KPMG warns of heightened fraud risks

Alex Plavsic,
KPMG Forensic head
of fraud investigations, warns the latest developments in the economy and the
downturn are bringing a heightened risk of fraud, affecting his clients.

‘The pressure to hit targets that have become harder to meet increases the
possibility of accounts manipulation and the booking of false revenues. Personal
financial pressures could also lead to a wider incidence of individual insider
frauds,’ he says.

He warns also that organised crime rings will be ‘icking hard against a
downturn’. They know there is a price at which they can buy the services of some
employees in order to gain access to customer and fiancial information.

‘Companies need to get the balance right between control and openness.
Segregate data wherever possible, so that no one has access to more information
than they actually need to do their job,’ Plavsic says. ‘At the same time,
ensure there are no personal fiefdoms in the business and that reporting lines
are open and transparent.’
Further reading:

FSA urges clampdown on bogus brokers

Fraud-as-a-service looms over firms