In a media briefing two weeks ago PwC released the findings from the Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2018, where it was revealed that Economic crime continues to be the most pervasive crime impacting SA’s organisations. South African organisations continue to report the highest instances of economic crime in the world with economic crime reaching its highest level over the past decade.
Given that the foundation of any business is it’s employees. Businesses are entirely at the mercy of their employees’ integrity. A positive work ethic, commitment, sense of duty and moral conscientiousness are only a few characteristics of an employee with integrity. Employees are generally hired based on available information, ironically, based on the information made available by the employees themselves using their own discretion. The implications of not validating the information can range from having an unqualified person managing your multi-million rand account, to unwittingly inviting a syndicate into your business. By selecting the right applicants and ensuring they possess a high level of integrity a business can reduce the chances of crime within their business.
Today we have access to various assessment tools for different levels of employment, that assist with determining whether a potential applicant possesses integrity.