Association of Certified Fraud Examiners

The ACFE's 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse is based on data compiled from a study of 1,843 cases of occupational fraud that occurred worldwide between January 2008 and December 2009. All information was provided by the Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) who investigated those cases. The fraud cases in our study came from 106 nations — with more than 40% of cases occurring in countries outside the United States — providing a truly global view into the plague of occupational fraud.
Since the inception of the Report to the Nation more than a decade ago, we have released five updated editions — in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and the current version in 2010. Like the first Report, each subsequent edition has been based on detailed case information provided by Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs). With each new edition of the Report, we add to and modify the questions we ask of our survey participants in order to enhance the quality of the data we collect. This evolution of the Report to the Nation has enabled us to continue to draw more meaningful information from the experiences of CFEs and the frauds they encounter.
In our 2010 Report, we have, for the first time ever, widened our study to include cases from countries outside the United States. This expansion allows us to more fully explore the truly global nature of occupational fraud and provides an enhanced view into the severity and impact of these crimes. Additionally, we are able to compare the anti-fraud measures taken by organizations worldwide in order to give fraud fighters everywhere the most applicable and useful information to help them in their fraud prevention and detection efforts.
Excerpt from the Report's "Letter from the President," by James D. Ratley, CFE:
"On behalf of the ACFE, and in honor of its founder, Dr. Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, I am pleased to present the 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse to practitioners, business and government organizations, academics, the media and the general public throughout the world. The information contained in this Report will be invaluable to those who seek to deter, detect, prevent or simply understand the global economic impact of occupational fraud."

Internal Control: The Missing Point

Unfortunately, executive management  lacks the adequate and proper understanding of the nature and importance of the internal control systems for not only the strategy formulation, but also for the strategy execution and feedback.

Does this phenomenon put the entity run by this kind of executives at risk? Definitely yes.

As any entity needs a minimum structure of  internal control systems, the absence of such systems expose the entity for too many serious business matters such as fraud and corruption.

 

To Whom It May Concern: Report to the Nations on Occupational FRAUD and Abuse

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners issued lately their report titled " Report to the Nations on Occupational FRAUD and Abuse". The report is based on data compiled from a study of 1,843 cases of occupational fraud that occurred worldwide between January 2008 and December 2009.

All information was provided by Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) who investigated those cases. The fraud cases in the study came from 106 nations - with more than 40% of cases occuring in countries outside the United States- providing a truly global view into the plague of occupational fraud.

The report states that one-fourth of the frauds in the report caused at least $ 1 million in losses.

Though not surprising for the CFEs community, the initial detection of occupational frauds came from the following as per the 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational FRAUD and Abuse page 16:

Tip: 40.2%

Management Review: 15.4%

Internal Audit: 13.9%

By Accident: 8.3%
Account Reconciliation: 6.1%
Document Examination: 5.2%

External Audit: 4.6%

Surveillance/ Monitoring: 2.6%
Notified by Police: 1.8%
Confession: 1%
IT Controls: 0.8%