Figures released by business advisers BDO Stoy Hayward showed fraud cost firms in the UK a total of £705 million over the first six months of 2008, with the value in April alone £317 million.

Ian Wright, director of corporate reporting at the FRC, says companies should ‘think more closely’ about the steps they are taking to combat potential fraud within their organisations.

‘We are intending to remind people of one or two aspects, particularly of fraud, and balance transparency, information, and how important that is at this moment in time,’ he adds.

The statistics also showed management fraud accounts for 46 per cent of fraud cases and third party fraud makes up 32 per cent.

Employee fraud increased from 2.5 per cent of all fraud in 2007 to 11 per cent of the total.