Annual Fraud Awareness Reminder

Olga Weider, Assistant Vice President and University Controller

The University of Florida is committed to fostering an organizational culture where risk management structures are established to prevent and detect fraud.  Fraud is defined as an intentional misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact for the purpose of obtaining a benefit that would not otherwise be received, or inducement of another to act upon the intentional misrepresentation or concealment to his or her detriment (Board of Governors Regulation 3.003).  

As UF employees, we are all responsible for safeguarding the University’s assets and resources.  Every member of the University community has the responsibility to report any actions or activities of concern that are not, or do not appear to be, in compliance with University policy and procedures. In accordance with University of Florida Regulation UF-1.500, Processes for Complaints of Waste, Fraud, or Financial Mismanagement; Fraud Prevention and Detection, all levels of management must be familiar with the types of fraud, risks, and symptoms of fraud that may occur in their operational areas of responsibility and must be alert for any indication of fraud. The University has implemented the Antifraud Framework to provide guiding principles, key structural elements, actions, and processes to prevent and detect fraud.  

Part of being a responsible steward is to be aware of the possibility of fraud in our organization.  Very often fraud symptoms are mistaken for administrative errors because we cannot conceive of the existence of fraud, especially in an organization like ours where we may have a longtime affiliation with our co-workers.  The University has developed a Fraud Awareness Training course (PRO338) which provides further information about preventing and detecting fraud. Employees are encouraged to take this training at least annually and as part of the new employee onboarding process.

Please visit http://www.compliance.ufl.edu/ for more information about what to do and how to report fraud, abuse, or actions of concern.  If you are not comfortable making a report via normal administrative channels, the University has established two options to report your concerns of suspected wrongdoing anonymously and confidentially: 

1. Call the University Compliance Hotline at 1-877-556-5356, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 
2. Complete an anonymous online form located at: https://app.mycompliancereport.com/report?cid=uofl.