OPTIMISING DATA FOR MORE EFFECTIVE FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS

R&C: Could you provide an overview of the latest global trends and developments in fraud and corruption? How would you characterise the threats and challenge such practices pose for organisations?

Crafton: We continue to see corruption being a major global issue across industries. One of the biggest trends we are seeing is more regulators from other countries getting involved in investigating corruption and levying fines to non-compliant companies. We saw record fines from several European countries last year. Separately, cyber security and specifically ransomware attacks continue to outpace countermeasures. Law firms and service providers are typically getting several calls a week now to respond to incidents.

Gold: There are three areas that are important for organisations facing increasing levels of threats and challenges. First, having an appropriate security posture allows for increased control and decreases the overall chances of events, such as cyber security breaches and successful ransomware attacks. Second, security policies are a critical component. It is one thing to have the right security framework in place, but it is equally important to ensure there is compliance as well. What we have seen is that the right approach starts with advisory services and then applying the tech stack, which includes e-discovery software. As it relates to fraud and corruption, having a data journey story start with security, compliance and identity management will help the overall information and data governance approach.

R&C: Against this backdrop, to what extent are you seeing rising demand for forensic investigations? Are there any recurring themes common to these investigations, in terms of the nature of fraud or corruption under the microscope?

Crafton: We are seeing rising demand for forensic investigations. While some of the methods and controls circumvented are novel, for the most part these incidents can be generalised to greed and personal incentives. For example, the increasing use of cryptocurrencies has changed the landscape for certain frauds, but the underlying cause is the same as it was with paper currency.

Oct-Dec 2021 Issue

BDO