David Anderson is principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation, forensic accounting, and marital dissolution services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

This blog, the last in my series of six blogs, concludes my discussion of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) “Occupational Fraud 2024 – A Report to the Nations.”

This blog focuses on how perpetrators concealed their frauds:

• The top seven concealment methods used by fraudsters were:
  • Creating fraudulent physical documents (41 percent of all frauds)
  • Altering physical documents (37 percent of all frauds)
  • Creating fraudulent electronic documents or files (31 percent of all frauds)
  • Altering electronic documents or files (28 percent of all frauds)
  • Destroying or withholding physical documents (23 percent of all frauds)
  • Creating fraudulent transactions in the accounting system (19 percent of all frauds)
  • Deleting or withholding electronic documents or files (19 percent of all frauds)
    • (These methods total more than 100 percent because some fraudsters used more than one method of concealing their fraudulent activities.)
  • Ninety-one percent of all cases involved the creation of fraudulent evidence and/or fraudulent transactions in the accounting system.
  • In 11 percent of frauds, the fraudster made no attempt to conceal the fraud.

The above concealment data point to the importance of such anti-fraud controls as:

• Job rotation/mandatory vacation (to prevent ongoing concealment by the perpetrator)
• Surprise audits (to potentially catch activity before it can be concealed)
• Proactive data monitoring/analysis (to potentially catch activity before it can be concealed and to identify trends or data that seems to be “out of sync” due to the concealment)
• Formal fraud risk assessments by outside parties (to identify areas which could be subject to concealment)

I hope you enjoyed reading this six-blog series about the current state of fraud.  If I can be of assistance in helping your business/organization in fighting fraud, please let me know.

About David Anderson & Associates

David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services. Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Valuation Analyst, and a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.

If you require the services of a Certified Valuation Analyst in Philadelphia or any other forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at david@davidandersonassociates.com.