While it's something treasurers and finance executivesgenerally don't like to think about, “occupational fraud”—fraudintentionally perpetrated against a company by one or more of itsemployees—is real. A survey conducted in 2015 by the AccountsPayable Network (APN) found that 44 percent of organizations hadexperienced an incidence of occupational fraud within the mostrecent three-year period.

The profile of a typical offender is far from what you mightexpect. Perpetrators of occupational fraud are often modelsenior-level employees who have been with the company for a whileand who may be committing their first offense ever. Differentperpetrators obviously have different reasons for committingoccupational fraud, but these crimes are often precipitated by acombination of financial pressures and a perception that the riskof getting caught is low. Offenders often rationalize their actionswith excuses such as “The company won't miss the money” or “Ishould be getting paid more.”

Occupational fraud and external fraud schemes, such as businessemail compromise (or “impostor fraud”), are both common and difficultto spot. Protecting a company against these risks requireswell-designed policies and vigilance in enforcement of thosepolicies.