2012 Report to the Nations

Introduction The ACFE's 2012 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse is based on data compiled from a study of 1,388 cases of occupational fraud that occurred worldwide between January 2010 and December 2011. All information was provided by the Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) who investigated those cases. The fraud cases in our study came from 94 nations providing a truly global view into the plague of occupational fraud. Since the inception of the Report in 1996 (originally titled The Wells Report), we have released six updated editions in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and the current version in 2012. Like the first Report, each subsequent edition has been based on detailed case information provided by Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs). With each new edition of the Report, we add to and modify the questions we ask of our survey participants in order to enhance the quality of the data we collect. This evolution of the Report to the Nations has enabled us to continue to draw more meaningful information from the experiences of CFEs and the frauds they encounter. The 2010 edition marked the widening of our study to include cases from countries outside the United States. We continued this trend in the 2012 Report, and the international expansion allows us to more fully explore the truly global nature of occupational fraud and provides an enhanced view into the severity and impact of these crimes. Additionally, we are able to compare the anti-fraud measures taken by organizations worldwide in order to give fraud fighters everywhere the most applicable and useful information to help them in their fraud prevention and detection efforts. Excerpt from the Report's "Letter from the President & CEO," by James D. Ratley, CFE "We are proud to say that the information contained in the original Report and its successors has become the most authoritative and widely quoted body of research on occupational fraud... "As in previous years, what is perhaps most striking about the data we gathered is how consistent the patterns of fraud are around the globe and over time. We believe this consistency reaffirms the value of our research efforts and the reliability of our findings as truly representative of the characteristics of occupational fraudsters and their schemes. "On behalf of the ACFE, and in honor of its founder, Dr. Wells, I am pleased to present the 2012 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse. It is my hope that practitioners, business and government organizations, academics, the media and the general public throughout the world will find the information contained in this Report of value in their efforts to prevent, detect or simply understand the global economic impact of occupational fraud."