Tackling fraud

The Counter Fraud Professional Accreditation Board (CFPAB) has appointed Northumbria University to host its Secretariat function, in a move confirming the University’s expertise in financial crime research.

Within the role, Northumbria will provide advice to the CFPAB Board on good governance arrangements commensurate with its role as a professional accrediting body, and ensure the highest professional standards are maintained by the CFPAB-approved training providers.

Economic crime represents a huge cost to society and needs to be prevented, detected, investigated and prosecuted by highly skilled professionals. The CFPAB seeks to establish and maintain a portfolio of professional training courses providing recognised qualifications for staff working in the field of counter fraud work. This includes employees from organisations such as HM Revenue and Customs, the Department of Work and Pensions, the NHS, Her Majesty’s Passport Office, the City of London Police and local authorities.

The training courses are delivered by providers from across the public, private and charitable sectors, meeting the professional training needs of a wide variety of organisations engaged in countering fraud across the whole of the UK. 

Jackie Harvey, Professor of Financial Management and Director of Business Research at Northumbria’s Newcastle Business School, said: “Northumbria’s position as a world-leader in financial crime research, and as a Centre for Policing and Criminal Justice research and teaching makes us an ideal partner for CPFAB. Our appointment also reflects the seriousness of economic crime and the crippling cost fraud can have on society, and organisations such as the NHS. Those charged with tackling these crimes need to be equipped with the most up-to-date skills, and a key role for us is to ensure those providing the training establish and maintain the highest professional standards of delivery. We will be establishing close relationships with the training providers and helping them develop the best possible professional courses.

“We are also looking forward to working with CFPAB, and to see how we can develop its role in tackling fraud further in the future.”

Les Dobie, CIPFA’s Head of Counter Fraud Training and CFPAB Chair added: “The CFPAB was created in 2001 from the merger of the National Counter Fraud Accreditation Board and the NHS National Professional Accreditation Board. In September 2019 Northumbria University took over the Secretariat function for CFPAB from the University of Portsmouth. As the new University partner, Northumbria will host the Secretariat which includes advising the CFPAB on technical and governance issues, ensuring the highest professional standards through quality assurance; managing the qualification award process and producing an annual report.”

Supporting the appointment, Alan Brown, Chairman oftheNorth East Fraud Forumsaid: “Fraud is adevastating crime, blighting the lives of individuals, stripping businesses and organisations of vital income and undermining economies. The latest research states that fraud costs the UK economy a staggering 110 billion pounds per year and the cost to the global economy is an estimated 3.2 trillion pounds per year. It is therefore essential that we have people with the qualifications, skills and wherewithal to lockdown this illegal activity and create an environment that starves fraudsters of opportunity. We congratulate Newcastle Business School on its CFPAB Secretariat role and look forward to assisting them in this increasingly important work.”

For more information and to submit enquiries about CFPAB Awards please visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/business.