery and 59 per cent put personal letters through the office postage system.