This is International Fraud Awareness Week, sponsored by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).  The most recent ACFE study showed that organizations lose the equivalent of 5% of their revenues to fraud.  If applying that to the world’s GWP, that would be $3.5 trillion in fraud losses.

According to the ACFE president and CEO, James D. Ratley, CFE, “While fraud prevention and detection is a year-round endeavor, International Fraud Awareness Week provides a great opportunity to spotlight this serious problem and stress the importance of antifraud training and education.  Businesses and organizations that are involved in this campaign show an understanding that spreading awareness is key in combating the worldwide fraud threat.”

ACFE surveys have consistently shown that those organizations that implement an anonymous and confidential fraud hotline have a reduced impact from fraud and find fraud much faster.  The most recent survey found that fraud is discovered in half the time, and losses are reduced by 67% in organizations that deploy a fraud hotline.

To learn more about International Fraud Awareness Week, reference the site at http://www.fraudweek.com/.  Contact us to discuss how an ethics hotline and ethics program can help your organization reduce losses.