This webinar will focus on the new risks of public sector fraud which have emerged during pandemic. It will consider evidence and insight from what has been seen during the pandemic period, discuss potential vulnerabilities and how to deploy best practice to remain alert to unfolding challenges and reflect upon the nature of non-pandemic related fraud during and beyond pandemic.
All of society has been impacted by Covid-19 and for some the epidemic has presented new criminal opportunity. Fraud - in and associated with the public sector - is a permanent challenge to both the integrity of public finances and to the delivery of public services of the highest standard. Recognised longer term fraud risks remain to be fought. Meanwhile new risks have emerged as systems, practices and public resources were adapted and reshaped to focus on trying to prevent and eradicate the threat of coronavirus.
Those new fraud issues which emerged during pandemic have not gone away. Extended home working and the prospect of semi-permanent changes to working practice present further challenges and it is important to remain alive to the evolving nature of new risk in as close to real time as possible.
Anne Cairns and Barry Moncur will speak on emerging fraud risks for the Scottish public sector as bodies seek to deliver services for individuals, communities and businesses in an extremely difficult time. They will consider the most recent evidence from the National Fraud Initiative and its efforts to tackle fraud and error in Scotland. They will also assess challenges suggested by identified risks in case studies and in particular relating to procurement.
Key points
Senior Lecturer in Public Sector Finance and Chief Advisor of Studies
Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow and Secretary, BAFA Scotland
Manager
Audit Scotland
Corporate Fraud Team Leader
East Dunbartonshire Council
Lynn Bradley
Senior Lecturer in Public Sector Finance and Chief Advisor of Studies
Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow and Secretary, BAFA Scotland
Lynn Bradley is an accountant with more than 30 years’ experience of working in the Scottish public and private sectors. She was formerly the Head of Finance for West Dunbartonshire Council, where her responsibilities included local tax collection. More recently, she was Director of Corporate Programmes & Performance with Audit Scotland. She is a former chair of CIPFA in Scotland and a former chair of the Local Authority Accounts Scotland Advisory Committee. She is currently a University teacher in the Adam Smith Business School at Glasgow University, where she specialises in audit, risk and control.
Anne Cairns
Manager
Audit Scotland
Anne Cairns is a manager in Audit Scotland’s Professional Support Service which drives continuous improvement in public audit by delivering support on professional accounting and auditing matters. Anne leads on counter-fraud which involves working closely with other Scottish organisations such as Police Scotland as well as working with the Cabinet Office and audit agencies in Wales and Northern Ireland on the National Fraud Initiative. She also leads on welfare benefits and grant funding schemes.
Anne has 17 years of public audit experience in Scotland working across all sectors. She is a qualified accountant and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy as well as a fellow of the Chartered Banker Institute. Anne previously worked in financial services.
Barry Moncur
Corporate Fraud Team Leader
East Dunbartonshire Council
Barry Moncur is the Corporate Fraud Team Leader with East Dunbartonshire Council.
In addition to his day job, for the last 7 years, he has chaired the Scottish Local Authority Investigators’ Group, which is a group of fraud practitioners from Scottish Local Authorities whose main aims are to:
Raise awareness of the risk of fraud
Ensure fraud is investigated in a professional manner
Share good practice
Barry has worked in local government for 32 years and 23 of these years have been within the fraud environment, during which time he has led investigations on numerous types of frauds and delivered prosecutions on the same.
