Case

The £1.1 million fraud at Aberdeen City Council

Audit Scotland reported that an employee diverted council-tax refunds to a personal account, about £1.1 million over 17 years. The Accounts Commission found that controls existed but were not followed, with weak oversight and a lack of segregation of duties.

Industry
Local government (Scotland)
Frameworks applied
COSO internal control frameworkPreventive, detective and corrective controls
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Frameworks applied

This case is read through the frameworks below.

  • COSO internal control frameworkAs the business grows or prepares to raise capital, which components must the CFO and board build into internal control so that figures and operations can be trusted?
  • Preventive, detective and corrective controlsAfter an error or fraud exposes a weak process, which mix of preventive, detective and corrective controls should a finance manager put at each step?

Sources

References

Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.

  1. Audit Scotland (Accounts Commission) (2025) £1 million fraud at Aberdeen City Council sends a warning across local government. News release.No DOIaudit.scotSource page
  2. Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013) Internal Control – Integrated Framework.No DOIcoso.orgSource page