All public authorities (including public sector agencies, government boards and committees, local governments, public universities and government trading enterprises) and public officers have a responsibility to prevent misconduct and corruption – including fraud – and protect public resources.
While the best approach is to prevent misconduct and corruption from occurring, effective detection systems are an important part of an authority’s overall approach to integrity. They can help reduce significant financial and asset loss, and reputational damage.
Detection systems should be developed considering an authority’s remit, size, processes and risk. They need to be flexible and regularly reviewed to ensure they remain effective.
Information in this guide is drawn from the experiences of 5 authorities in developing and implementing detection systems. Since sharing this information, their detection systems and approaches have evolved and changed either as part of a continuous improvement approach or because of changed operating conditions.
