According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, fraud is defined as any intentional or deliberate act to deprive another of property or money by guile, deception, or other unfair means.

Fraud is the deliberate misrepresentation of fact for the purpose of depriving the person or organization permanently of property or legal right to property. Examples include, but are not limited to:

Corruption: conflicts of interest, bribery, illegal gratuities, and economic extortion.

Cash asset misappropriation: larceny, skimming, check tampering, and fraudulent disbursements, including billing, payroll, and expense reimbursement schemes.

Non-cash asset misappropriation: larceny, false asset requisitions, destruction, removal or inappropriate use of records and equipment, inappropriate disclosure of confidential information, and document forgery or alteration.

Fraudulent statements: financial reporting, employment credentials, and external reporting.

Fraudulent actions by customers, vendors or other parties include bribes or inducements, and fraudulent (rather than erroneous) invoices from a supplier or information from a customer.

Administrators and all levels of management are responsible for preventing and detecting instances of fraud and related misconduct and for establishing and maintaining proper internal controls that provide security and accountability for the resources entrusted to them. Administrators are also expected to recognize risks and exposures inherent in their area of responsibility, and be aware of indications of fraud or related misconduct. Are your staff aware of fraudulent activities and red flags? Sponsor your team to attend a fraud awareness course and acquire knowledge on how to create awareness about fraud, theft and corruption, role of individual staff in fraud prevention, clarity of anti-fraud and corruption laws of Uganda, the investigation process and how to promote the anti-fraud agenda for good governance