VigilantPay recently hosted a series of roundtables for C-Suite, CFO's and directors to discuss the prickly problem of fraud.

The theme was consistent between the different groups and here are some of the highlights from what your peers are thinking and experiencing.

Trust is relied on too heavily. Trust alone cannot prevent or detect fraudulent activities. Without proper controls and oversight, individuals may manipulate financial records for personal gain.

The truth is that the opportunity already exists for those intimate with the system and processes of an organisation, and it only needs motivation to act dishonestly. Furthermore, in tough economic times even trusted staff with no prior criminal history can become dishonest.

Headcount reduction and/ or not replacing staff also contribute to exposure to erroneous payments and likelihood of fraud. This is consistent with previous periods of difficult economic times. Less people doing more work is a perfect environment for making mistakes under pressure, and procedures not being followed. 

Interestingly every participant had a war story on fraud and they agreed that systems are only as good as their weakest point, strengthening controls with better technology has become key.