Fraud is dull. There, I said it. At least, that’s the consensus in my family, who associate fraud with scamming texts, older people duped out of savings, and distant Wall St types fiddling numbers on spreadsheets.
Maybe that’s why most organisations do so little to manage fraud risks - it seems a low-level threat (“it won’t happen to us, and if it does, it’ll be a tolerable ’cost of business.”) Or maybe it’s that fraud isn’t as scary as the fines dolled out for corruption, sanctions, money laundering, or anti-competitive practices.
That would be a foolhardy position.
The UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 brought fraud in line with the anti-corruption standards in the Bribery Act - notably with the “failure to prevent” fraud offence. The act also doesn’t delineate between common frauds (embezzlement, asset misappropriation, misuse, misrepresentation, etc.) and corruption or money laundering. They’re all “economic crimes,” after all.
The image below is sobering from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ annual report to the nations. It shows the “mean” fraud values and different detection measures. Those figures are substantial for most of us.
Stick or twist?
Most weeks, I have one or two discussions that start something like:
🤔 I’m wasting my time here. Do you know of any other roles? 🤔 I’m considering taking the leap (in-house to business owner)… 🤔 Can you act as a referee for… 🤔 Take a look at this role, any point in me applying?
Some of these messages come from mentees (in an official capacity), but most are from in-house folks in my network who’ve had enough. What are the common pain points? Some paraphrased quotes:
🙄 The pay, hours, and/or culture is 💩. 🙄 No one does anything; it’s crushing. 🙄 I’m constantly asked to do more with less. 🙄 My boss is awful (political, micromanaging, or deceitful). 🙄 There’s no career plan/progression.
Let me know if this sounds familiar. I can’t promise I can help, but I’ve built connections with people who often can.
If you’re stuck with the stick/twist dilemma, maybe this question, which I was asked as part of a reference check for a former colleague and client, might help:
“What type of work environment do you think the candidate would most likely thrive in, and why?”
Where do you want to be?