Fraud’s Finer Points: Accounts Receivable Fraud, Part Five: Other Accounting Manipulations


Interview with Eva Romatzeck. ACFE's European Council on Occupational Fraud and Abuse Takes First Steps
Fraudsters ignore country boundaries. "Fraud is becoming an international crime," says Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, founder and Chairman of the ACFE. "Most Fortune 1000 countries have international subsidiaries, he says. Individual fraud schemes frequently involve the fraud occurring in one country and the proceeds of the crime being hidden in another. Anything that we can do to share information and make laws uniform will help."

Audit Those Vendors
A vendor can be an entity’s best colleague or worst nemesis. Keep the relationship pleasant and successful by conducting vendor audits.

Avoiding the pitfalls of protected health information and fraud
Health care fraud is big business, and in more ways than just claims fraud. Protected health information (PHI) is subject to fraud and abuse. And, most people don't realize that the health benefit card is like a credit card vulnerable to thieves who steal it and use it for unlawful gain. Learn how current technology can be used for tracking how PHI is being abused and what you can do to prevent it.

Back to School: Anti-fraud training for audit committees
SOX and other regulatory standards are forcing audit committees to learn how to prevent fraud. Here's what they need to learn and how you can help them learn it so they will escape litigation, and most importantly, tackle fraud.

Beating fraud through internal auditing: Walkin' & Talkin'
When auditors evaluate internal controls, the most common method used is the "checklist." However, a better way is "Walkin' and Talkin'." This method has often caused some auditors to change their entire approach as they evaluate internal controls by asking questions they have never asked before. And doing so, they just might become more efficient. Learn how.

Case in Point: Financial statement fraud. An acquisition in wonderland?
Just like Alice in her Wonderland, the acquiring company didn't anticipate the tricks of the Mad Hatter and March Hare. But eventually the purchasers discovered the nightmare of an $18-million fraud in the company they had bought.

Crossed Wires: Keys to Reducing Wire Transfer Fraud
With today’s growing emphasis on a cashless society, wire transfers increased by 200 percent just in 1998.

Designing a Robust Fraud Prevention Program, Part One
There may not be a more opportune time for a fraud examiner to press for a full-fledged fraud prevention program.

Designing a Robust Fraud Prevention Program, Part Two
Entities worldwide must transform security departments into rigorous fraud prevention programs staffed with qualified fraud examiners.

Fraud prevention: the latest techniques. Developing and auditing loss prevention policies and procedures, Part 1
Sweeping changes continue to reshape the workplace. The role of the loss prevention director has found his role dramatically changing from the primary role of protecting the organization's assets. This session provides an in-depth look at the essential elements of developing an effective loss prevention program. Also discussed will be guidance in auditing policies and procedures.

Fraud prevention: the latest techniques. Developing and auditing loss prevention policies and procedures, Part 2
Sweeping changes continue to reshape the workplace. The role of the loss prevention director has found his role dramatically changing from the primary role of protecting the organization's assets. This session provides an in-depth look at the essential elements of developing an effective loss prevention program. Also discussed will be guidance in auditing policies and procedures.

Follow the MAPP: Develop an Aggressive Way to Fight Money Laundering
These four steps can help you MAPP out a plan to fight money laundering within your organization.

Fraud Edge: A FORUM FOR FRAUD-FIGHTING FACULTY IN HIGHER ED
I've always been very proud of the profession I chose, but that pride has been tested several times in the past few years since the Enron scandal with Andersen's complicity. After the Enron debacle, I received cartoon clippings from my friends and colleagues for what seemed like an eternity poking fun at the integrity, or lack thereof, of those in the accounting profession.

Fraud Forum Results
The Association is proud to announce the results of the first-ever Occupational Fraud Forum.

From The President: The Value of the CFE Credential is High and Growing
The value of the CFE credential is high and growing

Get Corporate Crooks on the Straight-and-Narrow
Legislation mandating executive transparency can go a long way toward preventing fraud.

Global Composite Model: A Plan to Detect and Prevent Fraud Worldwide
Entities throughout the world are devising models to detect and prevent fraud in the workplace. This CFE from the United Kingdom constructs a composite from three countries that can be adapted to any public or private entity.

