EXPERT OPINION
Business oriented security department
Rustam Mukhametshin , Caspian Financial Advisory Director , Deloitte Caspian Region
Рустам Мухаметшин , Директор департамента финансового консультирования , « Делойт » в Каспийском регионе
In the last two decades , we have seen huge technological breakthroughs that have radically transformed how we live our daily lives , created new business sectors or just changed the way we do business . Everything that affects the pace and performance of business processes has changed , whether it be in specific companies or in entire sectors , and with that the pace of life seems to speed up almost every day .
Technological progress goes hand in hand with new ways of perpetrating fraud and economic crime . Gone are the days when somebody just walks out of a company with something under their arm . Threats are now both external and internal , and any large company will have come up against dozens of incidents of fraud .
It goes without saying that all companies have their own security departments , which , as the name suggests , are responsible for protecting them against these threats . However , despite the immense advances and changes in corporate life , one thing has remained unchanged in most companies , and that is the security department . Generally speaking , security departments are staffed by former law enforcement officers , working their ' pension years ', and whose main job is to manage security guards , control building access and ' unofficially ' check new employees in police records . They are also asked to investigate crimes by questioning witnesses , analysing documents and financial data , if relevant , and also take on other functions , such as internal audit . By combining these functions , companies are able to carry out investigations , which more often than not are limited due to a lack of specialised technology , software and experience to build up a full picture of the events . Corporate fraud prevention systems tend to be spreadamong a number of divisions .
For example , the security department is responsible for the physical security of company assets and highlighting the criminal past of employee candidates . The internal audit department is responsible for checking payments and complying with internal requirements , but its functions are very broad and go way beyond revealing fraud , including corruption prevention and developing division compliance , but rarely following them . As a result , it turns out that the majority of large companies have no division responsible for preventing , highlighting and investigating corporate economic crime that would also be aware of company finances and fully understand business specifics .
The essence of a business-oriented security department lies in how it contributes to business development , understands business processes and protects against negative issues . The classic security department mechanism is very outdated and in contrast to business practices in the CIS , has not developed in the last 20 years , even 50 years . In modern Western-styled companies , economic security department members have a financial education , understand internal controls , IT and , simultaneously , have experience of internal investigations and highlighting fraud . How many security departments nowadays actually take part in a warehouse stock-take and investigate the reasons for disappearing inventories ? Guarding facilities , installing video surveillance equipment and studying playbacks are only a part of what needs to be done .
Practice has shown that centralising efforts to fight fraud in a single department does have its benefits , but the existence of a businessfocused security department , is an indication of the maturity and development of any organisation .
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