Is the UK's anti-fraud strategy achieving its aims?
Three years on and the National Fraud Authority's report card shows it is missing its own targets, says Bill Trueman
Three years on and the National Fraud Authority's report card shows it is missing its own targets, says Bill Trueman
IT WAS IN HER CAPACITY as Attorney General that Baroness Scotland launched the ‘National Fraud Strategic Authority’ three years ago next month; and it is now time that we started being honest about the level of progress made to date in its report card.
The NF(S)A should “fight against fraud in a more aggressive and hostile way and make fraudsters very frightened” Baroness Scotland said during the launch. So how would the three-year report card stack up against this?
A recent survey of fraud professionals by UK Fraud reviewed progress against the main eight objectives of the National Fraud Authority (the “strategic” part of its name was dropped early on). The majority of fraud experts surveyed felt the NFA had made only some impact.
Interestingly, by 2011, a revamped NFA website seemed to suggest that half of the organisation’s objectives had been removed. No longer does the NFA boast that key to the fight was “collaboration, strategic authority and co-ordination across industry”, but has seemingly moved as an organisation, to being a cross-government body under the mantra “we sit at the heart of government with access to key decision-makers and ministers across a range of key departments.”
So where does this leave those of us waiting across many industries for strategic leadership and the promised aggressive, joined-up action.
So let’s review the eight NF(S)A stated objectives that were key deliverables for nearly three years.
Surely the NFA now needs a new mentor to help it get back on track. Maybe it needs a new ‘loud’ politician to kick it off again and start afresh. Such a radical action could help drive this forward. With the Home Office now responsible for the NFA, we also now need much more involvement of experienced anti-fraud practitioners, not just civil servants.
As self-appointed and self-styled headmaster, what concluding opinions might I have? “After three years, the ‘pupil’ is, struggling to find keenly awaited and significant success. With both fewer and diluted objectives to be judged against, the pupil now needs a lot of help and possibly the opportunity to repeat a year or two to catch up.”
Bill Trueman is managing director of risk management consultancy UK Fraud