Iyad Mourtada with Sundaresan Rajeswar, the IIA Qatar Board member and other officials during 'The Anti-Fraud Strategies Masterclass’ training.
Doha, Qatar: Managing Fraud Risk by Preventing, Detecting, and Responding to Fraud was the learning objective for the Masterclass by Iyad Mourtada for the Institute of Internal Auditors Qatar held recently at Hyatt Regency Hotel.
The trainer, Iyad Mourtada, CFE, started his career in Chicago, USA. In 2011, he moved to the Middle East and began OpenThinking Academy, specialising in anti-fraud and audit courses. He is an ACFE Authorised Trainer in the GCC teaching the CFE Exam Review Course, and more than 3,000 ACFE members have passed the CFE Exam with him.
Mourtada started his presentation by bringing the context with staggering fraud data. $1.4 trillion is lost annually to scams; cybercrimes are estimated to cost the world $8 trillion in 2023, and perpetrators are 43% external, 31% internal, and 26% combination. The percentage of fraud cases involving corruption is on the rise from 31% in 2012 to 50% in 2022.
“Use nudges to complement traditional methods of risk management,” Iyad stated from a practitioner’s viewpoint. Organizational culture goes beyond compliance programs. “There should be a high level of top management commitment to fraud risk management, tone at and conduct from the top,” mandated Mourtada as essential success criteria.
The implementation involves documenting the Fraud Risk Management program, communicating it at organizational levels, establishing a whistle-blowing policy, and using the right data analytics tools. “Don’t assume, Know. Acquire fraud risk intelligence, a mental capability to identify, assess, evaluate, and manage frauds,” Iyad emphasised.
“It is impossible to eliminate all frauds. However, fraud risk should be managed. Also, fraud is not static. We must keep updated on Fraud risk management, deterrence, control frameworks, data analytics, and legal and regulatory changes. The Fraud Risk Management Guide is a must-read publication for auditors who are involved in fraud deterrence. It is an indispensable subject for internal audit professionals,” said Sundaresan Rajeswar, the IIA Qatar Board member who coordinated the event.
