Posted by Steve Wilcox on Fri, Oct 24, 2008 @ 03:11 PM
Ever wonder if there is any rhyme or reason behind airport security? The people they pull outta line seems totally random. Really suspicious-looking people are not searched but old ladies, families and young women are searched. What's up with that?
For example, during the security check for a recent flight, they decided to screen a little 83 year old lady. She was stripped one article at a time trying to make it through the metal detector. First she passed through her walker. Then off came her knit sweater with the metal buttons. Finally, she removed her belt from her slacks.
When she finally made it through, a guard insisted on patting her down, searching her with a metal detecting wand ... and then get this ... they dumped the contents of her handbag to do a bomb wipedown! Yeah, I felt a lot safer. Great job TSA! Just what good is this kind of screening???
Then it dawned on me ... this type of screening is absolutely brilliant!!!
Seriously.
If they can screen little old ladies, they can screen ANYONE. It's actually a very good deterrent -- if you are a terrorist, it doesn't matter how you look, dress or speak. You have just as good a chance of being screened as anyone.
And this is how surprise audits also work. Surprise audits are a time-tested technique for detecting and preventing fraud; especially AP Fraud. In many cases, a surprise audit can easily catch fraudsters. More importantly, surprise audits will DETER fraudsters.
Why?
... Because the fear of being caught is more powerful than greed.
Jeremy Bentham, the 18th century English philosopher who originated criminal theory, held that the greater the risk of detection, the less likely a person is to violate the rules. In other words, the fear of getting caught overwhelms greed.
But here's an interesting consequence -- surprise audits as part of a strong control environment will not only reduce fraud but also change behavior by weeding out undisciplined behavior ... undisciplined behavior that will cost the company money.
A great of example of this is in the area of T&E -- grey area decisions that people make about their expenses. If you know that your expense report may be randomly audited, behavior changes pretty dramatically. At the margin, people will make different decisions about the flights they book, what hotels they stay in, what they order for dinner ... employees become a lot more thoughtful when they know that their expense report may be scrutizined.
Having a controlled environment where things are a lot more disciplined, processes are lot more more crisp, tasks are very easy to perform, and audits are a surprise - will reduce fraud & sloppiness that is costing the company money.
-Rakesh Shukla
@rakesh170
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