Fraud lifts economic crimes to record high

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Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star) - May 24, 2018 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Fraud cases in businesses nearly doubled in the last two years, pushing
reported economic crimes in the country to its highest level, the latest bi-annual survey of PwC
showed.

The 2018 Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey released yesterday showed over half, or 54
percent of Philippine organizations indicated that they have experienced economic crime and fraud
in the past two years.

The figure is higher than the global result of 49 percent and is more than double the 20 percent
turnout during the previous survey in 2016.

Asset misappropriation emerged as the top economic crime experienced by organizations at 53

percent, followed by business misconduct at 38 percent, procurement fraud at 35 percent, and
accounting fraud at 29 percent.

Tied are bribery/corruption and fraud committed by consumer at 24 percent.

“The global results indicate that fraud is at an all-time high, with 49 percent of respondents
experiencing economic crime in the past two years. In a similar fashion, 54 percent of Philippine
respondents confirm the same, and is higher than the 20 percent reported in 2016,” PwC Philippines
consulting partner Roberto Bassig said.

“These data may indicate two things – there is a general increase in the occurrence of economic
crime, or organizations have become more aware and proactive in detecting and addressing
economic crime than before,” he added.

In 2016, 41 percent of Philippine respondents predicted they were unlikely to be affected by fraud,
but that has not been the case as one of two organizations has experienced it based on the results
of the recent survey.

“The Philippines provides a diverse backdrop for organizations--a growing economy, evolving
regulatory regime, coupled with varying business challenges and disruptive effects of emerging
technology and innovation. This setting may have influenced the types of top economic crimes
prevalent in local organizations, and can influence further the nature of what may come in the future.
The pressure to perform and the available opportunities may have triggered more internal
organizational actors to commit economic crime and fraud,” Bassig said.

Despite the record high figures, PwC said Philippine organizations expressed optimism in their
readiness to combat economic crimes in the next 24 months.

“Economic crime is a big issue to tackle on its own. However, organizational leaders should not lose
sight of the overarching themes of corporate governance, risk management, and culture. Corporate
leadership (board of directors and senior management) should set the tone, show by example, and
place the controls for integrity and transparency in management and operations,” Bassig said.

The Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey had over 7,200 respondents from 123 countries,
including 63 respondents from the Philippines.
Read more at https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/05/24/1817970/fraud-lifts-
economic-crimes-record-high#PZOWPTI4ypQtzgcV.99

Source : https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/05/24/1817970/fraud-lifts-economic-crimes-record-
high