Solutions
Fraud Risk & Control
Within the public and not-for-profit sectors it can have significant impact on your client’s ability to fulfil its role and objectives, thus potentially impacting on the services provided to members of the public and specific groups to whom these would otherwise be directed.
In today's economic climate, the phrase "prevention is better than cure" has never been more accurate. Whilst no organisation can be completely immune from the threat of fraudulent activity, steps can be taken to reduce exposure to financial loss, reputational damage and service interruption.
- Clients are often unaware of the complex and multifaceted nature of the fraud risks facing their organisation and have not assessed the adequacy of their control frameworks, nor their net exposure to the risks identified.
- Staff unaware of what actions to take in the event that they discover or suspect that a fraud has taken place. Such lack of awareness may mean that the fraud does not get reported or appropriately dealt with.
- Poor preventative control frameworks enable criminals to commit fraud and a lack of detective controls, mean that such frauds may continue for a prolonged period before being stopped.
- Given the fact that the level of fraud increases in an economic downturn, a low fraud reporting rate may indicate an increased risk of frauds going undetected.
- Changes in the organisation (acquisition, redundancies etc) may lead to weaknesses in the control environment that can be exploited by fraudsters.
- If a client operates in a regulated industry or sector, any frauds detected may lead to additional (and often time consuming) scrutiny and reporting pressures from the regulator.
Issue
- Facilitate interactive fraud risk assessment exercises to map, quantify and educate senior stakeholders on the risks faced by the organisation and how to address them.
- Map key controls in areas of concern and ensure that adequate preventative and detective control frameworks are put in place to mitigate the risks, including the use of continuous controls monitoring and other technology based solutions.
- Develop coordinated strategies, frameworks, policies and procedures for countering fraud.
- Undertake fraud awareness training (either face-to-face or via e-learning) to Boards, Audit Committees, management and employees.
- Assess the effectiveness of a client’s existing fraud awareness programme via the use of online surveys.
- Provide guidance on effective methods of deterring fraud.
- Use data analytics to undertake 100% sample checks on key systems and data.
- Undertake targeted investigation work in conjunction with Forensics and in line with applicable standards.
Solution