Policing fraud in the private sector: a survey of the FTSE 100 companies in the UK

Fraud has increasingly become recognised as a problem in the private sector, with a growing number of estimates of the size of the problem produced by official government bodies and private professional services companies such as KPMG. There have, however, been fewer surveys of the strategies being used by the private sector to tackle fraud. This paper presents findings from a survey of the UK's FTSE 100 companies which produced 32 responses and the strategies they are using to counter fraud. It demonstrates a mixed picture of both good and bad practice, when benchmarked against well-recognised standards for tackling fraud, on issues such as having: a strategy; a designated person responsible for fraud; regular risk assessments; preventative measures; investigative resources and effective relationships with the police. It also calls for further research to be conducted on private sector counter fraud strategies.