Fraudsters are often bosses

Corporate frauds are often committed by company bosses, and the average case involves more than A$2 million ($2.5 million), an Australian study has found.

The bi-annual KPMG Fraud Barometer, monitoring major frauds prosecuted in Australian courts over a six-month period, has found most were committed by employees, particularly managers and directors.

KPMG head of forensic Gary Gill said opportunistic staff were the single largest threat to organisations.

"Fraudsters will seek out any weakness in a business undergoing change," he said.

"They more commonly have a good understanding of internal controls, how they can be overridden, and how this can be disguised."

While the number of fraud cases had decreased, the average value of each fraud remained well over A$2 million, Mr Gill said.

"As the economic crisis deepened, fraudsters began stealing more money in each case," he said.

"Given the current level of economic uncertainty, fraud will continue to weaken businesses with poor internal controls."

Accounting fraud was at the top of the list, amounting to A$41 million.

"Financial institutions were the most common victim of organised crime syndicates, with over A$30 million of fraud cases prosecuted over the last six months," Mr Gill said.

- AAP