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Fraud Prevention Tip #3: The Chief Executive Must Lead the Anti-Fraud Charge

Because they sit at the very top of the organizational pyramid, CEO’s are by definition the Chief Risk Officer – regardless of whether someone reporting to them actually has that title. And when the CEO gives an order, everyone else responds. That’s why the CEO must lead the charge against fraud.

Preventing fraud is a key component of business risk management. Yet it’s often ignored or handled passively by top leaders. The unspoken is, “If we’re attacked, we’ll respond. Until then let’s focus on other issues.”

Certainly not the ‘Tone at the Top’ of effective leaders in this period of daily fraud threats.

So here are four things the CEO must do to lead an Anti-Fraud Campaign for their organization.

These four items certainly aren’t the whole action list for leaders interested in fraud prevention, but they are a great place to start. They are the critical foundation on which we’ll build a comprehensive response. We’ll cover the rest of the list in future articles.

If you’re the Chief Executive Officer – regardless of your actual title – you know what you have to do. If someone else is the chief executive, your job starting right now is to recruit and secure that support. If you’re serious about preventing fraud for your organization, this isn’t a ‘Should Do’ item for next week or next month. It’s a ‘Must Do’ for action today.

There are a few key lessons I’ve learned from years of assisting clients with their Anti-Fraud Campaigns. This lesson you can take to the bank: Nothing meaningful will happen without strong, consistent, visible, vocal CEO support.

John J. Hall, CPA

John J. Hall, CPA

John J. Hall, CPA, is an author, speaker and results expert who presents around the world at conventions, corporate meetings and association events. Throughout his 35-year career as a business consultant, corporate executive and professional speaker, John has helped organizations and individuals achieve measurable results. He inspires audience members in corporations, not-for-profit organizations and professional associations to step up, take action and “do what you can.”