FIGHTING FRAUD WITH EDUCATION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

Abstract

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) risks losing approximately $1.1 billion to procurement fraud in Fiscal Year 2023. Research conducted by fraud examiners highlighted fraud education as a key solution to deter fraud within an organization. Currently, the DAF's Office of Special Investigation (OSI) offers fraud education to certain members of the DAF through fraud awareness briefings (FAB). Due to the importance of deterring procurement fraud within the DAF, this study looked at the OSI’s FABs and applied research in human learning to improve the learning potential of the DAF. This research study tested improvements to OSI’s current passive learning method (PowerPoint brief) with the recommended inclusion of active learning methods (case study method) to optimize knowledge retention and learning of procurement fraud indicators and schemes. Enhancing OSI’s fraud education to the DAF will theoretically improve procurement fraud prevention and detection, save lives, decrease mission failure, prevent data intrusions, and neutralize foreign advisories’ ability to exploit the DAF’s weapon systems. The results could not conclude that including an active learning method resulted in better knowledge retention of fraud materials. However, it did identify other benefits for use with the DAF members. This study was provided to the OSI procurement fraud leadership to recommend that they include a case study as a beneficial education tool for the DAF.