Ex-SFO chief slates anti-fraud policies
The former director of the Serious Fraud Office has slammed attempts by government and business to combat fraud as pure and simple procrastination.
The former director of the Serious Fraud Office has slammed attempts by government and business to combat fraud as pure and simple procrastination.
George Staple, chairman of the Fraud Advisory Panel called for urgent improvement to law, court procedure, police resources, training and business practice, claiming the ‘national response remains well below the level of events’.
Speaking to members of the Panel, Staple criticized government and business for believing fraud prevention can be kept ‘in the bottom of the in-tray’. Staple said: ‘The cumulative impact of such an approach is to lay out a red carpet for financial crime.’
Staple said Britian still considered fraud a victimless crime. Home secretary Jack Straw said the same thing when he announced an anti-fraud partnership between the Confederation of British Industry and the Metropolitan and City of London Police forces in March.
The scale of fraud and ingenuity of fraudsters grows each year, aided recently by the opportunities offered by e-commerce. Staple pointed out that just three fraud cases in 1994 involved sums in excess of that year’s total reported loss from burglary in England and Wales.
On the launch of the CBI/police pilot programme, CBI president Sir Clive Thompson said that 60% of UK firms suffered from fraud each year. According to the Panel’s research, annual losses to fraud exceed £5 billion.
Serious Fraud OfficeSFO fails to file accounts on time
In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...
View resourceIn recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...
View resourceIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceThe first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...
View resourceGlobal spend on accountancy outsourcing up by 40% in the space of five years. News comes as accountancy outsourcing specialist AdvanceTrack reports en...
View articleFollowing a profitability review, Deloitte has decided to scale back its UK deals business due to lower returns. This strategic shift could lead to jo...
View articleUK-based Dow Schofield Watts (DSW), a mid-market professional services network, announced the creation of a new division called DSW Principal Partners...
View articleEY has been undergoing significant cost-cutting measures and streamlining its operations since the abandonment of Project Everest. The firm has made t...
View articleTransitioning from an accounting firm to a consultancy model is only one part of the puzzle. The next, equally vital piece is making the market aware ...
View articleThis framework, while providing a top-line view, underscores the importance of strategic vision, operational excellence, and the spirit of continuous ...
View articleLooking ahead, the Big 4 firms face a challenging year, with ongoing cost-of-living concerns, slow economic growth, rising geopolitical tensions, and ...
View articleLast month it was reported that Deloitte would be cutting approximately 1,200 jobs in the United States, making it the latest of the Big Four accounti...
View article