Reduce Fraud with Technology, Policy, and Other Tools You Have

While there are many things that businesses can’t predict, fraud is a fact of life. The numbers tell that sad fact: The median loss to companies from employee theft runs $145,00 per instance, and thefts typically occur for a year before being discovered.¹ 

For a business, preventing fraud – both internal and external – and building compliance go hand in hand. Understanding that is one thing. Developing an effective approach – particularly to thwart employee theft that erodes trust and the bottom line – takes work and a cohesive approach involving policy, technology, reporting, and benchmarking. When in place, the approach results in a company where theft is difficult and a culture where compliance is expected and easier. And the business gains agility and readiness for change. 

How to Overcome Fraud Uncertainty and Be Future-Ready 

Read our eBook for four steps to fight fraud and build compliance, from updating policies to using the right technology and reporting to benchmarking with industry standards.   

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How to Prevent and Detect Fraud 

1. Take policy into consideration 

Updating your spending policies to clearly reflect the times—such as the rise in work–from–home—is an important step. Clear and relevant policies communicated in automated travel and expense solutions reduce the likelihood of non-compliant spending. Intelligent solutions can effectively guide employees to the preferred and compliant choices while educating them on spending policy as they make purchase decisions. With the technology, you can readily adjust policies as conditions warrant and collect data to assess fraud risk. 

2. Establish the right process with the right technology 

Automated travel and expense tools provide deterrence in multiple ways. They can easily integrate credit card data into expense reports, apply automated audit rules that enhance checks and balances, require electronic receipts above specific thresholds, and support external audit programs to supply oversight and control spending. The AI-infused solution, such as Verify, checks receipts and policies within Concur Expense, allowing auditors to focus on high-risk transactions. The technology can be complemented by fraud awareness training that teaches what to look for and what to report, as well as by regularly assessing the mood of employees, as dissatisfaction can foster fraud. 

3. Use reporting to monitor and analyze your spend data  

By closely monitoring employee purchases, you can spot fraud faster and stem losses sooner when it does occur. Reporting tools help you see patterns such as duplicate expenses and instances where attendees don’t qualify for a meal on the company. With better data, you can determine which spend categories are most susceptible to fraud and concentrate your scrutiny. To accompany your analytics, determine who at your business, from finance to HR to IT to travel, has key responsibilities in warding off and finding fraud. With their roles defined, they’re more likely to report potential problems and trust in the system. 

Benchmark compliance against industry standards 

Many industries are susceptible to certain kinds of fraud, so educate yourself and design controls to address the biggest risks. Then, determine how the company is doing on factors such as the percentage of cash transactions, receipt attachment rates, excessive personal mileage, and the rate of high-risk expenses. With such gauges in hand, you can double down on current risk targets or refocus your efforts on new ones. 

Tools to fight fraud and build compliance 

• Read our eBook, How to Overcome Fraud Uncertainty and Be Future-Ready, for statistics on the state of fraud and explore steps and solutions to fight theft from inside and outside. 
• Get the Top Tips to Build a Culture of Compliance tip sheet for ways to build compliance into your company – and discourage and uncover fraud – through policy-driving tools, AI that flags expenses, and analytics and reporting tools that quickly apprise you of spending issues and anomalies. 

¹ Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, ACFE, 2024.