Corporate crime advisers and tax specialists are on course for a bumper 2007 according to research that shows reported fraud cases surging to record levels in the UK.

The research by accountants BDO Stoy Hayward found that the value of reported fraud cases rose by almost 40% to £1.37bn in 2006 against the previous year with the number of reported frauds over £50,000 rising by a third to 295 cases.