How the Pandemic Shapes Organizations’ Anti-fraud Efforts in 2021

Posted 26 January 2021

Since the pandemic began, the number of fraud cases in organizations has been rising. The prohibition of traveling and working from home policy are the inexorable new realities faced by companies around the globe.

The immense pressure to achieve sales targets and relaxation of internal controls have opened up more opportunities for fraud amid the pandemic. According to the ACFE survey conducted from April to mid-May 2020, the respondents noticed an increase in particular fraud categories.

Meanwhile, based on the latest survey released in December 2020, 79% of the respondents have seen an increase in the overall level of fraud in November 2020 compared to May and August. According to their observation, the trend is predicted to persist throughout 2021 in line with the ongoing uncertain situation.

The influence of covid-19 on anti-fraud strategies

In line with the increased number of fraud, which is predicted to continue in the next 12 months, organizations are trying to remain vigilant by consistently implementing anti-fraud strategies. Based on the survey, 41% of organizations plan to increase their overall anti-fraud budget, while only 13% plan to reduce theirs.

The imposition of large-scale social restrictions certainly made the old methods of anti-fraud ineffective. With the increase in the allocation of costs for anti-fraud budget, organizations are encouraged to take unconventional ways, including:

1. Invest in technology

Nearly half of the organizations (48%) surveyed anticipate an increase in investment on anti-fraud technologies. It is very important for decision makers, especially those in highly targeted fields, such as health, government, and banking, to adapt fraud mitigation efforts to the new reality using relevant anti-fraud technologies.

2. Use of consultants

As many as 38% of respondents in the survey plan to increase the use of consultants or other external resources.

3. Empower human resources

The existence of technology does not necessarily eliminate the role of human resources. Employees remain at the forefront of anti-fraud efforts. The role of technology is to augment employees’ intelligence. Therefore, organizations need to involve employees more in the efforts by providing adequate and relevant education and training over the technology being applied. Seeing the important role of resources in fraud mitigation, as many as 24% of the surveyed organizations plan to increase budget for anti-fraud training and professional development.

Anti-fraud services

Integrity Asia has almost two decades of experience in providing a variety of comprehensive digital technology-based anti-fraud solutions, including:

Integrity Asia also provides a comprehensive system for setting up and implementing an Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) according to the ISO 37001 framework. Apart from training and consultation, we provide a system that is ready for clients to implement.

In addition, Integrity Asia has also been trusted by clients as a provider of audit and fraud investigation services. Our investigation involves the collection of relevant evidence among others by conducting interviews and audits, search for witnesses, discreet approaches to employees or external parties, desktop searches, background checks, surveillance, etc. You will also receive a comprehensive investigation report upon completion, which can be used for mitigation and remediation purposes.