Men aged 46-55 years old working as senior managers are responsible for the most frauds in Czech companies. They have a good reputation among their colleagues and have been working for their companies for more than six years, according to the Global profiles of the fraudster study performed by KPMG teams of forensic auditors uncovering corporate frauds worldwide.
Typical Czech fraudster
Compared to fraudsters from other countries, Czech fraudsters are older and work in higher-level positions. Most often they are CEOs (30%), CFOs (25%) and Sales Directors (25%). They are typically employees of damaged companies (95% of the cases).
Czech fraudsters also use different reasons to try to justify their behavior. While companies in other Central and Eastern European countries experience fraud mainly due to the personal financial ambitions of the fraudsters, the most common reason in the Czech Republic is the persistent perception of fraud as part of the overall corporate culture. Other reasons Czech fraudsters give include being unsatisfied with their salary, trying to meet too ambitious goals or to hide losses so as not to lose their jobs or bonuses.
Typical Czech fraud
The most common types of fraud in the Czech Republic are similar to the rest of the world. These primarily include misappropriation of assets and money (more than 50% of cases). Statement manipulation and fraudulent accounting (45%) have significantly increased in the last two years. The vast majority Czech of fraudsters (85%) cooperate with two to five accomplices. The number of fraudsters with accomplices is lower worldwide (61%).
Another typically Czech problem is the length of time during which the fraud occurs. In most cases, it takes more than three years to detect a fraud. In a quarter of cases, the fraud lasts for more than six years, which is significantly longer than in the rest of the world. In 90% of the cases, it is insufficient control which makes fraud easier. Internationally, this is true in only 60% of cases.
The most common way of detecting fraud in the Czech Republic is a formal call to a dedicated information line, whistleblowing (a third of cases). Other ways include anonymous statements and revelations by senior management.
Typical Czech punishment
Fraudsters in the Czech Republic are most often punished with dismissals. However, a quarter of fraudsters are not punished at all, which is twice as much as in other countries.
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