All levels of Australian Governments award grants each year. Many of them are significant in value.
Businesses also award grants as do not for profits.
It is important to consider fraud risks when designing and delivering grants programs.
Grants help organisations meet their policy objectives by delivering valuable services and support to various individuals, businesses, industries and communities.
However, they carry fraud risks. The risks are often amplified when a grant program is designed and delivered quickly and/or with limited resources.
Grants must be well designed and also overseen to ensure they are used for expected purposes and achieve the desired objectives. There will always be some people or organisations who seek to make dishonest gains through fraud. It is crucial to consider fraud risks when designing and administering grants.
In our experience, grant fraud can include:
- Fraudulent information provided
- Business/applicant not eligible
- Fake business
- Double-dipping and receiving funds not entitled
- Business identity theft
- Breach of Terms and Conditions of the grant
- False reporting of expenditure
- Collusion and/or conflicts of interest in the awarding of the grants
Grant awarders should ensure that those who are involved in grant design:
- Have a well-developed awareness of fraud vulnerabilities in grants administration
- Understand how vulnerabilities in their proposed grant program might be open to fraud
- Identify appropriate countermeasures to prevent, detect and respond to fraud.
Warfield & Associates can help with:
- Reviewing fraud and corruption risks in your grants program
- Educating your grant administration staff about the warning signs of fraud and corruption when considering grant applications and grant reporting.
- Investigating allegations of grant fraud.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised or how Warfield & Associates can assist, please contact us on (02) 8005 3005 or info@warfield.com.au or review our services at Our Services | Warfield & Associates.