Friday 21st June, 2013

Three UK men have been handed heavy prison sentences for their part in a large scale phishing scam which gave them access to the details of around 30,000 bank customers from all over the world. The gang set up false sites mimicking genuine banking websites and encouraged customers to input their details which the gang members then used to steal money.

Thursday 20th June, 2013

Procurement cards are often seen as a way to protect against maverick spend and a means of keeping track on expenditure. However documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed a series of unusual P-Card purchases at a number of councils across the country.

Thursday 20th June, 2013

With many councils outsourcing, or consolidating functions, the news that London councils are continuing to look at ways to save money comes as no surprise. In fact many are turning their attentions to how IT can help to protect them against fraud and error. Solution providers FISCAL Technologies have announced that Westminster City Council is the latest London borough to adopt their solution to run alongside their existing Oracle accounting system, making it the 20th (out of 32 boroughs) to do so.

In fact, the company says that more than 85 government organisations in the UK now use their AP Forensics® suite to detect payment errors and guard against fraud, collectively saving over £1 million of public sector funds every year.

Wednesday 19th June, 2013

Cheshire West and Chester Council has saved £1 million with budget and forecasting solution, Collaborative Planning from Advanced Business Solutions (Advanced). The council has been using the Collaborative Planning solution since January 2012 and has exceeded its original savings target of £500,000.

Tuesday 18th June, 2013

The UK Government has taken a step closer in the drive towards universal e-invoicing transactions for public procurement and SMEs with the publication of the Information Economy Strategy. While the strategy is still more than a few steps away from mandating the use of einvoicing, the Government has not ruled that out as a possibility, stating that they will "take action at a later date, if required." The report states that the aim "is for central government to use electronic invoicing for all transactions."