Altia’s financial toolkit marks 20 years tackling global fraud
Nottingham-based software company Altia's Financial Investigation Toolkit (FIT) has reached its twentieth year of use, with the system now deployed across all 45 police forces in the UK and more than 290 organisations globally.
Adoption growth
FIT has become an integral part of financial investigation processes for law enforcement agencies, government bodies, and companies since it was first developed in 2005. The toolkit is now used by organisations in 24 countries, and the company has signalled intentions to expand further.
The software enables users to automate the analysis of complex financial data, allowing for significant reductions in case review times and supporting asset recovery in financial crime cases. Organisations such as Great Western Railway, the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, and West Sussex County Council also use FIT to manage and uncover various forms of financial misconduct.
Impact measurement
The South West London Fraud Partnership, for example, used FIT to automate financial analysis and achieved a reduction in the review time of tenancy fraud cases by up to 90%. In Canada, Calgary Police Service utilised the software to recover more than CAD $8 million in assets in a single operation. Australian investigators also drew on FIT to identify fraudulent activities by a financial administrator accused of diverting over AUD $170,000 from a vulnerable individual.
Operational efficiency
FIT's ability to process both electronic and paper-based documents by converting them into a digital format has streamlined financial investigations. The software enables quick generation of reports and the identification of actionable data trends. It aims to reduce human error and costs, freeing investigators to concentrate on analysis rather than manual data collation.
Long-term evolution
The toolkit's development was founded on the aim of supporting users in managing and analysing increasing volumes of financial information, which traditionally required weeks or months of work, in significantly shorter timeframes.
"For two decades, FIT has been at the heart of law enforcement's fight against financial crime. When we first developed the software, we wanted to empower investigators to work smarter, and today, seeing every UK police force depend on FIT is incredibly rewarding and we're looking forward to increasing its use around the world. Its growth has been driven by one simple mission, helping the professionals on the front line uncover the truth faster and with greater confidence," said Huw Bristow, Chief Technology Officer, Altia.
