Director of Prosperity, Michael Mahabeer has been accepted to join the Standards Australia Committee and Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee.
Michael will be part of the team responsible for reviewing and updating AS 8001 – 2008, Fraud and Corruption Control Standard. This is a testament to Michael’s recognised expertise in the fraud and corruption area.
Standards Australia is the country’s leading independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit standards organisation. It is also Australia’s representative on the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For every new standard, Standards Australia bring together key parties and stakeholders to form a technical committee.
These committees collaborate to develop standards which are of value to Australia, its business and its people.
On being accepted on the committee, Michael said he was looking forward to making an impact.
“I am excited to be part of the team leading the review of the Fraud and Corruption Australian Standard which is in the spotlight across Australia, especially in light of the recent passing of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2019,” Michael said.
“Australian Standard (AS) 8001 – 2008, Fraud and Corruption Control, published in March 2008, is long overdue for a review and update. Since AS 8001 remains the authoritative guidance and reference document for Australian organisations in developing and implementing a fraud control program, or in benchmarking an organisation’s fraud control program to best practice, it is important that the Standard remains current and reflects up-to-date methodologies and considers today’s trends and issues.”
Fraud and corruption effects economies, societies (directly or indirectly), organisations and individuals. It has been identified as the world’s number one problem and Australia is not immune to the risk. A number of recent high-profile fraud and corruption cases across top ASX listed entities is indicative of the financial and reputational damage suffered by Australian companies.
“There has been a number of environmental triggers which have prompted a need for this review as well, including technological changes e.g. artificial intelligence, cyber risk and the role of social media to name a few. The implications of not updating the Standard means its relevance, importance and authority can be lost and will become ineffective in combatting fraud and corruption,” Michael said.
Michael said implementing a robust fraud control framework that meets the requirements of the Australian Standard is one way of protecting against financial losses, reputational damage and erosion of good organisational culture. An up-to-date and current Standard means that organisations can be assured that by meeting the requirements of the Standard they are meeting best practice requirements within a current contemporary setting.
IMAGE | Director of Prosperity, Michael Mahabeer.