LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA

The 2020 Report to the Nations — the ACFE’s 11th study on the costs and effects of occupational fraud — represents the latest in a series of reports dating back to the first edition published in 1996. Collectively, these studies represent countless hours of work by our staff spent gathering, analyzing and interpreting the data from thousands of cases of fraud committed against organizations of all types and sizes. We have invested so much time and effort into this research because we recognize two simple truths:

Occupational fraud imposes tremendous costs upon businesses and government agencies throughout the world.
In order to deal with such a problem, we must first understand it.

In the 24 years since it was first published, the Report to the Nations has arguably contributed more to our understanding of occupational fraud than any other source of information.

The first Report to the Nation was launched in 1996 by ACFE Founder, Dr. Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, because he recognized that there was a glaring lack of information about occupational fraud. More importantly, he also recognized that the ACFE was uniquely situated to address this problem because we were sitting on what was probably the greatest source of fraud information in the world — the collective knowledge and experiences of the Certified Fraud Examiners who make up our association.

Over the years, the ACFE has received a great deal of praise and credit for publishing the Report to the Nations, which is the most widely quoted source of occupational fraud data in the world. But none of this would be possible without the work of thousands of CFEs who have taken the time to share with us very detailed information about the cases they have investigated and the lessons they have learned. I am reminded that this is why we have an association like the ACFE in the first place — so that our members can share information, contribute to the common body of knowledge and learn from one another. The ACFE is proud to be the conduit helping to broadcast and transmit that information, but make no mistake: It is our members who are the source of every piece of data contained in these pages. This study is a tribute to the important work they do and their willingness to give back to the profession.

On behalf of the ACFE and all of the CFEs who have contributed to this study, I am proud to present the 2020 edition of the Report to the Nations.

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