Page 121 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020

In the three previous editions of the Report, CFEs esti- Distribution of Dollar Losses
mated typical fraud losses at 6%. Optimistically, this re-
duction could be viewed as progress in the war against Regardless of what the exact cost of fraud is, we know it is
fraud. However, because the responses are only estimates, enormous. We examined over 1,100 cases of occupational
the $652 billion figure should not be read as a literal rep- fraud that were investigated over the last two years. The
resentation of what fraud costs U.S. organizations. As median dollar loss caused by these schemes was $159,000.
we stated above, the real cost most likely cannot be de- As the following chart illustrates, nearly one-fourth of the
termined. Nevertheless, the 5% estimate does hold real cases in our study (24.4%) caused losses of $1 million or
value, because it represents the composite opinion of over more. Although not shown in the chart as a separate cat-
a thousand Certified Fraud Examiners — professionals egory, there were nine cases with reported losses of at least
with specific expertise in the prevention and detection of $1 billion.
occupational fraud. Given the obstacles to developing a
precise measure of fraud’s impact, their estimate may be as
reliable a source as can be found.

Distribution of Dollar Losses

30%
29.1%
25% 24.4%

20%
Percent of Cases 15% 15.8% 11.6% 8.8%

10%

5% 9.1%
1.2%
0%
$1-$999 $1,000- $10,000- $50,000- $100,000- $500,000- $1,000,000+
$9,999 $49,999 $999,999 $499,999 $999,999
Dollar Loss

ACFE Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud & Abuse