Assistant Manager of the Risk Advisory Department at Deloitte Ghana, Monita Derby, is entreating businesses to segregate procurement processes in their operations to reduce the instances of fraud.

According to her, it is important to put in place the needed controls and measures that would curtail or block opportunities that would lead to fraud and embezzlement in organisations.

Speaking on the JoyBusiness Masterclass show on Joy Fm, Mrs. Derby, posited that leaving procurement processes to an individual’s provides the opportunity for some workers to siphon funds in the discharge of their duties.

 “If you’re an institution where you don’t have the measures in place that would help prevent or detect the fraud. For example, someone is requesting money to purchase something within your organisation, the person requesting the money is the same person that would make the approval and sign the cheque; they are likely to bypass measures and execute the fraud”.

 “The pressure and the rationalisation fall with the individual. They are thinking about it but if you put the right control measures in place, it can help mitigate the risk”, she said.

 She furthered that the bedrock of mitigating the occurrence of fraud is improving openness and transparency in interactions with stakeholders, underpinned by integrity and ethical behavior by all employees and professionals.

 This she believes will ensure the continuity of businesses and provide an avenue for growth and expansion