Banker S.A. June 2012 | Page 55

BANKING NEWS International News Fraud surveys show high perceived risk KPMG has released the findings of the inaugural Africa Fraud Barometer, a first effort to measure the risk of fraud for companies on the African continent. A ISTOCKPHOTO ccording to the new tool, reported cases of fraud increased from 355 in the first half of 2011 to 520 cases in the second half of the year. In the same period, the value of fraud decreased from US$7.17 billion to US$3.702 billion. ‘We felt that there was a need to create a tool like the Africa Fraud Barometer since the world has begun to look at Africa as a new investment destination,’ says Petrus Marais, KPMG’s global leader for forensics, who developed the Barometer. ‘We are still dealing with an often negative perception of Africa. We therefore see ourselves as risk analysts and would like to provide information that allows potential investors to assess and conceptualise risk on the African continent.’ The Fraud Barometer distinguishes between the number of reported fraud cases, type of perpetrators, victims of fraud, type of fraud, countries and targeted industries. Continued » Edition 2 SA BANKER 53