Fraud Awareness Week Casts Spotlight on White Collar Crime
FISCAL ACCOUNTS Joins Ranks of Supporters for Nov. 8-14 Awareness Movement
FISCAL ACCOUNTS announced that it will be participating in International Fraud Awareness Week, Nov. 8-15, 2009 as an Official Supporter to promote anti-fraud awareness and education. Fraud Awareness Week comes during a time when intense financial pressures caused by the economic crisis have led to an increase of fraud, according to a survey of fraud experts conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).
FISCAL ACCOUNTS joins hundreds of organizations who have partnered with the ACFE, the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education, in a commitment to proactively fight fraud and help safeguard business and investments from this growing problem.
During Fraud Awareness Week, Fiscal Accounts as an Official Supporter will engage in various activities in support of the anti-fraud movement. These initiatives include hosting fraud awareness training for employees and/or the community, conducting employee surveys to assess levels of fraud awareness within their organization, posting articles on their web site and in newsletters and teaming with local media to highlight the problem of fraud.
ACFE President James D. Ratley, CFE, said that the support of organizations around the world helps make Fraud Week an effective tool in raising anti-fraud awareness.
“Fraud continues to be a serious problem, and the state of our economy requires all organizations to be even more vigilant,” Ratley said. “Once again, we want to say ‘thank you’ to all of the Fraud Awareness Week supporters for helping to shine a spotlight on the urgent need for fraud prevention and detection.”
In its report Occupational Fraud: A Study of the Impact of an Economic Recession, the ACFE found that:
• Employees pose the greatest fraud threat in the current economy. When asked which, if any, of several categories of fraud increased during the previous 12 months, the largest number of survey respondents (48 percent) indicated that embezzlement was on the rise.
• Layoffs are affecting organizations' internal control systems. Nearly 60 percent of Certified Fraud Examiners who work as in-house fraud examiners reported that their companies had experienced layoffs during the past year. Among those who had experienced layoffs, almost 35 percent said their company had eliminated some anti-fraud controls.
• Fraud levels are expected to continue rising. Almost 90 percent of respondents said they expect fraud to continue to increase during the next 12 months.
For more information about increasing awareness and reducing the risk of fraud during International Fraud Awareness Week, visit www.FraudWeek.com.
Occupational Fraud: A Study of the Impact of an Economic Recession is available for download online at the ACFE’s web site: www.ACFE.com/Occupational-Fraud. The report is in PDF format.
About Fiscal Accounts
Fiscal Accounts is a leading general practice accountancy firm in Northern Ireland and it offers all would-be Alan Sugar’s the opportunity to chat through their business plans in a free 20-minute ‘start-up’ session, outlining the simple first steps needed to get a new venture off the ground.
Fiscal Accounts has been awarded status as a Member of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute (ACFEI) and is also an Associate Member of the Association of Fraud Examiner. Fiscal Accounts is a member of the Institute of Certified Practising Accountants (ICPA), the organisation for independent professional accountants throughout the UK, which recognizes the business as offering the highest standards in expertise, professionalism and experience.
Fiscal Accounts offers a full range of new business planning services for entrepreneurs, including the creation of essential financial information such as the cashflow forecasts required for securing bank finance. In addition, Fiscal Accounts provides general accountancy and taxation services and fraud prevention and detection services for companies and small businesses across Northern Ireland, the UK and abroad.
About the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
The ACFE is the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education. Together with nearly 50,000 members in over 125 countries, the ACFE is reducing the incidence of fraud and providing the training and resources to fight fraud more effectively. For more information about the ACFE, visit www.ACFE.com.