How to successfully pitch fraud analytics to your organization

Anti-fraud professionals are at the forefront of the latest technologies, but many struggle to successfully pitch these investments to management. Here’s how fraud examiners can build a business case for much-needed fraud analytics tools.

The presentation looked great. The PowerPoint slides were polished. The demonstration of the tool’s advanced fraud analytics features was remarkable, and the vendor’s cost-saving statistics were impressive. But my team member’s presentation for a new fraud detection device ultimately failed to persuade us to provide funding for it.   

Throughout my career, I’ve heard a similar story from frustrated anti-fraud professionals: They couldn’t get the funding for new technology or didn’t have the resources to get something done. Fraud fighters often have great ideas about tools and programs that would help their organizations better detect and prevent fraud in a cost-effective way, but they face many challenges when they’re fighting to fund these resources.

Even though leadership conversations tend to revolve around technology projects, fraud prevention tools and resources can be difficult to sell. In some organizations, anti-fraud teams may not even have direct access to the chief financial officer (CFO) or the person approving a request. Budget constraints are often the reason why anti-fraud professionals struggle to convince management to purchase new tools. As the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and SAS’ 2026 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report shows, budget constraints are a major obstacle. In the report, 83% of organizations reported that budget or financial restrictions were the most common challenge to implementing new anti-fraud technology.

Failing to get proper funding for resources doesn’t mean that the idea is bad, but rather the way the idea is being communicated isn’t connecting the need with the benefit. Fraud examiners need to build an effective business case when pitching to management. Here are some strategies to be more effective in your pitch and obtain approval for the fraud analytics tools and programs you need to improve your organization’s fraud prevention capabilities.

The research behind the pitch

Before you walk into a meeting with executives to propose a new analytics tool, you must make it clear how your idea is different from other solutions the CFO or approving manager may have already heard. CFOs often hear proposals for technology with sleek dashboards and powerful capabilities, but they don’t always get the information that will convince them a particular tool will be appropriate for the organization. Over time, they can become skeptical of these proposals.  

In my experience, business leaders want reliable and appropriately priced tools because an expensive tool isn’t always the best solution. They also want to see and hear that you understand where the gaps are in your processes and that you understand how a technology solution will effectively address those gaps. 

You’ll need to do some extensive background research to build your case. To start, consider the kinds of questions that a CFO would be likely to ask during your presentation. Some examples of the kinds of questions you might hear include:

1. What problem are you trying to solve?
2. What tools does the organization already own, and how are they currently being used?
3. What data is going into your proposed system, and is it the right data for the fraud scenarios you identified? [See “Fraud analytics pitch strategy questions” at the end of this article.] 

You can help answer those questions by talking to others in your organization who may see problems before anyone else does. These may include the cashier who notices strange patterns but can’t prove there’s something wrong, the accounts payable clerk who sees invoices that appear unusual, or the warehouse supervisor who knows which adjustments are real and which are suspicious. After you learn what your co-workers are experiencing and the problems they may be facing, you can begin to build relationships with people in your organization who can help you validate and quantify data needs. Finance teams, data analytics teams and business partners are often willing to help, especially when you show up curious, prepared with the information you learned from others and ready to collaborate on finding solutions. These can lead to powerful case studies you can include in your presentations to management.    

Also, don’t underestimate the value of your professional network. Networking is an effective means to gather insights, benchmark your organization’s risks and see how other organizations are managing those risks with technology. Ask your colleagues in other companies about what they’re seeing, what they’ve recovered and the fraud patterns that have emerged for them. 

When you can demonstrate that you’re aligning your goals with your organization’s business goals and building the operating model to support them, you gain credibility. In Deloitte’s Q1 2026 CFO Signals™ survey, more than half of CFOs (53%) reported that the most effective options for controlling costs in their organizations were automation or technology upgrades, and another 43% cited productivity improvements. Usually, CFOs are willing to fund tools that won’t add waste and will fund tools and analytics when they’re shown to improve efficiency, reduce losses and strengthen operations.

Explain the need for an analytics team 

If what you need is a bigger team, you’ll need to explain how people and analytics work together to fill in operational gaps for results. A return on investment (ROI) analysis presentation can help you explain this. Clearly outline the cost of the salaries and overhead compared to the estimated cost avoidance specific to your organization, such as reductions in refunds, returns, overtime or travel expenses.

Be specific about how data analytics and additional team members will strengthen your organization’s anti-fraud initiatives. According to the 2026 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report, 80% of survey respondents said data analytics greatly improved their organization’s ability to identify more cases of suspected fraud, detect anomalies faster, and improve efficiency and accuracy. 

You’ll describe how data comes into your organization, how analytics identify anomalies or patterns, and then how the skilled professionals you hire will evaluate those results to determine how your organization might respond to those unusual patterns. Those actions lead to prevented losses, recovered funds or strengthened controls. 

Earn trust through results

Even if you’ve successfully made your case and received approval for a new tool, it’s essential to continue building trust and ensure that you’re getting measurable results. Consider the last time you asked for funding or headcount. Were you able to tie your work to measurable financial impact? What have you delivered recently that reduced losses, identified previously unknown risks or protected your company in a tangible way?

The results don’t have to be big. Even small, early wins matter, such as thwarted fraudulent payments, recovered losses or systemic issues identified before they become expensive. These are the types of evidence that will help you build that trust and show a CFO their investment is providing a return. Make those results visible. Bring your finance team a short summary that connects each result directly to money saved and losses avoided. Your summary should be factual and focused on your organization’s business objectives.  

Producing a periodic or monthly report with fraud analytics can expose issues that often get overlooked. For example, a report could show inventory shrink trending upward in a specific region, duplicate vendor payments appearing in accounts payable or credit adjustments clustering around a single process gap. Showing your finance team these findings with the help of fraud analytics and areas where margins are quietly leaking demonstrates to your CFO that they made the right purchase. 

Persistence and timing matter

If you’re not successful with the first pitch, don’t give up. Funding decisions take time, and context matters. For instance, finance teams are unlikely to support new spending if they’re missing financial targets. When conditions improve, finance leaders may recall your original proposal and see that it’s more feasible to implement.  

The keys to adopting a new process or tool are talking about your ideas early and sharing them with multiple stakeholders. Advanced planning and keeping your proposal top of mind will make sure your proposal is familiar to everyone when they’re ready to make financial decisions.  

Fraud analytics programs can strengthen organizations, protect margins, safeguard brands and help retain customers your organization has invested in. But you need to make it easy for company leaders to understand what fraud analytics does, how it works and why it will benefit them.   

Nancy Freda-Smith, CFE, CPA, is the founder and CEO of NFS Insights. Contact her at nancy@nfsinsights.com.

Fraud analytics pitch strategy questions

When planning your pitch to management for a new technology, start with three foundational questions:

1. What problem are you trying to solve? Identify the specific fraud scenarios you want analytics to monitor, rather than a vague promise to “reduce fraud.” Call out five to 10 concrete use cases, such as suspicious vendor payments, employee reimbursement anomalies or excessive overtime payments.
2. What tools does the organization already own, and how are they currently being used? Many companies have analytics capabilities in existing platforms that may be underutilized. If the problems you identify can be solved with tools your organization already has, you won’t need to ask for much more, and that can build credibility with your management team.
3. What data is going into your proposed system, and is it the right data for the fraud scenarios you identified? Fraud analytics is only as good as the data it’s being fed. Figure out what data you need and put a plan together to add the data to the tool over time. Avoid adding too much at once, as that may be cost-prohibitive and prevent the project from getting off the ground.