Survey & Statistics
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) 2004 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud & Abuse
This study covers 508 cases of occupational fraud totaling over $761 million in losses. All information was provided by the Certified Fraud Examiners(CFEs) who investigated these cases.
Occupational frauds in our study were much more likely to be detected by a tip than through other means such as internal audits, external audits, and internal controls. Among frauds committed by owners and executives, which tend to be the most costly,over half of all cases were identified by a tip. Confidential reporting mechanisms reduce fraud losses significantly. The median loss among organizations that had anonymous reporting mechanisms was $56,500. In organizations that did not have established reporting procedures, the median loss was more than twice as high. While Sarbanes-Oxley only requires publicly traded companies to establish confidential reporting mechanisms for employees, our data strongly suggests that these programs should also embrace third-party sources such as customers and vendors. Among cases that were detected by a tip, 60% of the tips came from employees, 20% of the tips came from customers, 16% came from vendors, and 13% came from anonymous sources.
Whistleblowing: An Australian Perspective Survey conducted by Ernst & Young in conjunction with the Australian Compliance Institute June 2004©
The survey reflected the opinions of 132 respondents of differing seniority across a diverse range of organisations. 80% of respondents believe employees would be more likely to report unethical behaviour if they could do so anonymously. 44% of respondents have or are currently implementing a whistleblower program consistent with the Australian Standard 60% of respondents have no whistleblower program but believe their organisation would benefit from doing so. 66% of respondents believe a whistleblowing program could positively impact an organisation´s culture.
Business Ethics and Compliance in the Sarbanes-Oxley Era A Survey by Deloitte & Touche LLP and Corporate Board Member Magazine 2004©
98% of survey participants agree that an ethics and compliance program is an essential component of corporate governance. “If whistleblower helplines are not managed by a third party, companies may have an issue with the anonymity requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley. These requirements are based on the premise that true anonymity of reporting can only be attained if the calls are fielded by someone outside the organization. We expect that in-house managed helplines may become a thing of the past.”
8th Ernst & Young Global Fraud Survey 2003
85% of all fraud committed internally or by those on the payroll Notification by employees next most effective detection tool to internal controls