Audit Wales has expressed concern over fraud in the public sector and is urging the Government in Cardiff “to take the problem seriously”.
The Agency says various frauds could be costing the Government up to £1 billion ($A1.83 billion) a year.
Audit Wales identified seven key themes that public bodies needed to focus on.
It said counter-fraud arrangements needed to be strengthened, particularly in Local Government.
Auditor General for Wales, Adrian Compton, said many Local Authorities had invested so little in counter-fraud arrangements that they had only a few of the key components in place.
“While the position is generally much more robust across the National Health Service in Wales, there is still a challenging agenda to make counter-fraud fit for the next decade where globalisation and the advent of digital technology have created new risks, and opportunities for the fraudsters,” Mr Compton said.
The seven key themes of his report were leadership and culture; risk management and control frameworks; policies and training; capacity and expertise; tools and data; collaboration, and reporting and scrutiny.
Mr Compton said some public sector leaders were sceptical about the level of fraud within their organisations and were reluctant to invest in counter-fraud arrangements.
“The report highlights how prevalent fraud has become and recommends that a culture of anti-fraud behaviour should be embedded within all public bodies,” Mr Compton said.
“It also says that having a co-ordinated and coherent leadership of counter-fraud across the Welsh Public Service will help,” he said.
Cardiff, 13 August 2020
