Own staff commit vast number of business crimes, say experts

The overwhelming majority of business crimes are carried out by firms’ own employees, it has been disclosed.KPMG Forensic-Team Senior Manager Dieter Stangl-Krieder said at a business event in Vienna last night (Tues) research has shown that own staff was responsible for almost 90 per cent of felonies like accounting fraud, embezzlement and money laundering at Austrian companies.Stangl-Krieder also revealed the majority of fraudsters work in firms’ upper managements.”If someone wants to commit a criminal act, they will accomplish it – it cannot be avoided,” Peter Ertl of KPMG’s Risk Advisory Service department said.Stangl-Krieder appealed on firms to become more sensitive towards business felonies and improve their internal surveillance systems. He also suggested the introduction of workshops and boxes where whistle-blowers can put in their messages anonymously.