Fraud and the Pandemic - Internal Audit Stepping Up to the Challenge
Our expert panel comprising Kent Hoh, Vice President of Internal Audit, Golden Agri-Resources Ltd, Matthew Weitz, Associate Managing Director and Reshmi Khurana, Managing Director, Head of Southeast Asia in Kroll's Forensic Investigations and Intelligence practice came together on 21 July 2022 to discuss key findings from a recent IIA/Kroll report exploring how the role of internal audit in fraud risk management has changed since the start of the pandemic. The first report, Fraud Risk Management in Internal Audit, was based on a survey conducted in 2020, before the start of the pandemic. The latest report revealed that the past two years presented a perfect storm in terms of the likelihood of fraud occurring and going undetected. Organisations faced increased exposure to cyber, social engineering, and phishing attacks, with 54% of respondents reporting an increase in cyber and phishing fraud.
Over 190 participants attended the webinar and the key takeaways for them were that changes in work practices due to the Covid-19 pandemic are increasing the likelihood of fraud occurring and going undetected, according to research from the Internal Audit Foundation and Kroll. The pandemic is putting internal audit in the driving seat when it comes to fraud risk management. It also acted as a catalyst for change in some areas, such as technology in fraud and fraud prevention. Another highlight was the increased requirements for internal auditors to have more data analytics capabilities and to be involved in fraud investigation.
