Top Speakers Practical Sessions at 23rd Annual ACFE Fraud Conference and Exhibition June 17-22 in Orlando


The 23rd Annual ACFE Fraud Conference and Exhibition, June 17-22, at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Fla., is the can't-miss event for anyone involved in the prevention, deterrence or detection of fraud. From the informative and inspiring sessions to the multiple networking opportunities, you'll walk away with the skills, connections and resources you need to take your fraud investigations to the next level.

Keynoters include Michael C. Woodford, MBE, former Olympus Corp. CEO and 2012 ACFE Cliff Robertson Sentinel Award recipient; U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, coauthor of the Dodd-Frank Act; Pamela Meyer, CFE, best-selling author of "Liespotting"; and Diana B. Henriques, senior financial writer at The New York Times and author of "The Wizard of Lies," a book about the Bernard Madoff scandal.

Convicted fraudster Mark E. Whitacre, Ph.D., will also speak in a general session. Whitacre's story is the subject of the Warner Brothers and Stephen Soderbergh-directed feature film, "The Informant!" starring Matt Damon. (The ACFE never pays fraudsters for speaking at its events.) 

woodford-80x80Michael C. Woodford, MBE, former Olympus Corp. CEO and Whistleblower 
In 2011, Woodford, a 30-year veteran of Olympus Corporation and a British citizen, was the first Westerner to be named CEO of the Japan-based maker of cameras and medical equipment. He became a central figure in the Olympus scandal after he questioned sizable fees that Olympus had paid to hide losses from securities investments. 

At the end of September 2011, Woodford confronted Olympus' board of directors on multiple occasions asking for answers to financial discrepancies and even commissioned a PricewaterhouseCoopers' investigation.

The company's executive board abruptly fired Woodford on Oct. 14, 2011 because of what the board cited as a "management culture clash." The ousting was not only sudden and out of character for Olympus, but it sparked many questions about the board's integrity. Just one month later, Olympus officials publicly admitted to the U.S. FBI and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office that they paid fraudulent advisory fees in a decades-long cover up valuing $1.7 billion.

In a Jan. 10, 2012, article titled, "Olympus to Retain Top Executives," in The Wall Street Journal, an attorney investigating Olympus said, "…if former president Michael Woodford hadn't raised concerns about the company's accounting, the loss-hiding may never have been discovered."

Olympus Corporation announced it's suing 19 current and former directors for $47 million in damages. Woodford also filed suit in January against Olympus for wrongful dismissal. 

Woodford was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year's Honours list in January 2002, and he was recently honored as The Independent's Businessperson of the Year. He's a graduate of Millbank Business School and resides in England.
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