Key Findings From the 2018 Report to the Nations: Sub-Saharan Africa Edition

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ACFE STAFF

In April 2018, the ACFE released the 2018 Report to the Nations, which provided a global analysis of the costs and effects of occupational fraud (i.e., fraud committed against the organization by its own officers, directors or employees). The report highlighted the tremendous impact occupational fraud has on organizations throughout the world.

In a new sub-report, we now focus more closely on how occupational fraud impacts Sub-Saharan Africa. This study is based on the 267 cases of occupational fraud from Sub-Saharan Africa that were reported in our 2017 Global Fraud Survey. Collectively, these cases, which accounted for 13% of all cases in our global study, caused a median loss of USD 90,000 and lasted a median 12 months before they were detected. 

Here are few of the key findings from the report:

  • 76% of frauds were committed by men, and losses caused by men were 57% larger than losses caused by women.

  • Of the frauds in Sub-Saharan Africa, 61% occurred at for-profit organizations, with 39% of the victim organizations being private companies and 22% being public companies. Government organizations suffered the greatest median loss at USD 250,000.

  • The most common detection method was by a tip (40% of cases), with nearly half of these tips coming from employees of the victim organization.

Find more trends and analysis from Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as download other useful infographics, at ACFE.com/RTTN.