Page 421 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020

The median duration — the amount of time from when the fraud commenced until it was detected — for all
schemes in our study was 18 months. In Figure 10, we have presented the median duration for each category of
occupational fraud. This helps us see where organizational controls can be particularly helpful in identifying frauds
earlier and thus limiting losses. The median duration of schemes ranged from 12 months for non-cash misappro-
priations to 26 months for check tampering. Interestingly, although non-cash misappropriations were detected the
most quickly of all categories, they also had one of the highest median losses of the asset misappropriation catego-
ries (see Figure 6), indicating that these schemes can cause a large amount of financial damage rather quickly.

Figure 10: Median Duration of Fraud Based on Scheme Type

26
Check Tampering 30
24
24
Payroll 36
24
24
Financial Statement Fraud 24
27
24
Expense Reimbursements 24
24
24
Billing
24
SCHEME TYPE Skimming 18 24
24
18
18
Cash on Hand
18 19
18
Cash Larceny 18
18
18
Corruption 18
18
Register Disbursements 12 14 2014
12
12 2012
Non-Cash 12
15 2010
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
MEDIAN MONTHS TO DETECTION

REPORT TO THE NATIONS ON OCCUPATIONAL FRAUD AND ABUSE 17