Fifteen percent of chief financial officers around the world are willing to make cash payments to win or retain business, according to a survey of executives interviewed by the accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP.

The firm's annual “global fraud survey” of 400 finance chiefs, interviewed from November to February, found a greater tolerance of bribery compared with the previous year, when 9 percent said they would make cash payments. Five percent of CFOs said they would misstate financial performance, while 3 percent said that the year before, according to the survey.

“One of the most troubling findings of the survey is the widespread acceptance of unethical business practices,” according to the survey released yesterday. “It is particularly alarming that respondents are increasingly willing to make cash payments” and misstate results to survive an economic downturn.