58% of corporate fraud in Singapore committed by staff

More than a quarter of companies in Singapore have experienced fraud over the past two years - and employees are the main culprits.

Findings from the KPMG-SMU Singapore Fraud Survey show a worrying trend of increasing corporate fraudulent activity, with 29% of organisations reporting incidents. This percentage has increased since the 2011 survey, when 22% reported an experience with fraud.

Internal fraud constituted 75% of fraud, up from 64% in 2011 - a massive red flag for companies.

Employees are the greatest perpetrators of fraud, as the survey found 58% of fraudulent activity was committed by staff, up from 47% in the same time frame.

Fraud incidents involving board members and senior management officers remained unchanged from 2011 at 17%.

“With 58 percent of fraud being committed by employees, it is important to address this risk by setting a strong tone from the top – an organisation’s board of directors plays a critical role in the oversight of programmes to mitigate the risk of fraud and misconduct," said Bob Yap, head of advisory at KPMG in Singapore.

"The board, together with its management, is responsible for setting a moral tone and ensuring institutional support for ethical and responsible business practices at the highest levels of the organisation."

What does a typical fraudster in Singapore look like?

Image: Shutterstock