A first of a series of one-day senior management workshops will be delivered by the University of Leicester, on November 25.
When it comes to white collar crime, the typical fraudster is male, aged 36-45 with a senior job in finance according to a survey published in June 2011 by accountancy firm KPMG. The pressure to meet targets, together with weak internal controls, has contributed to the rise in the number of corporate fraud cases, up from 49pc in 2007 to 74 per cent in 2011. Undetected fraud costs the insurance industry and its customers over £2 billion every year, according to the Association of British Insurers. <br><br>Despite a new piece of legislation only half of those surveyed in the CIMA Business and Economic Outlook Survey said their companies were prepared for the Bribery Act. <br><br>In response to such alarming statistics, the University of Leicester, with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), has enlisted two of the UK men in the field, to train senior managers to stop, or spot, the fraudster in their firms. The sessions will be led by Nigel Iyer of Septia Group who has over 20 years’ experience of preventing, detecting and investigating fraud and corruption. He is joined by Prof Peter Jackson of the University of Leicester, a strategic thinker and economist.<br><br>These one-day training workshops are open to anyone in a senior management position whose responsibilities cover financial management, operational controls, and board-level governance. The sessions will enable delegates to gain an understanding of how such unethical behaviour affects organisations, implement strategies and tools which can reduce the risk of fraud and give them the ability to train staff to become more aware of the risks and the potential fraudster in their midst.<br><br>Nigel Iyer speaks of helping senior managers build integrity back into their company operations: ‚ÄúCompliance and form filling does not work against fraud and corruption. We have done it for so long, and are still ‚Äòdesperately seeking a solution‚Äô and ignoring the fact that really the solution lies within. Companies can help themselves by understanding how fraud and corruption affects them and how to push it out of their business. In other words we are teaching how to turn hidden losses into profit.‚Äù<br><br>Prof Peter Jackson brings experience in working at senior government levels as well as in management training: ‚ÄúIgnorance is no defence when it comes to commercial fraud and corruption. I am amazed how little attention is paid by senior staff to this growing and increasingly complex issue. Through practical advice, case studies and discussion I believe these one-day sessions will make an enormous impact on every company attending.‚Äù<br><br>Former head of security with international distribution company TNT Simon Scales can provide tangible proof of how fraud management works in practice: ‚ÄúTreating Fraud and Corruption is one thing, but how do you identify and apply the necessary skills to deal with it both proactively and reactively? Any training programme that provides solid and dependable learning, with a specific focus on ensuring which practical processes and procedures can work will benefit the delegate, organisation and society as a whole.‚Äù<br><br>Organising the seminars is University of Leicester Director of Professional and Flexible Learning Elain Crewe, who says: ‚ÄúEngaging with the business community in this series of seminars is an important way of sharing our expertise. We know that such training makes a really tangible difference to the sustainability and growth of successful companies, so we would encourage anyone interested in proactively managing fraud from across the UK to book a place as soon as possible.‚Äù <br><br>For more information and booking:<br>http://go.le.ac.uk/fraud-workshop.
