Fraud highs 'set to continue'

06/01/2010 Fraud highs 'set to continue'

The level of malpractice among the accounting and supply chain divisions is set to remain high throughout the next 12 months, according to risk jobs provider KPMG.

The firm's Fraud Barometer, which will be published in the coming weeks, is predicted to show that 2009 had record or near-record numbers of companies involved in bribery or corruption.

KPMG places this rise in fraud on the economic environment, with firms turning to illegal practices in order to secure new business during the ongoing credit crunch.

Hitesh Patel, partner at KPMG Forensic, said that the Serious Fraud Office and Financial Services Authority have been busy in the last year and believes this will continue into 2010.

"The UK has so far escaped the kind of fraud 'super-cases' that have emerged elsewhere. Whether this is through luck, considered judgement or more effective corporate governance remains to be seen," he said.

Accounting fraud is the fastest-growing crime in businesses in the UK around the world, a survey concluded recently.

Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers recently revealed that nearly 50 per cent of representatives from UK firms have experienced some form of accounting fraud over the past 12 months.

Search for risk jobs with Integral, the experts in risk recruitment. ADNFCR-1739-ID-19541518-ADNFCR