التكنولوجيا وأخبارها بوابة الإمارات لتكنولوجيا المعلومات والإتصالات
94% of current audit methods set to disappear: UAE IAA Chairman of the BoardInternal auditors told to embrace technology rather than fearing it
Almost 20 per cent to 30 per cent degree certificates in the UAE
are fake and employers can utilize Blockchain technology to detect fraud, according to
Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chairman of the UAE Internal Auditors Association (UAE IAA) Board.
Addressing a breakfast meeting titled “How you can minimize fraud using Blockchain,” held
in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Abdulqader said Blockchain technology can be utilized in
education to reduce fraud.
Abdulqader also called upon internal auditors to embrace technology rather than fearing it.
According to current data, 94% of current practice methods in audit will disappear. The
new way of doing auditing requires more technological knowledge. Auditors should ask
themselves if they have the capability and ability as auditors to understand as to how they
are really working.
“Auditors need to be in the forefront in an organisation to see what’s happening on the
technological front and be ahead of it. The role of internal auditors is becoming more
important than in the past,” he said.
“Future technology is shaping internal audit. Now that Dubai will be a paperless
environment by next year, auditors will have to perform their audit job without physical
papers as everything is going to be online,” he said.
“Between 20 and 30% of degrees in the UAE are fake. It is a really scary situation to realise
that many people employed in our organisations have fake degrees. In education,
Blockchain technology can be utilised in different verticals and we can capture all
information about an employee, including his degree and experience. One of our mandates,
as auditors, is to audit the HR system. When conducting a background check, it can be
astonishing to find that a few degrees are fake. Utilising Blockchain technology, a genuine
degree can be authenticated,” he said.
Fraudulent paper-based certificates are rampant and getting easier with sophisticated
operations. Certificate registries are single points of failure, while the certificates may
remain valid and the ability to verify them is lost.
Once a certificate is issued there is no way to revoke it. Security features in the physical
certificate derive exclusively from the expertise required to print the document. The more
secure the certificate, the more expensive it is to produce.
Abdulqader suggested that businesses will benefit by publishing credentials of certificates
on the Blockchain, as they can’t be faked or forged. “It’s a new paradigm of security.
Reduce reputational risk and administrative burden from fraud cases on paper-based
certificates,” he said.
By 2021, Dubai will go paperless, meaning all processes will be done online and Blockchain
is setting the stage. Infotech is becoming the real enabler of business.
Abdulqader listed three types of frauds that are detected: Financial frauds, Identity frauds
and Supply chain frauds. Blockchain can help in combating financial fraud and it can help in
fraud detection by enabling the sharing of information in real-time and updating the ledger
upon the agreement of all parties. This will not only prevent fraud but also lower the overall
cost and time taken for the process.
Identity theft is one of the serious issues that has impacted consumers across the globe in
the past few years. Blockchain ensures the security of the digital ID of an individual in a manner that makes it tamper proof.
Supply chain fraud is also a major issue that is faced by several companies recently. Blockchain helps in preventing fraud by more transparent and easily traceability of products.
“Blockchain will create perfect conditions for every growing eco-system with cross-industry organization collaborations across geographical boundaries,” he said.
Abdulqader also urged the internal auditors to attend the forthcoming 20th Annual Regional Audit Conference (ARAC) hosted by the UAE Internal Auditors Association (UAE IAA) at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from April 12 to 14, 2020 under the theme “Future Technology Shaping Internal Audit”.
He highlighted that the conference will be addressed by world class speakers, there will be networking opportunities with like-minded professionals and industry leaders from the profession.
UAE IAA, a non-profit organization, was set up in 1995 along the lines of its parent body,
the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA Global) which has 200,000 members from more than
190 countries and organizations. The UAE accounts for about 45% of the total number of
internal auditors working in the region, estimated at about 7,000 auditors, of which 22%
are Emiratis.
