Mike Masoud | April 29, 2026 Most corruption does not begin with a dramatic scandal. It begins earlier, and more quietly, when those in positions of authority fail to ask the right questions. A board asks whether a policy exists, but not whether it works.An executive asks whether a matter...
Technical Staff | April 15, 2026 Boards typically ask if controls, policies, training, and reporting channels exist. But these broad questions rarely reveal true fraud and corruption risk. To uncover real exposure, boards must ask where controls fail under pressure, who can override them, and what repeated exceptions are classified...
Mike Masoud | April 14, 2026 Originally published at mike.theaaci.org on April 09, 2026 This is Part 5 of a five-part series on where countries should start when corruption is widespread across institutions and economic sectors. Part 1 argued that corruption must be defined clearly. Part 2argued that the right institutional foundations must exist. Part 3 argued...
Mike Masoud | April 7, 2026 This is Part 4 of a five-part series on where countries should start when corruption is widespread across institutions and economic sectors. If Part 1 argued that a country must define corruption clearly, Part 2 argued that it must build the right institutional foundations,...
Why Concentrated Authority, Unchecked Access, and Poor Task Separation Create Direct Openings for Fraud and Corruption Technical Staff | April 7, 2026 Segregation of duties is not an administrative luxury. In fact, it is one of the clearest protections an institution can establish against fraud, corruption, concealment, and manipulation. When...
Part 1: How Weak Approvals Become Fraud Opportunities Technical StaffApril 1, 2026 Approvals are often treated as routine administrative steps. That is a serious error. An approval is not a clerical act. It is a control decision. It reflects whether someone with authority examined the facts, challenged the rationale, weighed...
Mike J. MasoudMarch 31, 2026 This is Part 3 of a five-part series on where countries should start when corruption is widespread across institutions and economic sectors. If Part 1 argued that a country must define corruption clearly, and Part 2 argued that it must build the right institutional foundations, this part addresses...
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