19 Mar 2013

Dramatic drop in fraud reporting - survey

7:06 am on 19 March 2013

Fewer companies are reporting fraud crimes to police, according to a survey.

KPMG's Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Survey questioned 140 companies across 18 sectors .

It found the number of businesses which have alerted the police to fraud fell from 83% in 2006 to 24% in 2012.

The international accounting firm's head of forensics, Stephen Bell, says companies that are victims of fraud have to carry out internal investigations before police will take action.

He says those investigations can be costly and discourage businesses from reporting the crime.

The police acknowledge fraud investigations are a lower priority than violent and sexual crimes but say they resolve about half of the cases which are brought to them.