Whistleblowing & Fraud Detection

Despite the very many different cultural beliefs and nuances worldwide, it would appear that in terms of Fraud detection, whistleblowing/hotline mechanisms for organisations and their employees are the most successful the world over.

Figures released in the recently published ACFE 2012 Report to the Nations, showed that information received via whistleblowing/hotline mechanisms, accounted for just over 43% of all Fraud cases detected worldwide.

Africa had the highest percentage of Fraud cases detected in this way with almost 53%. Europe and the USA had over 42% and over 43% of Fraud cases detected, respectively.

Further interesting figures demonstrated that almost 51% of Fraud was detected through information provided to whistleblowing/hotline services, when just over 16% were detected by Internal Audit.

The report also highlighted that organisations with some form of whistleblowing/hotline mechanism saw a much higher likelihood that fraud/financial misconduct would be detected through this mechanism, than organisations without.

Smaller organisations (those with less than 100 employees) are not immune to the threat of fraud and financial misconduct. The report demonstrates that such organisations find themselves victims far more frequently than larger organisations and that they also suffer from disproportionately large losses.

Information via whistleblowing/hotline mechanisms still offer small organisations the best opportunity for the detection of fraud/financial misconduct, with over 36% of fraud cases being detected in this way, followed by 14% and just under 12% by Management Review and by accident, respectively.

SeeHearSpeakUp have always been flexible in terms of our services provided. We also appreciate that smaller organisations may not have access to ample resources or are unable to completely segregate the all important duties, where the risks may be greatest. As such, SeeHearSpeakUp have adopted a flexible pricing structure for smaller organisations, whilst still providing the full 24/7, 365 days a year, worldwide coverage, that every client organisation receives.