A record number of frauds involving investors and insurance companies came before the courts in the first six months of 2011 according to the latest edition of KPMG’s Fraud Barometer, with the cost of the average fraud case the third highest on record.
The Barometer shows the number of serious frauds that came before the courts fell from 56 to 50, with the aggregate amount lost to fraud falling from $131 million to $91 million, the lowest level on record.
However, the average value of fraud was the third highest on record at $1.8 million and Gary Gill, the national head of KPMG’s forensic division, says there are also some worrying trends in the new type of frauds emerging.
The biggest trend was a sharp rise in investor fraud, with $32 million ripped off by unscrupulous advisers in the first six months of the year.
Gill told SmartCompany this morning that $22 million of this had been misappropriated by legitimate advisers and $10 million by rogues posing as promoters of investment schemes.
He says the increase in investor fraud may have been related to investors chasing money lost during the GFC and says investors need to be cautious when putting money into a scheme.
“From an investor’s perspective, before you hand over the money to an adviser make sure you’ve done your homework. Then make sure you are monitoring your accounts very closely. If anything looks suspicious, make your inquires.”
Gill is also concerned with an increase in fraud involving internal culprits (employees) and external parties (such as suppliers or other criminals).
Typically, worst offenders came from the upper levels of a business.
The KMPG report says managers were the most common perpetrators of fraud and were involved in 12 separate frauds involving a total of more than $40 million.
This took the average amount for management-led fraud to $3.37 million – more than twice the average fraud value for non-management employees of $1.51 million.
“Managers know their way around the controls and they have the ability to get around those controls,” Gill says.
He says the best protection for business owners is to have the right systems in place.
“It really gets back to controls. If you can’t trust your senior people, you need whistleblower procedures and you need monitoring procedures.”
He also says businesses should keep in mind the typical profile of an internal fraudster: male, 36 to 45-years-old and typically a senior person in the area of finance.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
