Which of the following is a fundamental control specifically designed to reduce fraud risk by separating responsibilities?

• A. Analytics to detect anomalies
• B. Whistleblower channels
• C. Segregation of duties and access controls
• D. Training and awareness

Answer: (C)

Separating responsibilities through segregation of duties and access controls is a fundamental fraud-prevention approach. The idea is to break a process into steps and assign them to different people so no single individual can both initiate and approve a transaction or handle assets and record them. This creates checks and balances: even if someone tries to commit fraud, another person’s oversight or the absence of conflicting access stops it. Access controls reinforce this by giving people only the permissions their role requires, preventing incompatible duties from being performed by one person.

Other options play important roles too, but in different ways. Analytics to detect anomalies looks for suspicious activity after it happens, whistleblower channels provide a reporting route for concerns, and training and awareness reduce risk by shaping behavior—none of these by themselves achieves the deliberate separation of duties that minimizes fraud opportunities.