World's leading specialist in procurement fraud coming to Dubai

Organised by IIR, the three-day conference is an in-depth study of the tactics used by fraudsters - both internal and external - and the controls necessary to defeat them.

It is a damning indictment of business that the majority of frauds are discovered by accident. And then become catastrophic because managers react badly when confronted with the problem.

It is NO accident therefore that procurement fraud has become a corporate scandal - incurring losses for companies of between 2% and 15% each year! And no accident either that a major conference plans to attack the problem head on!

A case study of Procurement Fraud in the Construction Industry will examine the types of fraud which are prevalent; examples of such fraud and how they were rectified - and how to reduce the risk of fraud in the first place.

Delegates will be shown how to form an anti-fraud plan by Mike Comer, chairman of the Maxima Group plc, UK and arguably the world's leading specialist in procurement fraud.

Mike served eight years in the Special Investigation Branch of HM Customs and Excise where he led major probes into commercial and revenue frauds, organised crime and narcotics smuggling. He has written four books and his latest, Corporate Fraud 111 is widely regarded as the definitive work on the subject.

Conference delegates will hear from other top-flight speakers that Procurement is an area of company activity where a "very high degree" of fraud occurs - often in collusion with external parties.

The conference will also study 'Perceptions of Fraud' - and how to create a corporate definition among the Gulf's multi-cultural workforce. And it won't dodge the tough questions either! Questions such as ...

Do back-handers constitute fraud - or is it "just the way we do business around here?"

Legal issues surrounding procurement fraud in the Gulf will be examined - particularly interrogation techniques and how best to gather permissable evidence. And a high-powered panel of speakers will head up a discussion - 'Fraud Exposed' - and answer delegates' questions.

The conference includes a two-day workshop also led by Mike Comer. One day is devoted to Investigating Fraud and another to Controlling Fraud in Procurement Operations.

Other topics to figure prominently are bribery, corruption and conflicts of interest; unfair competition, cartels, bid manipulation and price rigging; and deliberate overcharging by suppliers on fixed price and other contracts.

The estimated 2% to 15% of turnover lost to procurement fraud adds up to countless millions of dollars every year. Can your company afford to stuff money into the pockets of fraudsters and their accomplices?