When it comes to issues of fraud and corruption, the sheer number of commissions of enquiry currently under way in South Africa – including those related to state capture (Zondo Commission), the PIC, NPA and SARS – is a clear indication of just how badly the country is suffering from this.

In fact, explains Akesh Lalla, country manager for SAS South Africa, there has been a steady increase in the number of economic crimes committed in SA, with the percentage of businesses in the country reportedly suffering from it standing at an incredible 77%, significantly higher than the global average of 49%.

"While this figure is alarming, equally concerning is that the incidences of these crimes are rising worldwide, and the global trend indicates a dismal picture overall. Perhaps the biggest worry is that from a fraud risk perspective, fraud is increasingly occurring internally. This is problematic, because focus is placed on 'guarding the gates' from external fraud, while many of the worst practitioners are already inside," he says.

"It is for this reason that we need a genuinely holistic and collaborative approach to addressing this crime. And here, developments in technology offer us the opportunity to begin proactively addressing and acting against economic crime."

According to Werner Bouwer, an advocate at Nexus Forensic Services, IT offers an enormous advantage to forensic investigations, particularly in terms of cyber crime and data and forensic analysis.

"Many businesses fail to understand this, and I have noted that although the procurement function is one of the highest risk areas in an enterprise, plenty of companies do not have an IT expert to assist them with forensic work – in my experience, the place where you will most likely find the criminals' 'fingerprints' is in cyber space," he says.

"Today, if any forensic investigator tries to take on a case without IT, digital and similar technical skills, they will quickly find themselves dead in the water. So many investigations today rely on data analytics to follow the money trail through e-mail and cellphone records. In fact, in one case I worked on, we were able to compare how the procurement person at a particular organisation spoke to and communicated with the suppliers, prior to the award of the tender. Since this is not allowed, it was a clear indication of something fishy happening."

Bouwer adds that a major challenge, however, is the scarcity of data analysis skills in the country. The fact that it is difficult to find these skills is, perhaps, one of the reasons why SA's rate of reported economic crime sits at 77%. While it still takes time, even to follow trails electronically and undertake efforts like cash flow analysis, a good data scientist is a vital component to a successful forensic and data analysis.

"Another area in business that is ripe for fraud is that of gifts, not to mention instances where employees moonlight in other jobs. We have had clients who thought having a digital register linked to their ERP system meant they were safe from this type of fraud. However, we found instances where employees who were moonlighting as city councillors, when asked how much time they spent in this role simply typed in 'one minute' and the system accepted it. The same occurred for gifts such as Mont Blanc pens – which everyone knows cost thousands of rands – where the price was marked as one cent, and still accepted."

This, he explains, was ultimately a failure on the part of the people who were supposed to have eyes on the system, but who also simply accepted these false claims.

So then, with fraud so prevalent in SA, what does he feel is the most effective fraud prevention strategy?

"I believe it remains consequence management. Considering that at some point, virtually everyone in an organisation may be tempted to commit fraud, how most react to this temptation tends to be based on precedent. If they see there is a lack of consequences for those who are caught in the act, they are more likely to do the same. After all, where is the incentive to remain ethical if no one else is doing the same, particularly when there seem to be few consequences for acting in this manner?"