Internal fraud remains one of the most damaging yet difficult-to-detect risks faced by organisations. From procurement collusion to financial misreporting, insider threats often thrive not just on individual intent but also on weak systems, complacent culture, and poor governance.

This course equips participants with a strategic lens to detect and mitigate internal fraud by examining how systems fail, how culture enables misconduct, and how legal and regulatory frameworks assign accountability. Through real-world case studies and interactive exercises, participants will learn to identify early warning signs, close control gaps, and embed fraud prevention practices within their organisational processes.

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Identify common forms of internal fraud and behavioural red flags exhibited by insider perpetrators;
2. analyse how control weaknesses and systemic gaps contribute to fraud risk;
3. evaluate the impact of organisational culture and leadership tone on ethical decision-making;
4. interpret the legal, regulatory, and governance responsibilities related to internal fraud; and
5. apply practical strategies to detect, escalate, and prevent insider fraud through improved systems and controls.

Programme Outline

• Understand the Internal Threat
  • Overview of internal fraud and its impact on organisations
  • Understand the Fraud Triangle – pressure, opportunity, and rationalisation.
  • Common types of internal fraud schemes:
    • False invoicing and fictitious vendors
    • Misappropriation of assets
    • Payroll fraud and expense manipulation
    • Override of controls by trusted personnel
  • Red flags and behavioural cues
• How Weak Systems Enable Fraud
  • Functions and workflows susceptible to internal fraud
  • Common control failures in
    • procurement finance,
    • inventory and
    • HR/payroll
  • Identify lapses in internal controls and missed red flags.
  • Group Activity 1: Identify potential red flags
• Address Control and Cultural Gaps
  • Understand why controls fail — Overreliance on trust and weak governance
  • Role of organisational culture in encouraging or deterring fraud
  • Balancing trust and control in your organisational culture.
  • Explore Best Practice in handling
    • Procurement Finance
    • Inventory
    • HR/payroll
  • Explore scalable solutions and tools for internal fraud prevention, detection and escalation.
  • Group Activity 2: Design Safeguards and Ethical Response Framework, focusing on prevention, detection, escalation tools as well as building of organisation culture.
• Regulatory, Legal and Accountability Considerations
  • Overview of relevant Singapore laws and regulations
    • Penal Code (e.g. criminal breach of trust, cheating)
    • Companies Act (duties of directors and officers)
    • Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA)
    • Whistleblower provisions in public and private sector contexts
  • Implications for board reporting, internal audit, and financial disclosure
  • When and how to escalate to authorities

Intended For

This intermediate course is designed for accountants, internal auditors, finance managers, compliance officers, and senior management, and is particularly relevant for professionals in accounting firms, listed companies, non-profit organisations, and public sector entities.

Competency Mapping

Category 2 = 7.00 Hours

Programme Facilitator(s)