Do counter fraud teams face a digital skills gap?

The following is an extract from the Clue report Counter Fraud: Navigating the Path to Prevention, based on a survey of counter fraud professionals in government, public sector and law enforcement. 

Technology can help to manage rising workloads, but adequate peoplepower remains important. It’s positive that more than two-thirds of (67%) of government and public sector counter fraud teams Clue surveyed have reported growth in the last three years. For 38%, it was a significant hike – one team reported growing fivefold since 2019.

This growth reflects the rise in fraud in recent years and an increasing recognition of the vital counter fraud function.

The sector is moving in the right direction when it comes to recruiting reinforcements and reports no shortage of applications. As teams grow and organisations continue to operate remotely, centralised case management tools will become instrumental in managing a dispersed workforce and ensuring workflows are consolidated.

Bridging the digital skills gap 

With recruitment ongoing, the unanimous challenge among respondents was securing the right talent.

Candidates often have strong detective backgrounds but lack specialist knowledge, experience in the current fraud landscape, and digital skillsets. Meanwhile, promising applicants can occasionally be lost to lengthier recruitment processes while highly skilled individuals will often be enticed into the private sector by more competitive compensation.

Recruitment to date has been straightforward. For specialised roles, it may prove more challenging.

Survey respondent

Lacking cookie-cutter candidates, forward thinking recruiters are changing tack, implementing training programmes to create new routes for ‘non-traditional’ candidates, including individuals from policing or military backgrounds with transferrable skills such as emotional intelligence.

Rechannelling entry points to counter fraud is no bad thing. A greater reliance on data and technology requires innovative approaches to investigations and fresh thinking. Recruiters must harness this shift to attract a new generation of data-led, digital investigators seeking roles with a purpose first.

Clue helps law enforcement agencies, corporations, public sector organisations and others detect and prevent economic crime.

Learn more about Clue for economic crime and enquire about a demo today.