Fraud and corruption risks are not sufficiently linked to internal audit programs

Without good identification of fraud and corruption risks facing an agency it is difficult to craft a fraud and corruption detection program to the actual risks faced.

All agencies’ internal audit program focused on areas of perceived risk such as credit card transactions, processing of payments and payroll. However, the internal audit programs of only two agencies specifically focused on fraud or corruption prior to the audit. Murdoch University had identified the need to include fraud and corruption as part of their annual audit program and this has been scheduled for completion in 2013. The internal audit committees and internal audit staff generally rely on their professional expertise and experience to plan fraud and corruption detection programs. A more coordinated approach could be achieved through the use of fraud and corruption risk assessments.