Survey Reveals Giant Denial Among Canadian Businesses Around Fraud

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Feb. 22, 2017) - Incidents of fraud are rising every year, yet an overwhelming majority of Canadian business and C-suite executives say they are confident in their ability to prevent it.

The disconnect could be due to a dangerous combination of overconfidence and naiveté when it comes to fraud detection and prevention, according to a new Ipsos survey conducted for national accounting, tax and business consulting firm MNP LLP.

The survey revealed that half of Canadian businesses either suspect or know for certain that their business has experienced fraud or scams in the last year. Despite the fact that so many recognize it is occurring, an overwhelming majority (eight in ten) say they are confident in their ability to prevent it. Another almost ninety per cent feel at least somewhat equipped to deal with it. Survey respondents were twice as likely to identify fraud as a serious issue in the wider industry in which they work than in their own place of business.

Most businesses are operating with a false sense of security, warns Greg Draper, former RCMP investigator and current Vice President of Valuations, Forensics and Litigation Support at MNP.

"This kind of 'it won't happen to me' optimism puts the advantage in the hands of criminals and makes Canadian businesses tremendously vulnerable," says Draper, who leads a national team of specialists in workplace fraud mitigation. "The reality is that no organization is immune from either internal or external fraud."

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre agrees. Last year the federal agency saw a forty per cent increase in the number of victims of wire fraud, which involves electronic communications like email scams, one of the most common types of fraud experienced by businesses.

"Fraudsters will go to great lengths to assume the identity of company executives or trusted vendors; spoofing company email messages, researching employees who are responsible for money management and using language specific to the company being targeted," says Lynn Danis, Criminal Intelligence Analyst with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. "Victims range from large corporations to small businesses which is why it is critical all organizations create a proactive security-vigilant culture. Ultimately, fraud prevention falls on the business."

Draper adds there is a "giant denial" among Canadian businesses when it comes to preventing fraud. Two thirds of survey respondents describe their businesses attitude to fraud and scams as proactive.

"Often times we see businesses who come to us after they have been compromised but they don't know how or why it has happened," says Draper. "They may have had security awareness and fraud training processes in place but sophisticated scammers or even internal employees can find points of vulnerability. They realize they were not as equipped to deal with it after the dollars go out the door."

Despite the rising occurrence of fraud in Canada, for the majority of respondents, concern about this type of crime has held steady for the past two years.

"Fraud is a serious threat no matter the size or the industry of the organization. All businesses must take preventative measures utilizing best practices, training and technology. When you consider the financial and reputational risks, it is clearly worth the effort."

About the Survey

The survey was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of MNP LLP between January 17 and January 26, 2017. For this survey, Ipsos conducted a quantitative online survey of two distinct sample groups: Small Business Owners (SBOs) of businesses of 5-99 employees (n=1,000); and C-Suite Executives at businesses of 100+ employees (n=100).

The precision of Ipsos online surveys are calculated via a credibility interval. In this case, the total sample is considered accurate to within +/- 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian SBOs and C-suite executive been surveyed.

About MNP LLP

MNP is a leading national accounting, tax and business consulting firm in Canada. We proudly serve and respond to the needs of our clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Through partner-led engagements, we provide a collaborative, cost-effective approach to doing business and personalized strategies to help organizations succeed across the country and around the world.

For more information, visit www.MNP.ca.