New Delhi: Robust strategies and strong government reforms have proved to be the stepping stone for India’s growing economy. Concurrently it is vital for businesses to be updated on the implemented trends and new legislations in order to reduce the factors causing frauds and monitor the risk prone areas. Ensuring a meaningful discussion on the evolving risks in the business, “The 2nd Annual Economic Times Fraud & Investigation Summit 2015” held on 20th August in the capital city, New Delhi at the Taj Palace, charted the way forward for the industry, while warranting the sector’s efforts and apt resource application to help reduce risks of frauds.

Improving on the regulatory framework with senior policy makers and industry leaders, the Fraud & Investigation Summit discussed various measures that the organisation should cultivate in order to prevent fraud and losses incurred in the organisation. With a focus on changing financial and cyber trends, the deliberation was on necessary steps to ensure future security of individuals, organisations and the nation as a whole.

Today with the business landscape changing regularly companies have to scuffle with traditional frauds like diversion of good, theft and bribery, existing fraud risks management mechanisms being outdated and insufficient enforcement to tackle frauds. Determining the right compliances in his opening address was Rohit Mahajan, Senior Director & Head – Forensic, Financial Advisory, Deloitte in India, which was followed by Special Address on Fraud and Investigation under the new Companies Act by Hon’ble Justice K S Radhakrishnan, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India. The respectable Former Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police Mr. Neeraj Kumar also shed light on the growing concerns. The summit ended on a high note with B S Bassi, Commissioner Delhi Police participating in an interactive session on the crucial compliances required to manage frauds and the effective of the police department.

The key Panel discussions held focussed on:

1.      Winds of change: Dealing with the evolving dynamics of the fraud environment

2.      Cyber-attacks  and technology related risks

3.      Creating an Ethical Environment: Establishing a ‘perception of detection’

At the summit, Sanjeev Sood (Senior Vice President & Head Internal Audit, Max Life Insurance Company Limited) commented, “Combating fraud is one of the biggest challenges being faced by the organizations in today’s ever changing environment. A Structured approach to fraud risk management by combining prevention, detection and response strategies would help in mitigating it. Using technology for data analytics, training personnel and identifying fraud incidents would enable organizations to pro-actively combat fraud.”

B.S. Bassi, (Commisioner, Delhi Police) offered his views at the summit in an interactive session, stating, “There is a general caution on the part of cops to deal with cases of fraud reported by corporates or by business organizations. An ordinary policeman views all such cases with apprehension since some cases are camouflaged to avoid civil laws. So we need to strengthen alternate resolution systems.”

Neeraj Kumar (Former Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police), also spoke at length at the event, saying, “The capacity or ability of law enforcement agencies in dealing with economic offences is rather limited. Today, a man would first go to the police station before he even goes to a crime branch, EOW or federal body. If there are strong laws, it would make a difference, but the enforcement has to be very stringent. The more we turn a blind eye to white collar crime, the more economic disparities will increase and social friction along with it.”

Archana Nigam (ICAS, Additional CGA, Ministry of Finance) had this to say at the august gathering, “Now is a time for zero tolerance for fraud and misconduct. We need systems that are robust and defensible, that is the key. We have to also understand that we must work in tandem with other mechanisms. You cannot work in silos anymore.”

Frauds are rising and thus challenging the work environment in organisations. The rise in social media fraud, ecommerce fraud, cloud computing fraud and virtual/ crypto currency reported in each sector pose as a constant threat among corporate, while the government of India has launched various initiatives that have been designed with a vision to eradicate fraud by introducing several regulatory changes in Companies Act 2013 and SEBIs revised corporate governance guidelines, etc. The revision of laws and regulations has created a spark of evolution in business ethics in India and“The 2nd Annual Economic Times Fraud & Investigation Summit 2015” aimed to guide and identify the measures while establishing the absolute need of transparent business practices and zero tolerance.

The Fraud & Investigation Summit 2015 was attended by many eminent speakers like Archana Nigam ICAS, Additional CGA, Ministry of Finance, Praveen Moon, Head, Internal Audit, Apollo Tyres, Harish Dua, President & Group CFO, Jindal Steel & Power, Sudipta Dey, Head – Internal Audit, Nestle India, Surath Mukherjee, Head – Internal Audit & Risk Assurance, Dalmia Bharat Group, R N Singh, Member (Technical), Cyber Appellate Tribunal, Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Subrahmanyam Boda, Group CISO, GMR, Vivek Gupta, VP, Global CISO, EXL Services along with many other industry leaders.

Source : Lokesh Shastri