Fraud risks and COVID-19: Where to look for clues
Pandemic-related changes in the work environment have triggered an increase in fraud. Forensic accounting experts Amanda Fletcher, Eric Conforti, and Gary Zeune discuss the trends and how to combat fraud in your organization via the Kansas Society of CPAs.
Whenever an organizational environment changes, the opportunities for fraud increase. However, finding fraud can feel a bit like detective work. Perpetrators almost always conceal their fraud, so their scheme may not be obvious to others in the organization. By the time the fraud is discovered, it’s often too late and the money is gone.The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden change to various work environments due to a rapid widespread pivot to remote work, and many individuals faced unexpected economic hardship — a perfect opportunity and rationalization to commit fraud.
