Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Blazing a trail for the Benford's Law of words, part 2
In part 2, the author applies his unique letter analytic techniques to a variety of examples, including keyword searches and predictive analysis using benchmark data. The aim? Finding fraud in the words.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Blazing a trail for the Benford's Law of words, part 1
Fraud examiners have used Benford’s Law for years to detect anomalies and possible fraud in organizations’ ledgers and journals. Now the author is researching a method to analyze letters of the alphabet in business documents — “Letter Analytics” — to find fraud patterns. His new approach could expedite fraud examinations.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Use Reports to Identify Malfeasance When Recovery Reveals Fraud
Here we'll examine several cases, taken from recovery audits, which at first glance didn't seem blatant but actually were fraud.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA, Si Nahra
Next-Generation Technology For Financial Investigators
Criminals are riding the wave of technology just like the rest of us. The advent of the "convenient" technology of online banking actually now enables criminals to eliminate human interaction in transferring millions of dollars around the world.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Proactive journal entry testing: Detecting entries made in the middle of the night
If you're serious about stopping financial statement fraud, consider using effective journal entry controls and automated tests.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Fraud-fighting with data analysis tools: Detecting fraud risk with strong methodology
There's a definite methodology to data analysis in proactively detecting fraud. This column defines a process that presents a consistent way to minimize fraud risk.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Digging Even Deeper: Find the uncommon frauds with deductive tools
Here we'll present deductive and holistic data analysis techniques to find the uncommon frauds that are less predictable to the fraudster.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Fourth Quarter Revenue Trending: Customer dimension for financial statement fraud testing
As the 2005 year-end approaches, fraud examiners need to remember the impact of revenue mistatements.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
The spreadsheet: The easiest place for committing financial statement fraud
The spreadsheet is one of the most brilliant software tools for almost any industry including accounting and finance. However, because everyone is so comfortable with them, spreadsheets can be excellent tools for committing fraud.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Scattergraphing: Quickly finding needles in the haystack
Scattergraphing can help fraud examiners to effectively sift through an extensive amount of data to identify audit exceptions.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Fraud Fighting with Detection Systems: Top three best practices when automating proactive fraud detection systems
Year after year, fraud examiners will lament, "we need to implement technology this year to proactively detect fraud," but then never do take action. You're neither lazy nor ineffective. Rather, you're being knocked off-track by the silent killers of technology: trying to do everything at once, not building effective business cases, and not making it part of the fabric of your working lives.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Proactively Detecting Occupational Fraud Using Computer Audit Reports
While occupational fraud takes various forms, the result is always the same: The numbers generated by fraud cannot hold up to the unfailing logic of the accounting equation. This article touts the benefits and gives an overview of data analysis in fraud investigations.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Are You Unknowingly Working with Terrorists?
This article provides tips for finding out if your company is inadvertently linked to terrorist organizations through a customer, supplier, or employee relationship.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Looking For the Largest Fish
This article helps companies determine the likelihood and significance of certain frauds using a qualitative approach enhanced by a quantitative analysis.
Written By: Richard B. Lanza, CFE, CPA, CGMA
Begin Your Free 30-Day Trial
Unlock full access to Fraud Magazine and explore in-depth articles on the latest trends in fraud prevention and detection.