A new study says 30 percent of companies report experiencing some form of supply chain fraud, according to a new report from the US-based Deloitte Financial Advisory Services multinational consultants.  That's consistent with the two previous reports issued in 2015 and 2014. 

Supply chain fraud went up in two industries from 2014 to 2016:  Health care and life sciences reported an increase from 31 percent to 35 percent; Energy and resources firms report an even larger increase, from 27 percent in 2014 to 34 percent now.  But companies in technology, media, and telecommunications reported a drop to 27 percent in 2016, from 2014's 33 percent. 

Project managers, procurement professionals, and those employees who approve invoices represent the largest area of risk of supply chain fraud, waste, and abuse.  And yet, more than two-thirds of the companies responding to Deloitte's survey expressed confidence that their employees will report wrongdoing and anomalies.  

"In my 20 years conducting forensic investigations, trust in employees and third parties is often misplaced," said Deloitte Advisory principal Mark Pearson.  "As a result, many organizations are trapped in a pay-and-chase model for fighting supply chain fraud - invoices are paid first, then retribution is sought much later when fraud is found, if it's found at all.  But, the supply chain forensics leading practice is a comprehensive and proactive, predictive approach tailored to organizational structure and industry sector."

Only 27 percent of respondents' organizations analyze unpaid invoices for evidence of supply chain fraud, waste and abuse prior to payment.  Nearly 30 percent of respondents said they use analytics to mitigate supply chain fraud and financial risks.  However, 13.7 percent of the respondents said they have analytics software but don’t use it, and another 19.3 percent don’t use analytics for supply chain financial risk management at all.