Page 694 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020

PERPETRATORS

One of the key goals of our study is to identify the common characteristics
and risk profiles of those who commit occupational fraud. Our survey

included several questions focused on the fraud perpetrators’ job
details, basic demographics, prior misconduct, and behavioral
warning signs. This information was compiled to help
organizations better understand and identify the risks
and red flags of fraud in their own workforces.

Perpetrator’s Position FIG. 27 How does the perpetrator’s level of authority
relate to occupational fraud?
The perpetrator’s level of au-
thority within an organization 41%
tends to strongly correlate with
the size of a fraud. Owners/ex- 35%
ecutives accounted for only 20%
of the frauds in our study, but
the median loss in those cases
(USD 600,000) far exceeded the PERCENT OF C A SES 20%
losses caused by managers and
staff-level employees. This is
consistent with our past studies,
all of which found that losses
tend to rise in tandem with a 3%
fraudster’s level of authority.
Owners/executives are generally Employee Manager Owner/executive Other
in a better position to override
controls than their lower-level
counterparts, and they often $60,000
have greater access to an orga-
nization’s assets. Both of these $150,000
facts might help explain why
losses attributable to this group $230,000
tend to be so much larger. MEDIAN L OSS

$600,000

38 Perpetrators Report to the Nations