Page 517 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020

Victim Organizations

Methods of Fraud in Small Businesses
Figure 42 illustrates which fraud schemes small businesses were most susceptible to and which schemes occurred
more often in larger organizations. Corruption was more prevalent in larger organizations (40.2% of cases) than in small
businesses (29.9% of cases). In contrast, check tampering, skimming, payroll, and cash larceny schemes all occurred
over twice as frequently in small businesses as in larger organizations.

Figure 42: Scheme Type by Size of Victim Organization

Corruption 29.9%
40.2%
Billing 20.9% 27.1%

Check Tampering 20.1%
8.4%
Skimming 19.9%
8.9% 18.8%
SCHEME TYPE Expense Reimbursements 13.9% 16.4% 19.3%
Non-Cash
16.7%

Cash on Hand
Payroll 6.3% 10.3% 14.0%
Cash Larceny 13.5%
6.5%
Financial Statement Fraud 12.1% <100 Employees
8.8%
3.7%
Register Disbursements 2.3% 100+ Employees
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
PERCENT OF CASES

REPORT TO THE NATIONS ON OCCUPATIONAL FRAUD AND ABUSE 33