Any employees whose lifestyle seems to be out of line with his reported earnings would be an immediate cause for concern.

Robin Crawford of KPMG

This year it has already dealt with four major fraud cases totalling more than �4m.

KPMG's forensic accounting team said this is in contrast to the picture for the UK as a whole - where the value of reported fraud has remained static compared to the same time last year.

Company bosses have usually made up the highest percentage of those accused, but that trend seems to be falling.

Instead the value of fraud committed by employees has dramatically increased.

KPMG said that in most cases trusted and long-serving employees have committed fraud.

Financial controls

Robin Crawford, head of Forensic Accounting Services at KPMG, said: "We have seen a trend over the last year or so towards employees committing fraud rather than senior management."

However, he pointed out that the average value of cases in Scotland has tended to be lower than in the UK as a whole.

This, he said, could be due to UK figures including the south east of England, where there would be more opportunity for large scale fraud.

Mr Crawford urged companies to ensure "rigorous" financial controls.

He said that they should pay regard to the "lifestyles" of employees and "any employees whose lifestyle seems to be out of line with his reported earnings would be an immediate cause for concern".