Product Overview

Summary: This Fraud Prevention and Detection Standard Operating Procedure provides a clear, practical framework for identifying, preventing and responding to fraud across your organisation. Designed for Australian businesses, it helps you protect revenue, safeguard sensitive information and demonstrate strong governance to regulators, clients and stakeholders.

Fraud is a growing threat for Australian organisations of all sizes, from small practices to large enterprises and councils. Payment redirection scams, false invoicing, payroll manipulation, misuse of company credit cards and cyber-enabled fraud can quickly erode profit, damage trust and expose directors to significant legal and reputational risk. This Fraud Prevention and Detection SOP provides a structured, end‑to‑end process for managing fraud risk, from initial risk assessment and control design through to incident reporting, investigation and post‑incident review.

The procedure sets out clear roles, responsibilities and approval workflows so that staff know exactly what is expected of them when handling money, data and authorisations. It details practical control measures such as segregation of duties, verification steps for new suppliers and bank details, monitoring of high‑risk transactions, and secure record‑keeping. It also standardises how suspicious activity is reported, escalated and investigated, ensuring that responses are consistent, timely and defensible. By implementing this SOP, your business can demonstrate strong corporate governance, support compliance with Australian regulatory expectations and significantly reduce the likelihood and impact of fraud events.

Key Benefits

• Reduce the likelihood of financial loss by implementing consistent, organisation-wide fraud controls.
• Strengthen governance and director oversight to support compliance with Australian corporate and financial regulations.
• Standardise how suspicious activity is identified, reported and investigated across all business units.
• Enhance staff awareness and accountability through clear procedures, examples and training touchpoints.
• Improve audit readiness with documented processes, evidence trails and control checks that stand up to external scrutiny.

Who is this for?

• Chief Financial Officers (CFOs)
• Finance Managers
• Accounts Payable Officers
• Payroll Managers
• Internal Auditors
• Risk and Compliance Managers
• Business Owners and Directors
• Procurement Managers
• IT and Systems Administrators
• Practice Managers (Medical, Legal and Professional Services)
• Not-for-Profit Executive Officers
• Local Government Finance and Governance Officers

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose, Scope and Objectives
• 2.0 Definitions and Types of Fraud (with Australian examples)
• 3.0 Legal and Regulatory Context in Australia
• 4.0 Roles, Responsibilities and Delegations of Authority
• 5.0 Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Planning
• 6.0 Preventative Controls (Segregation of Duties, Approvals, System Controls)
• 7.0 Detection Controls (Monitoring, Exception Reporting, Data Analytics)
• 8.0 Supplier and Payment Controls (Onboarding, Bank Detail Verification, Changes to Payee Details)
• 9.0 Payroll and Employee Expense Controls
• 10.0 Use of Corporate Credit Cards and Purchasing Systems
• 11.0 Information Security and Access Management Interfaces
• 12.0 Reporting Suspected Fraud (Internal and External Channels, Whistleblower Protections)
• 13.0 Incident Response and Investigation Procedure
• 14.0 Evidence Handling, Confidentiality and Record-Keeping
• 15.0 Communication, Training and Awareness Requirements
• 16.0 Audit, Review and Continuous Improvement of Fraud Controls
• 17.0 Document Control, Version History and Approval

Legislation & References

• AS 8001:2021 Fraud and corruption control
• AS ISO 31000:2018 Risk management – Guidelines
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Regulatory Guides on governance and director duties
• Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) – where applicable
• Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) for handling personal and financial information