Companies hit by shortage of fraud examiners

Kenya is yet to meet the growing demand for fraud examiners because of a shortage of training institutions, experts say.

They also cite lack of retired law enforcers and military personnel able to join the corporate world and work jointly with auditors and systems analysts.

Demand for fraud examiners is growing fast because of the use of information technology to commit crimes, growing business competition, and harsh economic times that are making some workers to steal from their employers or sell company secrets.

“Companies are now retaining services of anti-fraud professionals with different training backgrounds like military and law enforcement to work alongside lawyers, accountants and ICT professionals,” said Mr Joseph Kibe, the CEO of Alpex Consulting Africa, which trains on corporate security management.

Hardest hit are service companies, especially those offering financial services like insurance companies, banks and micro finance institutions.

Mr Joseph Kiuna, the CEO of Royal Insurance Company, said the quality of fraud investigators in the market is wanting, meaning that criminals out to fleece the insurance industry have a field day.

Private security companies have reported growing business despite the general economic slowdown, attributed to the need for companies to secure their property and information against thieving employees.

While most insurance companies outsource the services of investigators, those offering highly fraud-vulnerable products like public service motor vehicle insurer Directline Insurance have chosen to head hunt from government agencies like the Criminal Investigations Department to build an in-house investigative arm.

In a previous report by Business Daily, Ms Caroline Kigen, the chief executive of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), said Kenya had a “serious” shortage of fraud examiners at a time when corporate demand for their services has increased because of the rising incidents of corporate fraud.

ICPAK attributed the shortage to lack of training institutions for either forensic accountants or fraud examiners in the country.

Licensed institution

There is no licensed institution offering training in forensic accounting in Kenya according to the said ICPAK, the body that oversees the activities of qualified and registered Certified Public Accountants (CPAs).

However, a body that offers fraud examiner examinations was launched last year.

Most organisations have been offering short seminars on forensic accounting that are meant to create awareness rather than offer professional grounding in the discipline.

To create more awareness of the need for grounded training, ‘Alpex Consulting Africa has teamed up with the British Standards Institute to hold an information security management conference in Nairobi later this month.