Tunisian Government Launches a New Anti-Fraud Award Program
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GUEST BLOGGER
Mikhail Ben Rabah, CFE
Government Auditing Manager
Presidency of the Government
Since 2011, Tunisia has been engaged in a relentless fight against fraud and corruption. An institutional and legal arsenal has been put in place to carry out this endless fight. The new constitution of 2014 has established an independent commission: The Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Commission, whose main prerogative is to contribute to policies of good governance, as well as preventing and fighting corruption. Likewise, Tunisian authorities have endeavored to comply with the various international anti-corruption conventions and initiatives.
In late 2019, two government decrees were issued, which complement the anti-fraud landscape. The first government decree, issued December 9, 2019, on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, sets up a framework to reward either public or private organizations for complying with national and international anti-corruption standards, and for adopting policies inspired by worldwide best practices. The second government decree, issued the same day, has set up mechanisms to reward whistleblowers.
Organization awards: public sector
Public entities like the central government, local governments and public enterprises that have demonstrated strong adhesion to national anti-fraud policies may respond to the annual call for award nominations. Award aspirants should meet a set of requirements such as:
Implementation of a governance unit
Compliance to the Freedom of Information Regulation
Establishment of mechanisms to oversee and monitor adherence to a code of ethics
Design and delivery of effective anti-fraud education programs and fraud awareness training
Digitalization of management processes and services delivery
Reinforcement of whistleblowing channels and mechanisms
Adoption of fraud risk management and internal controls frameworks
Implementation of a stringent information security policy
Setup and monitoring of a comprehensive fraud management program aiming to prevent, detect and deter fraud
Introduction of a corporate performance management and measurement based on objective key performance indicators (KPIs)
Compliance to the National Governance Framework and relevant legislation and regulations
Organization awards: private sector
This regulation has the merit to not exclude the private sector from the award program scope. Private companies that comply to a set of requirements not much different from the previous list may also apply to the awards program. In addition to having successfully set up effective fraud management programs, private companies should be in a good standing with regards to their health and safety environment (HSE), taxes, financial reporting and customs regulations.
Award process
A committee within the presidency of the government is responsible for the award process. It includes representatives from government and nongovernment entities. Committee members have set up the detailed award criteria and will handle the nominations process. The award winners will receive a financial prize and government support to enhance and improve their fraud management programs. The full amount of the prize is to be allocated to finance social projects for the benefit of each organization’s employees. This will hopefully encourage an organization’s staff to continue their efforts in the fight against fraud.
Whistleblowers awards
Starting December 2019, whistleblowers whose reporting leads to the prevention or detection of any corruption crimes in the public sector, the identification of the perpetrators or the recovery of funds derived from fraud may apply for the awards program.
The whistleblower and the reported incident(s) should meet the following criteria:
The whistleblower should be the primary source of the information reported. Furthermore, they should not have obtained the information as part of their normal job duties.
The information should have directly and fundamentally contributed to preventing corruption crimes, identifying the perpetrators or recovering the funds derived from fraud.
The information should not be obtained from judicial files, government reports, audit reports or investigations carried out by government authorities.
The information should not be derived from published journalistic inquiries or previously made as part of preliminary research, security or judicial investigation or trial.
The financial reward is estimated on the basis of 5% of the value of the funds recovered, provided that the reward does not exceed 50,000 dinars ($17,000). If the funds could not be recovered, the reward is estimated depending on the seriousness of the reported act(s) with a maximum of 20,000 dinars ($7,000).
The Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Commission handles the nomination and awarding process.
Weaknesses of the award program
Certainly, the program is another milestone achieved in the fight against fraud. However, it has some weaknesses. Here are the main areas of concern:
There is only one award winner (one organization and one whistleblower) each year, which makes the competition fiercer and may end up discouraging some from even trying. It might be more appropriate to announce three award recipients with gold, silver and bronze award levels.
Award winners are not allowed to apply again for the program during the following 10 years. That seems to be a long period, which may reduce the organization’s interest in continuing efforts for the next few years.
Eligibility for the program starts at a high demand. It might be more effective to start a bit smaller and set the program up as a more scalable model.
Some of the award criteria will be difficult to measure.
Prize amounts are considerably small, especially for big fraud cases.
Despite these flaws, I am encouraged by the new awards program. We are moving forward in our fight against fraud, but we still have a long way to go.
