PwC Malta has partnered with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the world’s largest anti-fraud organisation, as an official supporter of the International Fraud Awareness Week (November 3-9). This annual campaign puts the spotlight on fraud, raising awareness and encouraging organisations to be proactive in combating fraud.

Fraud should not be on the agenda only when there is a suspicion or allegation of its occurrence,” Sharon Bonello, the head of PwC’s Forensic Services team, said.

“In addition to having the necessary structures to deal with allegations of wrongdoing, which may increase after the Whistleblower Act is introduced, an organisation needs to manage the risk of fraud by assessing the nature and extent of its exposure and ensuring that adequate mitigation measures are in place.

“It makes good business sense for an organisation to take a proactive approach towards fraud and have a strategy in place.”

In a publication issued locally, PwC highlights five key aspects to address fraud effectively. There needs to be the right organisational tone starting from the top and reaching every part of the organisation. Management requires proper risk identification mechanisms and mitigating controls to assess the organisation’s exposure to fraud in the various business areas and to implement best practice preventive and detective measures. The effectiveness of managing fraud risk should be kept in check through monitoring and auditing structures, in terms of multiple lines of defence including internal audit. Finally, incident response and remediation procedures should be considered to direct management in handling fraud allegations or occurrences.