A recent article outlining the key findings of the investigation into the Chernobyl disaster made me realise the links between Health and Safety issues and Fraud.
One of the findings from Chernobyl was that a lack of Health and Safety culture played a significant role in the disaster. This is not dissimilar to the need to develop a zero tolerance Anti-fraud culture as part of an effective fraud strategy. Due to legislative requirements many organisations have a much more mature Health and Safety culture compared with their anti-fraud culture. Perhaps therefore there is much to be learned from Health and Safety colleagues when it comes to developing that anti-fraud culture. Other areas of Health and Safety work where you might be able to learn lessons from are: root cause analysis following investigations, and effective risk management.
There are also of course specific fraud risks which Health and Safety colleagues need to be aware of. For example there could be disasterous consequences if counterfeit or inferior quality products or components are substituted for the genuine ones in critical machinery, vehicles or tools resulting in those components failing under stress. There have also been recent cases of bogus gas engineers who put lives at risk when they undertake repairs in peoples’ homes having obtained work using false professional accreditation certificates.
For all of the above reasons I would add Health and Safety colleagues to my list of key stakeholders to effectively communicate with as part of developing a complete fraud strategy.
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