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Nearly half of accountants are not proactively looking for fraud in their work, according to new research from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
The finding, based on responses from accountancy professionals across sectors, points to gaps in organisational culture and fraud governance amid rising cybercrime threats.
The study draws on insights from more than 2,000 professionals and 31 roundtable discussions worldwide. Launched during International Fraud Awareness Week, it concludes that fraud has become industrialised, converging across supply chains and outpacing traditional controls.
ACCA’s report, produced in collaboration with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, ISC2, Airmic and the Association of Corporate Investigators, introduces a Prevalence versus Materiality matrix to help organisations assess and prioritise risks.
It also provides guidance on embedding behavioural insights into governance to move fraud prevention from procedural compliance to active detection.
The research highlights persistent cultural weaknesses. While 62% of respondents agreed fraud awareness training was important, only 57% believed their organisation actively looked for fraud, falling to 49% among accountancy professionals. ACCA said this undermined trust and left organisations more exposed to evolving, cross-border financial crimes.
Cyberfraud ranked highest for both prevalence and materiality globally at 39% and 38% respectively, acting as an amplifier for other threats, including crypto-linked crimes. Despite the growth of such activity, only 10% of crypto-related fraud cases are referred to law enforcement.
The report also identifies significant under-reporting of procurement, abuse of authority and third-party fraud, with many cases misclassified as operational losses. Organised crime groups have increasingly adopted “fraud-as-a-service” models, using AI-enabled tools to outpace conventional defences.
UK fraud prevention efforts are shaped by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which introduces criminal liability for organisations that fail to prevent fraud. Yet while large organisations reported relatively high ease of reporting, some local authorities described themselves as being “in the Dark Ages” of fraud risk assessment, relying on infrequent data-sharing that fails to capture real-time anomalies.
Rachael Johnson, head of risk management and corporate governance in ACCA’s policy and insights team, said: “Fraud is no longer isolated or opportunistic. We need to start asking harder questions: Where are the blind spots? Who owns prevention? And how do we make integrity measurable?”
Dr Roger Miles, behavioural scientist and member of ACCA’s special interest group on fraud, said the report was a “wake-up call” for organisations. He added: “The Fear of Finding Out (FOFO) is a major barrier to fraud awareness. We’ve reached a watershed moment where we’ve got to deeply question the truth of the bookkeeping in front of us.”