Protecting the public interest: Fraud in government. Grant/Contract fraud in the public sector
Not all fraud involves the theft of assets, but rather some involve the misuse of assets. Every year, Federal, State and Local Governments award thousands of dollars in grant/contracts to vendors. However, the grant money is not always prudently managed. This session focuses on the ways and manner in which government grants are misapplied or misused, oftentimes to the benefit of the program administrator.

Internal Auditing: What internal auditors need to know about fraud
As internal auditors continue to play a significant role in fraud, they find themselves not always prepared to take on this sometimes complicated task. In this session, you'll learn what the relevant issues are, casework and new tools in forensic accounting that internal auditors will need to address fraud.

Let Them Know Someone’s Watching
Those who perceive they will be caught engaging in fraud are less likely to commit it.

New Approaches for Fraud Deterrence
This article should provoke thought and debate among CPAs on how we might consider different approaches in the way audits are conducted in order to give the public what it really wants: business enterprises with integrity.

Developing your fraud examination skills: Online investigative resources & techniques
Financial statement audit failures contribute to the untimely discovery and prevention of fraud. How and why does this happen? The appropriate use of Generally Accepted Auditing Standards can identify fraud risk resulting in deterrence and discovery. In this session, GAAS will be discussed and common deficiencies in work will be highlighted together with the disastrous fraud schemes that were discovered too late.

Fraud: A Perspective from 'Down Under'
On average, fraud costs each household in Australia AUD$2,660 annually. It accounts for more than 69 percent of the cost of all crime, and has an estimated national price tag of AUD$13.7 billion – or 3.4 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP).

Preventing Fraud: Tips for Small Business Owners
All businesses, no matter the industry or size, can be targets of fraud. However, small businesses tend to have disproportionately large losses from asset misappropriation, and are far less likely to recover from fraud.

Fraud prevention: The latest techniques. Proactive fraud risk reviews: Page 1
In order to combat the modern day fraudster, you need to stay one step ahead of the game. Management must realize that they are not immune to fraud and abuse and must be willing to root out the causes and address their concerns head on. To be successful in the fight against fraud you need a game plan that addresses all opportunities for fraud and abuse and details a plan of action. Learn what the best practices are and what you can use to perform a fraud risk review within your organization.

Protect Small Business
Small businesses - Especially those that do not have regular audits - have every reason to worry about fraud.

Beating fraud through internal auditing: Red flags and sources of information for internal audit
Studies show that most fraud against businesses originates from within. In this presentation, you'll learn some of the red flags that may indicate potential financial and ethical problems within an organization and sources of information that the internal auditor can use to proactively detect these vulnerabilities.

Reserving the Right to Audit the Suspicious Vendor
Right-to-audit clauses in vendor contracts help control fraud and abuse by affording discovery devices in examinations.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, spawned from huge corporate collapses, will not make fraud disappear. But its strong language and stiff penalties could deter some executives tempted to stray.

Preventing and detecting financial statement fraud: Sarbanes-Oxley Update
When Sarbanes-Oxley was passed, it had a profound effect on CPA's everywhere. Now that it has had a chance to settle in, has it had the impact that was intended by its passage? Get an update on what has happened in the last year and what is expected to come in the future years. You'll also learn the potential opportunities available for your practice and the pitfalls for your clients.

The Sophomore Slump: Improving Internal Controls in Small Businesses Once They Succeed
The real difficulty that anti-fraud professionals face in small businesses once they succeed isn't designing or implementing financial controls but convincing owners to make the necessary investments and give up sufficient authority to allow the controls to work.

Starting Out: For and About Fraud-Fighting Students in Higher-Ed
Who learns more, the teacher or the student? The answer to this question is irrelevant in today's world since each of us needs to be CONTINUALLY learning as a student and sharing our knowledge as a teacher. In this column we get to access the knowledge of the best and brightest who are entering the fraud profession.

Starting out: Students: This Column is for You!


The Suspense Could Kill You: Fraud Committed Through General Ledger Suspense Accounts
Devise a logical examination process to find fraud committed through general ledger suspense accounts.

Vendor Fraud: Finding Deals Gone Awry
Fraud examiners, working with teams of diverse staff members, can discover deceitful vendors by conducting regular audits.

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