It's easy to forget the cost of insider threats and fraud when so much attention is given to cyber-attacks. However, according to Ponemon's 2022 Cost of Insider Threats Global Report, insider threats have increased in frequency and cost in the last two years.

A large reason for this increase in insider threats and fraud is the intricate web of operations transacted in IT systems, making fraud more difficult to detect. To prevent fraud and promote operational efficiency, your organization needs strong internal controls and Segregation of Duties. 

 In this seventh instalment of our Segregation of Duties (SoD) blog series "Top Ten Segregation of Duties, Google Searches - Answered," we discuss the importance of SoD in fraud prevention and risk management. Our seventh blog will cover how these concepts collectively reinforce your organization's soundness.

Understanding Segregation of Duties

To recap from previous blogs, Segregation of Duties is a fundamental internal control that ensures no single individual has the authority to execute two conflicting functions within a business process. In simpler terms, it means separating tasks and responsibilities to prevent one person from having unchecked power over critical aspects of a process.

Fraud Vulnerability Without Segregation of Duties

Without SoD, a business may inadvertently create an environment ripe for fraud. Imagine a scenario where a single employee has the authority to both initiate and approve financial payments. In such a situation, the potential for financial misconduct, whether intentional or accidental, significantly increases.

Preventing and Detecting Fraud

SoD is a powerful deterrent against fraud by introducing checks and balances into your business's operations. Distributing tasks among multiple staff members makes it more challenging for individuals to manipulate financial processes for personal gain.

Regulatory Compliance

Many industry regulations and standards, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), require organizations to implement SoD as part of their internal control framework. Compliance with these regulations mitigates your fraud risk and helps you avoid legal and financial consequences.

Here's how Segregation of Duties helps prevent and detect fraud:

1. Conflict Identification: Segregation of Duties helps you identify conflicts of interest within job roles. It ensures that employees responsible for authorizing transactions differ from those initiating them.

2. Transaction Verification: Multiple individuals are involved in each transaction, leading to natural oversight and scrutiny, reducing the likelihood of unauthorized or fraudulent activities going unnoticed.

3. Error Detection: Segregation of Duties helps you catch unintentional errors, which, if left unaddressed, could lead to financial discrepancies and financial misstatements risk.

4. Auditing and Investigation: In the event of suspected fraud, Segregation of Duties makes it easier for auditors to pinpoint irregularities and trace the source of any financial misconduct.

Access Governance holds immense importance for Segregation of Duties reporting. To effectively implement SoD, you need an policy-based access governance solution and processes that help define, manage, and monitor user permissions and roles across your systems and applications. This ensures that individuals only have access to the resources necessary for their job roles, reducing the risk of unauthorized activities. Access governance establishes the groundwork for accurate SoD reporting, enabling you to proactively identify and rectify potential conflicts or violations, enhancing compliance, and safeguarding against fraud risks.

Policy-based Access Governance also simplifies the SoD reporting process for your organization by automating the collection of access data and generating reports. This automation saves you time and resources and ensures accuracy in your reporting, reducing the likelihood of fraud.

Addressing fraud is an ongoing challenge demanding a blend of access governance, risk mitigation strategies, and technology-driven analytics solutions. Neglecting the imperative of investing in strong fraud management is not a sustainable choice for any organization.