Countering Fraud for Competitive Advantage: The Professional Approach to Reducing the Last Great Hidden Cost

9

Enhancing Performance through Counter-Fraud Metrics

9.1 INTRODUCTION

This book has set out many strategies to enhance the fight against fraud. However, it is not enough to just have a counter-fraud strategy and to be doing the ‘right’ thing. What is also required is a minimum standard of performance and targets to increase that performance over time. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have become common in some parts of the public sector in the UK and beyond. However, KPIs represent only a partial contribution towards creating competitive advantage. KPIs that focus significantly upon costs, or metrics, as they are more commonly known, are also needed. In this chapter we outline how a programme of metrics can be applied to countering fraud, how to set up a programme as well as some of the potential limitations one has to be careful about when creating such a system. Before we embark upon this, however, we explore the context to them and what metrics are.

9.2 NEW WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT SECURITY AND FRAUD

There have been growing debates in security management and, to a lesser extent, counter-fraud during the noughties, concerning models of delivering security and counter-fraud services.1 The traditionalist paradigm of delivery in security and counter-fraud is a reactive model dealing with detected problems. Structures to deliver these services are considered as a necessary cost on the business, and as offering little in contributing to the overall aims of the organisation. In short, ...