The Rewards of Dishonesty

Lies told in a heartbeat can have permanent and irreversible consequences. One instance of rationalized dishonesty can lead to a pattern of fraud. 

About 10 years ago, I was instructing a CFE Exam preparatory seminar in Newark, N.J. There were about 50 people in the class. As is customary for such events, attendees signed in each day for the three-day course to obtain continuing education credit.

During one of the breaks on the third day, a student approached me as I was standing alone at the end of the hall. Quietly, he said, "There are two CPAs signed in from the same firm. But one of them, Wally, hasn't been here since the first day. His friend Jack is signing in for him."

When I returned to class, I casually inspected the sign-in sheet. Sure enough, it appeared that Jack's and Wally's signatures were signed by the same hand and by the same pen. I waited until just before lunch. Then, while the class was working an exercise, I stood before them pretending to look over the sign-in sheet.

With my best confused look, I said, "Where is Wally?" I could see Jack sinking in his seat. "I don't understand," I said. "I met Wally on the first day along with Jack. And I just noticed that he is signed in for the class but he is not here." When I looked at Jack, he sank lower. "Jack, you work with Wally. Where is he?"