SURREY, B.C. – The accounting firm of PwC unveiled their Global Economic Crime Survey Results in partnership with the Surrey Board of Trade at a Press Conference on May 11th. The Surrey Board of Trade reiterated their ask for a cohesive approach to cyber crime to help business (small and large) by different levels of government
“We conducted the survey (291 Canadian respondents) to give our clients a clear understanding of what constitutes economic crime, what trends to watch for, and what measures can and should be taken to prevent it. It is clear that Canada is below the global norm when it comes to mitigation strategies to deal with economic fraud issues,” said Mike Shields, PwC, Partner and Fraser Valley Leader.
“The Surrey Board of Trade with our Business & International Trade Centre partner, PwC, are committed to cyber crime education. Further, we are working to advance and instigate change on cyber crime – a topic so often forgotten about by businesses,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.
“The BC Government takes cyber security very seriously. As part of my ministerial portfolio, our cyber security team is very agile in their responses and plans. I look forward to working on cyber crime outreach strategies with the business community,” said Jinny Sims, Minister of Citizen Services.
Overview of results:
1. A historic high: 55% of Canadian organizations report being victims of economic crime in the last 24 months. Fraud is more public, more detectable and more visible than ever before;
2. 13% report financial losses of more than $1 million;
3. The gap between external and internal fraud is still noticeable. 58% of frauds were committed by external perpetrators (2016: 55%). 35% were committed by internal perpetrators (2016: 38%);
4. Damages from economic crime include financial losses, brand/reputation, business relations and employee morale;
5. The number of Canadian organizations asked to pay a bribe has increased to 8% (Global: 23%). There is a growing recognition that corruption and economic fraud have become too costly, that they impede organizations’ ability to compete on the world stage;
6. 41% of Canadian businesses surveyed had not carried out a general fraud risk assessment to look at key fraud risks in the past two years;
7. Canadian businesses need to seize opportunities to establish cross-functional processes to tackle fraud;
8. 36% of internal frauds are committed by middle management, down from 45% (2016);
9. 15% of external frauds are committed by those with which you do business – agents/ intermediaries, vendors and shared service providers;
10. 91% of Canadian respondents reported they brought fraud incidents to the Board;
11. 13% of Canadian organizations are using technology as the primary technique for monitoring fraud. An additional 46% say that fraud detection technologies are part of a wider program of monitoring;
12. As many as 48% of Canadian respondents have no plans to use AI or advanced analytics to combat fraud;
13. Canada is below the global average in using advanced techniques for fraud prevention; and,
14. But as many as 5% of Canadian companies who are using these technologies say they are not finding value.
The Surrey Board of Trade reiterated their Cyber Crime Policy Statement to instigate change to help business by saying that federal and provincial governments need to work collaboratively with stakeholders and business to:
1. Strengthen and promote the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC):
a. as collectors of data including type and number of incidences;
b. to develop awareness and education strategies for businesses in a format that is easily accessed and understood; and
c. to pro-actively engage businesses and the public in awareness and education campaigns;
2. Ensure that the newly formed Electronic Crime Committee (ECC) includes business association representatives to assist with communications and outreach strategies to businesses; and
3. Invest in additional resources required to increase the RCMP’s ability to investigate and prosecute criminal activities with collaborating investigative agencies and local authorities.
MORE:
Canada: www.pwc.com/ca/crimesurvey
Global: www.pwc.com/fraudsurvey
Surrey Board of Trade Policy: https://businessinsurrey.com/ policy/social-policy/
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