The ACFE has released its 2012 Global Fraud Study and many of the findings aren’t surprising. As in previous years, the study found that the typical organization loses five per cent of revenue to fraud and that fraud is still a huge problem for organizations all over the world. Does this mean that companies are turning ignoring crime, just too busy with day-to-day business to think about fraud prevention or think they’re immune?

“There is still a feeling among many organizations that occupational fraud is something that happens to the other guy, not to them,” says James Ratley, the ACFE's President and CEO. “In the last ten years that attitude is not as strong as it used to be – fraud awareness has definitely risen – but it is still there.”

Big Losses = Bad Business

Ratley hopes that fraud studies, such as this one, cause organizations to realize that the risks of ignoring fraud far outweigh the costs of investing in fraud prevention and detection.

With median losses among fraud cases in the study at $140,000 and more than 20 per cent of the cases involving at least $1 million in losses, it's clear that fraud is very bad for business.

Fraud is Global

One surprising result of the survey was the revelation that fraud affects companies all over the world in similar ways.  “We had cases reported from nearly 100 countries, and when you look at the trends, with a few exceptions, the demographics of the fraud offenders and the victims remain very consistent across all regions," says Ratley.

With so many companies expanding overseas, especially into emerging markets, it makes sense to pay attention to these statistics and plan for fraud prevention and detection programs in every location in which your business operates.