Sometimes businesspeople make this comment. More often, though, the skeptics are people outside of business. Those who actually work in business know that business ethics is a serious issue for a number of reasons.
Businesses obviously care about the ethics of their managers and employees.
Managers who embezzle large sums of money can destroy a firm. Sexual harassment by employees may lead to multi-million dollar legal settlements. A firm may be hit by substantial fines if employees lie to customers, misrepresenting the features or risks of products. Firms may want to maximize profits but they certainly do not want employees who try to line their pockets by whatever means possible. Firms equally care about the ethics of their customers.