Accountants and book keepers are not perfect. That may be a revelation to many, and unfortunately recent research at the University of NSW reveals that they have been known to commit fraud. Not all of them, of course, but a number of them
A recent online UNSW BusinessThink article (read it here) showcases research by Paul Andon, Clinton Free and Benjamin Scard into fraud by accountants in Australia, examining 192 successful fraud prosecutions. Essentially they found the four major pathways into fraud:
- Personal circumstances – “crisis responders”, people who have some personal crisis in their lives (like marriage breakup, gambling debts). This group is the most common (in excess of 50%), the majority of whom are female.
- Situational elements – “opportunity takers”, people who see an opportunity too good to pass up, and are often satisfying some need to take revenge or right a perceived injustice.
- Humans are fallible – that is, anyone is capable of fraud – people make mistakes.
- Attitudinal flexibility – “opportunity seekers” who are proactively looking to commit fraud, and “deviance seekers” who are calculating and unremorseful in their actions.
Interestingly the research also found that it frequently takes a long time to get caught. Warning signs to be on the lookout for include people not taking annual leave (for fear of being found out), and not having adequate separation of duties.
Fraud is committed by anyone, for a variety of reasons and motives. Are you reducing the risks of fraud in your organisation? If you would further information on how Avondale Business School can help your organisation, contact Warrick Long
P: 02 4980 2168