17
The Control Concept
We are now on the final part of the book. The earlier parts were about the threat of fraud and how to recognize it at work. We can start to get much more proactive now as we look at some ways in which fraud can be controlled.
As you are aware, this book is based around the Fraud Smart cycle, which covers five key aspects of helping non-specialists get to grips with fraud at work. This is repeated in Figure 17.1.
Figure 17.1 The Fraud Smart cycle.
This chapter sits within the fifth part of the Fraud Smart cycle, Mastering Suitable Controls, and covers the control concept as a way of managing the risk of fraud.
WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
The next chapter deals with some of the controls that most organizations use to ensure that they can achieve their goals and protect their resources. This chapter takes a step back and considers a well-known control model that serves as a platform on which specific controls can be built. If we fail to get this platform right, much could go wrong.
We can consider the way in which problems can arise by looking at a brief illustrative case study taken from the UK:
CASE STUDY
An accounts clerk plundered £630 000 from her employer to fund a luxury lifestyle. She also told her bosses that she was suffering from cancer so she could take time off to have cosmetic surgery. Her crime spree began when she gained access to the electronic wage list. ...
