Page 491 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020

Introduction

of where these cases occurred, as well as the relative losses incurred by the victims in different geographical regions.
2
Readers should note that the number of cases in each region largely reflects the demographics of ACFE membership,
as that is the source of our data. Thus, this figure should not be interpreted to mean that occupational fraud is necessar-
ily more or less likely to occur in any particular region.

Figure 1: Geographical Location of Victim Organizations

Median Loss
Region Number of Cases Percent of Cases (in U.S. dollars)
United States 1038 48.8% $120,000
Sub-Saharan Africa 285 13.4% $143,000
Asia-Pacific 221 10.4% $245,000
Latin America and the Caribbean 112 5.3% $174,000
Western Europe 110 5.2% $263,000
Eastern Europe and Western/Central Asia 98 4.6% $200,000
Southern Asia 98 4.6% $100,000
Canada 86 4.0% $154,000
Middle East and North Africa 79 3.7% $275,000

The findings presented in this report continue the ACFE’s mission of educating anti-fraud professionals, organizational
leaders, and the public at large about the threat of occupational fraud and how to effectively prevent and detect it. The
2016 report shows the continuation of numerous trends that we have identified during previous studies, provides in-
formation in several new areas, and highlights interesting ways that the occurrence of fraud has evolved over time and
varies across regions. We hope readers come away with a clear picture of how occupational fraud is perpetrated and
how it affects its victims, as well as the importance of proactive initiatives to combat this risk.

2 Geographical location was provided for 2,127 of the cases submitted; see the Appendix on page 84 for a detailed breakdown of these cases by country.

THIS REPORT CONTAINS AN ANALYSIS OF 2,410 CASES

OF OCCUPATIONAL FRAUD THAT WERE INVESTIGATED
BETWEEN JANUARY 2014 AND OCTOBER 2015. THE

FRAUDS IN THIS STUDY TOOK PLACE IN 114 DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

REPORT TO THE NATIONS ON OCCUPATIONAL FRAUD AND ABUSE 7