You discover your erstwhile trusted employee has been skimming funds to support a gambling habit. What do you do?

Your first response is possibly unprintable, and understandably so. Your cooler head will prevail, and look at a small series of options for recovery, and maybe a dollop of justice. If there are losses, especially substantial losses, you will look at the circumstances of the fraudster carefully and evaluate the alleged crime for prosecution. You will look into the possibility of recovery and what the sources of recovery might be. The disruptive impact of being the victim of a crime might very well turn your thoughts away from revenge to the more practical goal of remediation.

The case studies analyzed in the 2018 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse suggest a range of options organizations choose in the wake of a fraud. The Report, a study published every other year by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), includes actions both through internal mechanisms and through external legal channels.

How are fraudsters punished?

It will come as no surprise that 65% of the fraudsters were simply terminated. 12% of organizations agreed to a settlement with the perpetrator and 11% of organizations say the perpetrator was no longer with the organization.  What you might not expect is that 6% of organizations took no action and another 8% put the perpetrator on probation or suspension. The methodology of the study asks participant organizations about their biggest fraud case in the recent past, so a no action result suggests there are some very complicated circumstances below the surface. At the least, these widely disparate outcomes imply that organizations conduct an investigation of the fraud, and the evidence might point to a prudent course of action other than termination.

The perpetrator’s position in the company impacts their punishment.

The perpetrator’s role in the organization clearly modifies the organization’s response. An owner or executive is much less likely to be terminated (44% compared with 65% overall), and also much more likely to receive no punishment (12% compared with 6% overall). 72% of ordinary employees who committed a fraud were terminated.

Law enforcement is not always involved.

In the legal realm, uncertainty is increased by the fact that the alleged fraudster is innocent until proven guilty. The outcome of a civil action or criminal prosecution is not a given. Still, in 2018, 58% of frauds were referred to law enforcement and 23% resulted in a civil suit—the majority of these legal actions were resolved favorably to the victim.

Legal uncertainty abounds.

Yet the legal uncertainty is reflected in the fact that 12% of fraud cases are settled by agreement even before any legal action is taken (18% of owner/executive cases). In the group of civil cases, 27% are settled by agreement.  And, fully 15% of civil cases result in a judgment for the alleged perpetrator.

The risks deter some organizations from taking legal action. 38% of these organizations cited bad publicity as the main reason, and other risks might also impose costs. Compounding the reasons to avoid legal action is the fact that in 53% of cases the victim recovered nothing, zero dollars. The more victims lose, the smaller the proportion they recover.

It is clear that organizations look at the cost-benefit value in deciding on what course of action to take in response to a fraud. Revenge may feel good, but it doesn’t serve the organizations’ interests.

Fraud costs organizations worldwide an estimated 5 percent of their annual revenues, according to a study conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). The ACFE’s 2018 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse analyzed 2,690 occupational fraud cases that caused a total loss of more than $7.1 billion.

The seriousness of the global fraud problem is why Lowers Risk Group announced that it will again be participating in International Fraud Awareness Week, Nov. 11-17, 2018, as an official supporter to promote anti-fraud awareness and education. The movement, known commonly as Fraud Week, champions the need to proactively fight fraud and help safeguard business and investments from the growing fraud problem.

Lowers Risk Group joins hundreds of organizations who have partnered with the ACFE, the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education, for the yearly Fraud Week campaign.

During Fraud Week, Lowers Risk Group will post a series of educational articles on its risk management blog at and will share fraud prevention tips and facts on its LinkedIn page.

Mark Lowers, President and CEO of Lowers Risk Group, remarks, “The ACFE has done an incredible job bringing awareness to the issue of fraud detection and prevention, and we are proud to be a supporter of this important effort.”

ACFE CEO and President Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA, said that the support of organizations around the world helps make Fraud Week an effective tool in raising anti-fraud awareness.

“The latest statistics tell us that fraud isn’t going away, and companies that don’t have protective measures in place stand to lose the most,” Dorris said. “That’s why it is reassuring to me to see so many businesses, agencies, universities and other organizations involved in the Fraud Week movement. The first step in combating fraud is raising awareness worldwide that it is a serious problem that requires a proactive approach toward preventing it.”

“Since our first Fraud Week almost 20 years ago, the movement continues to grow,” Dorris said. “I heartily thank all of the supporters of Fraud Week for making it what it is today.”

For more information about increasing awareness and reducing the risk of fraud during International Fraud Awareness Week, visit FraudWeek.com.

The 2018 Report to the Nations is available for download online at the ACFE’s website: ACFE.com/RTTN.  The Report is in PDF format.

About the Lowers Risk Group

Lowers Risk Group provides comprehensive enterprise risk management solutions to organizations operating in high-risk, highly-regulated environments and organizations that value risk mitigation. Our human capital and specialized industry enterprise risk management solutions protect people, brands, and profits from avoidable loss and harm. For more information, visit lowersriskgroup.com.

About the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Based in Austin, Texas, the ACFE is the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education. Together with nearly 85,000 members, the ACFE is reducing business fraud worldwide and inspiring public confidence in the integrity and objectivity within the profession. For more information, visit ACFE.com.

Occupational fraud awareness is the focus of Fraud Week but it’s also a rising concern of organizations year-round. At least that’s the message in the data from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners: 2016 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse.

