Which administrative control helps prevent fraud by segmenting high-risk functions?

Segregation or separation of duties is a key administrative control that helps in minimizing the risk of fraud and error within an organization. By dividing responsibilities among different individuals, it creates a system of checks and balances. This means that no single individual has complete control over any critical process or function, which reduces the potential for malicious activities or mistakes going unnoticed.

For instance, in a financial system, one person might be responsible for processing payments while another person is responsible for reconciling bank statements. This way, if someone is trying to commit fraud, they would have to collude with another person to bypass these safeguards, which is less likely than if one person had full access to both functions.

Other options, while important in their own right, do not specifically address the prevention of fraud through the segmentation of high-risk functions. Service-Level Agreements focus on defining expectations between service providers and clients, while Operational Level Agreements pertain to service delivery within the organization, and Risk Management Plans outline strategies to address and mitigate risks but do not define how tasks are separated among individuals. In contrast, the separation of duties is a direct approach to fraud prevention through roles and responsibilities.