Page 414 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020
P. 414
How Occupational
Fraud is Committed
Technological advancements and the continual evolu-
tion of the global business environment provide both
enhanced tools and additional challenges for perpe-
tration and concealment — as well as the prevention,
detection and investigation — of fraud. Even in light of
such changes, however, our research into occupational
fraud has revealed consistent and clear patterns about
the form fraud schemes take and the relative cost of
each scheme type.
Specifically, occupational frauds can be classified into three primary
categories: asset misappropriation, corruption and financial state-
ment fraud, with each category further broken down into several
subcategories as shown in the Occupational Fraud and Abuse Clas- Our research into occupational fraud has
sification System, also known as the Fraud Tree (see Figure 3). The revealed consistent and clear patterns
3
thousands of occupational fraud cases analyzed over our last two about the form fraud schemes take and
decades of research have all fallen into one or more of the categories the relative cost of each scheme type.
delineated by this graphic.
3 For definitions of each of these scheme types, please see the Glossary of Terminology on page 71.
10 RepoRt to the NatioNs oN occupatioNal FRaud aNd abuse
