Managing Fraud Risk: A Practical Guide for Directors and Managers

Answers to the Quiz

Fraud Awareness Quiz – Question 9

Who is responsible for investigating fraud in your organisation?

This question asks the delegates directly about the final part of the Fraud Risk Management Framework – investigation. The answers of course vary from delegate to delegate depending on the type of organisation and the responsibility structure in place, but I always look for a common theme. Typical responses are: the investigation team; security; internal auditors; forensic accountants; the police. There is nothing wrong with any of these answers of course, but I always check one thing with the delegates – do the individuals they have nominated possess the training and skills to carry out fraud investigation work proficiently? Because the “correct” answer to the question, the one that I am waiting to hear, is: “specialists” or “experts”.

In fact, the answer to this question is the inverse of the response that I most often receive to the very first question in the Quiz, which asks who has responsibility for preventing and detecting fraud. As we have seen, the majority of delegates answer Question 1 with the single word: “everyone”. Whilst it is always powerful to engage everyone within an organisation in preventing and detecting fraud, it would be a mistake indeed to allow everyone to take part in fraud investigations. This might seem a ridiculous proposition but I have seen it operate in practice, for example where the manager of a department that has uncovered ...