Anti-Fraud Services

Fraud is no longer just a financial risk; it is a corporate criminal liability. Since 1 September 2025, large organisations can be prosecuted under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 where an employee, agent or other associated person commits fraud intending to benefit the organisation — unless the organisation can show it had reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place. No knowledge or involvement by management needs to be proved.

Our anti-fraud services give boards, CFOs and Finance Directors a complete fraud risk management capability: assessing where you are exposed, building proportionate prevention and detection controls, and responding decisively when something goes wrong.

The Failure-to-Prevent-Fraud Offence: What It Means for You

The new offence applies to large organisations — those meeting at least two of: more than 250 employees, more than £36 million turnover, or more than £18 million in total assets — and the only defence is having reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place when the fraud occurred. Government guidance sets out six principles those procedures should reflect: top-level commitment, risk assessment, proportionate risk-based procedures, due diligence, communication and training, and monitoring and review.

Smaller businesses are not off the hook. If you sit in the supply chain of a large organisation, expect contractual demands for evidence of your fraud controls — and the same framework is simply good practice at any size. We assess your current position against the guidance, close the gaps and document the evidence a prosecutor, regulator or customer would ask to see.

Fraud Risk Assessment First

A documented fraud risk assessment is the foundation of any credible prevention framework — and the starting point of the reasonable-procedures defence. We map where fraud could occur across your organisation: payment and supplier fraud, payroll and expenses manipulation, financial reporting fraud, procurement kickbacks, and fraud committed on your behalf against customers or investors. Each risk is scored for likelihood and impact, matched against the controls you already have, and translated into a prioritised action plan.

Prevention and Detection Controls

Prevention beats investigation every time. We design and test the controls that stop fraud early: segregation of duties, payment authorisation and bank mandate controls, supplier vetting and master-data changes, journal entry review, and data analytics that flag unusual transactions before they become losses. Where you already have controls, we test whether they would actually withstand a determined insider — which is often a different question from whether they exist on paper.

Whistleblowing, Investigation and Response

Most frauds surface through tip-offs, so a trusted route for staff to raise concerns is one of the highest-value controls you can have. We help you build whistleblowing and escalation frameworks that people actually use, and when a suspicion arises we investigate discreetly and objectively — establishing the facts, quantifying losses, preserving evidence and supporting any recovery, disciplinary, insurance or law-enforcement steps that follow.

Training and Culture

Controls fail quietly when people do not understand them. We deliver practical fraud awareness training for boards, finance teams and budget holders — from spotting invoice and payment-diversion fraud to understanding personal responsibilities under the new corporate offence — so your first line of defence is every employee, not just the finance team.

What You Get With Acumon

• Fraud risk assessments aligned with government guidance on the failure-to-prevent-fraud offence
• Gap analysis against the six principles of reasonable fraud prevention procedures
• Design and testing of prevention controls: payments, suppliers, payroll and journals
• Fraud detection analytics that flag unusual transactions early
• Whistleblowing frameworks and escalation routes staff actually trust
• Independent, discreet fraud investigations with clear factual reporting
• Fraud awareness training for boards, finance teams and budget holders

Why Acumon for Anti-Fraud Services?

• Cross-sector fraud risk experience
• Flexible engagement models with rapid project mobilisation
• Partner-led delivery by a Chartered Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (CMIIA)

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.