Understanding the fraud risk in the public sector – and how to tackle it

The threat that public sector organisations face from fraud is growing. In an era when technological advancements are rapidly transforming the landscape, public sector organisations face unprecedented challenges in combating fraud.

According to a survey of public servants undertaken by SAS, all public sector agencies surveyed are currently experiencing some form of fraud and expect to see an increase in at least one type of fraud over the next 5 years.

Fraud is also having an impact on public finances. In the UK, chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out a crackdown on fraud in the welfare system, with a focus on saving £4.3bn by the end of the decade, while the International Public Sector Fraud Forum has published a revised framework that sets out key principles and processes for conducting fraud loss measurement exercises to better quantify the cost of fraud – and measure savings.

The importance of unlocking these savings is demonstrated by the SAS research, which identified that tackling fraud, waste and abuse could release savings equivalent to around 16% of their government’s budget.

This webinar session examined the scale and extent of the fraud challenge that governments around the world face – and how to tackle it.

The session brought together public servants to discuss:

• The trends in the type of fraud threats that governments face now – and will face in future.
• How governments are tackling the threats they face now – and preparing for the threats that are on the horizon.
• The role for AI and analytics in tackling the fraud challenges that government face – and how these technologies can be embedded in current working practices.