Payments fraud is on the rise, but the modern CFO remains handcuffed by a number of key factors in trying to prevent the crime, according to the results of a new study from CFO Research and Kyriba, a leader in cloud treasury and financial management solutions.
According to the survey, “5 Key CFO Challenges for Addressing Payments Fraud,” more than 40 percent of senior finance executives said organizations in their industry are experiencing a much higher incidence of payments fraud than they did two years ago. This includes everything from BEC (business email compromise) scams and spear-phishing to data compromise and bank account signatory risk. The data parallels results from the Association of Financial Professionals (AFP) that show 74 percent of financial professionals have been the victim of attempted or actual fraud in the last year – the highest percentage on record in the annual survey.
Despite the heightened awareness, CFOs and their teams still face major roadblocks in trying to solve for this issue, which can ruin careers and cause lasting financial and reputational damage to the organization. According to the survey, the main roadblock to addressing payments fraud is having the right technology, which was cited by 45 percent of respondents. This was followed by budget and time/availability at 38 percent and 37 percent respectively. (The survey allowed for multiple responses).
Technology – in the form of dedicated fraud detection– was also cited as the main tactic that finance should substantially improve for managing payments fraud, according to respondents. This was followed by limiting the use of paper payments, automated approval workflows, audit trails, and more.
“CFOs increasingly feel that fraud detection and monitoring must become one of their core responsibilities, because it is the only chance they have of staying at least even with an evolving threat,” the report states. “And that threat is not only about the money; it is about the customer, and the brand, and the business.”
To download a complimentary copy of the report, “5 Key CFO Challenges for Addressing Payments Fraud,” click here.