Enhancing Anti-Fraud Efforts: Key Takeaways from the 2024 ACFE Report to the Nations

The 2024 ACFE Report to the Nations highlights the importance of effective anti-fraud controls in protecting organizations from fraud. While many victim organizations in the study had common anti-fraud measures in place—such as codes of conduct (85%), external audits (84%), and internal audit departments (80%)—the presence of these controls did not guarantee immunity from fraud. The report emphasizes that certain controls, like surprise audits, financial statement audits, hotlines, and proactive data analysis, were particularly effective in reducing both fraud losses and detection time by over 50%. Despite this, smaller organizations often lack critical anti-fraud controls like hotlines, leaving them more vulnerable to fraud. After a fraud incident, 82% of organizations modified their anti-fraud measures, with the most common changes being improvements in management reviews, proactive data monitoring, and surprise audits. These updates were seen as essential steps in strengthening fraud prevention and detection capabilities, with 95% of respondents believing that these changes would improve their fraud protection going forward. 

Thank you to the ACFE’s Report to the Nations!