Data analytics will help reduce fraud

Data analytics are a vital tool to help tackle fraud and error which the National Audit Office (NAO) estimates cost the taxpayer between £55bn and £81bn in 2023-24. Where public bodies have implemented data analytics to tackle fraud and error they have achieved significant returns on their investment but savings so far have been modest compared to the amount potentially achievable concludes a new NAO report.

This tool can be used to make sure the right amount of money goes to the right recipient and to find potentially incorrect transactions – ranging from basic checks that a public body has only paid a supplier once to using emerging technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) to identify risky transactions.

The Department of Work & Pensions and HMRC have been using data analytics to tackle fraud and error for a long time with much...