BEING AWARE OF THE FRAUD RISK
Elsa Kristo
Raiffeisen Bank
ABSTRACT
Fraud is a concept that is generally understood, but whose characteristics are often not recognized until it is too late. The potential damage, financial and reputational, means that this risk cannot be ignored. Combating fraud requires an understanding of how and why it occurs and the way by which it can be minimized. As the pressure on management to maintain income and earnings increases, the incentive to commit fraud is higher. The above issues are the main subject of the paper. Its most interesting part refers to real fraud cases that have occurred in the Albanian banking system. These cases reveal the causes leading to fraud. Finally, the paper asks how the risk of fraud can be prevented.
JEL classification: K42, M42
Keywords: fraud, counterfeit, prevention
Acknowledgements: Special thanks are due to my discussant Elsida Orhan for putting an effort to read the paper and make comments. I am also thankful to the organizers of the workshop, especially to Sophia Lazaretou whose encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject. Further, I would like to show my gratitude to Armela Mancellari for her suggestions. Lastly, I offer my regards to those who supported me in any respect during the completion of the paper. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Bank of Greece and the Raiffeisen Bank. I alone am responsible for the remaining errors and omissions.
Correspondence:
Elsa Kristo
Internal Audit
Raiffeisen Bank of Albania
ETC, Tirana, Albania
Tel: 355 686016627
E-mail: elsa.kristo@raiffeisen.al