Digest the Occupational Fraud Report 2024

Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations is an in-depth review conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). The 2024 report analysed the rampant and covert effects that occupational fraud has on the global economy. The report reviewed an impressive 1,921 cases from 138 countries and territories and identified that there was a total monetary loss of more than US$3.1 billion to fraud averaging US$1.662 million per case.

Most common type of fraud

The most common type of fraud committed was asset misappropriation, which accounted for 89% of cases. The second largest was corruption at 48%, while financial statement fraud accounted for 5%. Interestingly, asset misappropriation was the least costly fraud type with a median loss of US$120,000, while financial statement fraud was the least common but most costly with a median loss of US$799,000.

Detection of fraud

Tip-offs were the most common way fraud came to light, with 43% of cases being uncovered due to a tip. This is more than 3 times as many cases as any other detection mechanisms. Over half of the tip-offs came from employees, which reinforces the importance of communicating fraud reporting channels. The report also revealed that while telephone hotlines have historically been one of the most common mechanisms for reporting fraud, email and online reporting forms have overtaken hotlines.

Perpetrator’s tenure

The report showed a direct correlation between the length of time an individual had worked for an employer and the amount of monetary loss through fraudulent actions. For example, 45% of perpetrators with a tenure of 1–5 years had a median loss of US$100,000, while perpetrators with a tenure of at least 10 years had a median loss of US$250,000.

Leading contributor to fraud

The most common factors contributing to fraud within this study were:

• a lack of internal controls to prevent fraud
• an override of existing internal controls.

These causes accounted for over half of all fraud.

The report analysed 18 anti-fraud controls and compared the median loss and median duration of the frauds that occurred at organisations that had the controls in place against those at organisations that lacked the controls. The report found that where organisations had those 18 controls in place, fraud was detected faster and losses were lower. Additionally, 4 controls – surprise audits, financial statement audits, hotlines and proactive data analysis – were associated with at least a 50% reduction in both fraud loss and duration.

The ACFE’s regular reports highlight the importance of appropriately assessing programs and functions for fraud risks, to identify and implement effective controls to mitigate the risks, and regularly review the effectiveness of the most important controls to make sure they are working.

Discover more about effective counter-fraud practices on the Centre’s website.

You can read the full report or find infographics displaying key findings on the AFCE’s Report to the Nations website.