The report compares the implementation of a wide range of anti-fraud controls across reported cases, and finds that every single type of control was more prevalent in 2016 than it was in 2010. This is true even for very widely used controls like more traditional types of financial audits and management review. An important example is the external review of financial statements, the single most common anti-fraud tool, whose implementation rate increased .08% to 81.7%.

Workforce Participation is Key

More interesting, is that the types of controls that have increased the most are those that leverage workforce participation and cultural restraints. The implementation rate for a hotline increased 8.9%, anti-fraud training for employees increased 7.6%, the establishment of an anti-fraud policy by 6.8%, and a code of ethics, already high, increased 6.3%.

It’s useful to think of the anti-fraud policy and code of ethics as part of the cultural framework, the stated intentions for acceptable behavior. These standards have to be demonstrated from the top down, and built into expectations for every employee. They have to be used when fraud is detected to devise an appropriate sanction in response, without equivocation.

Hotlines and Anti-Fraud Training are On the Rise

The largest rates of implementation increase for hotline and anti-fraud training for employees reflects actions taken to facilitate the cultural shift. Unlike the cultural standards that justify these tools, but which exist primarily in the beliefs of employees, hotline and training are concrete policies an organization can implement and measure. The connection between hotline and fraud detection is a fact: 39% of frauds detected come via a hotline. Training is less obvious, but it moves directly against the efforts of potential fraudsters to make up rationalizations for stealing. Training helps remove excuses, and clarifies the intentions of cultural policies.

Given the performance of hotlines, it is no wonder they are being adopted by many organizations. The key to this performance is availability, security, and privacy. The employee who reports suspicious behavior via a hotline has to feel secure, that it will be taken seriously and that it will not jeopardize his or her social standing in the enterprise.

Anti-fraud training helps employees interpret the code of ethics or anti-fraud policy in the context of their working lives. It may teach them how to recognize suspicious behavior or patterns of abuse, and how to report them. The ACFE report is full of “red-flag” behaviors that can indicate fraud or abuse, and employees who recognize these are better able to multiply the strength of the fraud prevention effort.

It is encouraging that so many organizations both recognize the threat of occupational fraud and take steps to prevent it., The fact is, that organizations of all types worldwide lose about 5% of topline revenue to fraud means the fight is far from over. In fact, given that fraud is an individualized crime, the effort to prevent it can never succeed completely. But it can win many battles, perhaps one that saves your organization.

Almost every organization is vulnerable to occupational fraud and abuse, and the impact of fraud can be costly. The 2016 Report to the Nations by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), indicates that the worldwide loss to fraud across all organizations is 5% of topline revenue. Based on reported cases of fraud, the median cost per case was $145,000, and some others were much more.

As part of the International Fraud Awareness Week for 2016, ACFE published 5 Fraud Tips, a one-page summary of steps an organization can take to reduce its vulnerability. Implementing these steps cannot guarantee your organization won’t suffer occupational fraud, but it will certainly improve the odds.

1. Be Proactive

Top management needs to put in place policies and procedures that set a tone from the top against fraud. This may include a code of ethics taught to every employee, with on-going follow up training that emphasizes the danger and unacceptability of fraud. Traditional financial controls should be in place and reviewed on a regular basis, possibly with an independent internal audit function. Fraud prevention will be enhanced through organizational structures like effective separation of duties.

2. Establish Hiring Procedures

The person you hire may be a future fraudster. The hiring process is an opportunity to look into the background of an applicant to look for factors that may indicate risk. Where it is legal, and following best practice guidelines strictly, employers can run a variety of background checks to get a fuller picture of an applicant’s character.

3. Train Employees in Fraud Prevention

Employee training can go beyond the code of ethics. Employees are on the frontline of fraud, working with others every day and working with the systems and controls that are potentially vulnerable to fraud. These employees need to be aware of the signs of fraud both in evidence (such as breeches of a control), and in the behavior of their colleagues. One of the most difficult factors of fraud to combat is the pressure employees may feel to look for ways to commit fraud.

4. Implement a Fraud Hotline

A straightforward way to improve fraud detection is a fair and anonymous hotline for reporting potential frauds. A tip has long been the most important source for fraud reporting, and the hotline can facilitate it.

5. Increase the Perception of Detection

Fraudsters’ number one concern is getting caught. An anti-fraud culture in which there is regular training, communication, and discussion about fraud makes it clear to the potential thief that he or she will be under surveillance. When fraud does occur, the organization has to act decisively to prosecute, sending the message that the crime will have consequences.

Taking these steps can reduce the risk of occupational fraud. In the long term, the improved channels of communication up and down the organization may also help establish a happier workplace, which is a further barrier to fraud.

Fraud Week comes at a perfect time each year, just before the start of a new year when many organizations take a structured look at their performance over the past months, and begin to prepare for the year ahead. When it comes time to review your fraud risk management and prevention plan, it pays to have some hard statistics in front of you.

Our latest slideshow features 18 facts straight from the ACFE’s bi-annual Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse. The report can help you understand and respond to the threat of organizational fraud in your company, and the facts presented can serve as benchmarks for your organization while helping to uncover areas you may have failed to address.

How will you use these facts to create a more effective fraud prevention plan for your company in 2018?