David Anderson is principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.
As a Certified Fraud Examiner, I belong to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (“ACFE”). This international organization has more than 75,000 members in more than 150 countries throughout the world dedicated to fighting fraud through rigorous fraud investigation and fraud deterrence programs.
Every two years, the ACFE conducts a global fraud survey to study the costs, schemes, perpetrators and victims of fraud. This month, the ACFE released its 2016 Report to the Nations, detailing the results of its latest survey. In the next several blog articles, I will present updates to previous articles which were based upon the 2014 Report to the Nations. First up, the latest trends in anti-fraud controls installed by businesses and other organizations.
The 2016 Report identified the fastest growing anti-fraud control as use of confidential hotlines for reporting fraud. The implementation rate grew by almost nine percent in the past two years to more than 60 percent – meaning that more than 60 percent of businesses and other organizations currently use these hotlines. What also is new is that more businesses are using not just telephone-based hotlines but also are providing for confidential reporting of fraud via their websites and/or e-mail.
The next fastest growing anti-fraud control is the implementation of fraud training for employees. Approximately 52 percent of all businesses and other organizations provide this to their employees – an increase of nearly 8 percent from the 2014 survey.
Other anti-fraud controls whose implementation has increased by more than 5 percent during the past two years include:
- Adoption of an anti-fraud policy
- Adoption of a code of conduct
- Increased management review of operating results
- Surprise audits
- Fraud training for managers and executives
What all of these anti-fraud controls have in common is that they show a “tone at the top” which says management does not condone fraud and is committed to fighting it. None of these anti-fraud controls is overly expensive, especially in light of the continuing fact that the cost of fraud to the typical company is approximately 5 percent of revenues.
Look for more details on these and other findings from the ACFE 2016 Report to the Nations in my next series of blogs.
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If you require the services of a Certified Fraud Examiner 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.
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, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services. Company principal David Anderson has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Valuation Analyst.
