By Moshood Olawale Karim
The Benson Idahosa University, in partnership with the Osarenminodamwen Ayayi-Okundaye and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, United States, organized a one-day workshop aimed at educating small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
The workshop, held as part of the activities to mark the 2023 International Fraud Awareness Week, was designed to enlighten participants on the importance of fraud prevention and awareness in their businesses.
The event was attended by SME owners, corporate organizations, and stakeholders in the anti-fraud industry.
The keynote address was delivered by the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mrs. Premo Ayaoge.
Mrs. Ayaoge acknowledged that fraudulent activities pose significant obstacles to the stability and development of Nigeria and have given the country a bad image, making it difficult for Nigerian businesses to secure loans from international partners.
She stated that the high rate of fraud has led to a lack of factories to create jobs for the large number of unemployed youths in the country.
To address this issue, Mrs. Ayaoge highlighted ICPC’s various policies aimed at eliminating fraud in both the private and public sectors.
One of these policies is the Commission’s collaboration with national and international organizations to tackle illicit financial flow operators and track constituency projects carried out by federal lawmakers.
She also disclosed that defaulting contractors who failed to execute or complete projects at the stipulated time are prosecuted.
She further revealed that ICPC has partnered with the National Orientation Agency to develop the National Ethics and Integrity Policy to address the lack of national consciousness and redirect Nigerians to embrace national values.
Professor Rosemary Obasi, the Director of Academic Planning at Benson Idahosa University, gave a lecture themed “From Vulnerability to Vigilance: SMEs Fraud Prevention Guidelines”.
Professor Obasi emphasized that SMEs are more vulnerable to fraud than larger organizations due to a lack of anti-fraud measures and control.
She identified outsourcing of staff, family-run businesses, poor hiring practices, and poor accountability, among other factors, as some of the vulnerabilities of SMEs.
To mitigate these business challenges, Professor Obasi recommended that SMEs establish and maintain standards, ensure the security and integrity of business assets by putting appropriate controls and review procedures in place, establish defined anti-fraud policy, communicate the anti-fraud culture to employees, establish hiring procedures, and implement a fraud hotline, among other measures.
The workshop was an excellent opportunity for SMEs to learn practical strategies to safeguard their businesses from fraudulent activities, which is crucial to their growth and development.
