Forensics & fraud blog

Or maybe not, considering the impact the current crisis has on Greek society.

In his post, Luke Balleny explains the impact corruption has had on Greek society and now on the crisis facing Greece.

The 2012 Greek chapter of the Transparency International report on National Integrity System Assessment suggests that the Greek government “acceptance” of corrupt practices has contributed to the current crisis in Greece.

TI’s Assessment of National System Integrity on Greece can be found here: TI – NIS

Considering the impact on the lives of many if not most Greeks, and the contribution to the current crisis of the corruption in Greece, we must conclude that corruption is in fact not a victim-less crime.  The consequences may not be immediate or clear to most, but as this case teaches us, there almost always are consequences to be paid.

Fighting corruption, both by preventative measures and controls and by investigating and exposing corruption post-fact, is crucial to the smooth operation of the economy as a whole. And if you need more convincing of the real-world impact, just look at Greece today and the draconian budget measures that they have to implement.

With information in mountain stacks of paper files coupled with financial records, electronic media, instant messaging, tweets and blogs are you able to locate specific information to support an inquiry?
Is the greater challenge in finding it or in missing it all together?

Suspected rogue trader held at UBS – Business News, Business – The Independent

An unfortunate example of what could go wrong when risk management procedures are inadequate.  And not the first one either, like the article says:

• Jerome Kerviel at Soc Gen (£3.7 billion),
• Nick Leeson at Barings (£800 million),
• Yasuo Hamanaka as a copper trader (£2.4 billion).

Besides the financial cost to the organisations, reputations are at stake and they can take a long time to repair.

Let’s not forget, someone has to figure out exactly what happened here and how it was possible that it happened.

Participate in the Global Economic Crime Survey 2011: www.pwc.com/crimesurvey/questionnaire

A worldwide study into the impact of fraud on business to help industry leaders understand and confront these issues.

More info on www.pwc.com/gx/en/economic-crime-survey

Not a week or a day passed by without a reference to fraud in the media. No matter the country, the size or the sector of the organisation, fraud unfortunately does not only happen to others.

The Forensic Auditor in the fight against economic crime, a full-time job!

A little-known job and often misunderstood by the public is the one of “Forensic Auditor”. Although this profession is much more developed in the Anglo-Saxon countries, it also exists in Belgium and requires combining legal, IT, financial and economic expertise.

There is no standardised approach; each project must be tailored to the needs of the organization and to its industry. When fraud is uncovered, the first concerns have a legal, social and financial character. The Forensic Auditor assists companies in managing their fraud risks (through prevention, detection or investigation).

“Zero risk” does not exist but it is key to prevent and detect potential fraud. The key behaviour is to anticipate and act proactively to fraud risks.

We have created this blog as a forum to share views and knowledge and also to stimulate debate.

You will see a range of views expressed from different experts in PwC about various fraud related topics such as fraud, corruption, software license infringements, or business ethics issues.  Some of the blog entries will be about providing information to you, in others we may be asking for your views.  You will be able to respond directly to the author if you wish to do so. Please note that members’ responses will be published on the blog.