NCJ Number
201093
Date Published
2003
Length
101 pages
Annotation
This document presents the results of a performance audit in the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Abstract
Fraud against the Commonwealth is a major concern to the Government. The Fraud Control Guidelines require agencies to put in place a comprehensive fraud control program that includes prevention, detection, investigation, and reporting strategies. The ATO is the Government’s principal revenue collection agency. The audit objective was to assess whether the ATO has implemented administratively effective fraud control arrangements, consistent with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines. The audit addressed key elements of fraud control. These elements are fraud control arrangements integrated within the ATO’s corporate governance framework; strategies, systems, and processes used to prevent and detect fraud; management of fraud investigations; and reporting of fraud. The overall conclusion of the audit was that the ATO has systems and processes in place to prevent, detect, investigate, and report fraud. These activities are undertaken and implemented across business lines but need to be better integrated and coordinated if they are to underpin an effective fraud control framework and fully meet the requirements of the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines. The ATO is currently revising its fraud control plan. This will allow the ATO to undertake a comprehensive assessment of all fraud risks. The plan should also integrate fraud prevention, detection, and mitigation strategies across the ATO. A number of areas have been identified where improvements could be made to strengthen the ATO’s fraud control framework. These include articulating to staff the overall fraud control strategy; recognizing that external fraud should be treated as a separate component of the compliance continuum; reviewing data collection requirements; and enhancing the effectiveness of the Risk Rating Engine (RRE) as a fraud detection tool. 4 figures, 4 tables, 140 footnotes, appendix, index