Accountants say that although the UK ranks low for corruption compared to other European Union (EU) state, there is “plenty of room for improvement”.

The call, by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), came after an report by the European Commission revealed that corruption, such as bribery and fraud, is “rife” across the EU.

Elizabeth Higgs, ICAEW Integrity and Law Manager, said: “Corruption is a massive issue globally. However, in the UK, it is considered a much lesser problem for doing business than other challenges, such as tax rates, red tape and accessing finance.

“The UK has done a lot of work in recent years to stamp out corruption and this seems to be paying off. Nevertheless, there is plenty of room for further improvement both in the UK as well as across the EU.”

In the UK, only 16 per cent of businesses consider corruption to be a widespread problem compared to an national average of 40 per cent across the 27 states of the EU.