Global Spotlight
ACFE Wraps Up Seminars in Asia-Pacific Region
Donald
Cressey’s Fraud Triangle is
not a concept that only applies to one gender, culture or country. Whether you
are investigating fraud in Bangkok or Belfast, pressure, opportunity and
rationalization are three universal factors that know no regional boundaries.
Just as these motives are universal, so are the training and skills needed to
fight them.
In April the ACFE was proud to host seminars in Shanghai,
Jakarta and Melbourne in an effort to offer more anti-fraud training and
education in the Asia-Pacific region. With a diverse group of anti-fraud
professionals in attendance at each course, the enthusiasm and need for
education regarding internal fraud and investigations, as well as fraud risk
management, were apparent.
“The fraud schemes themselves are
universal – there seem to be very few differences in the schemes from one part
of the world to another,” ACFE Faculty Member Gerry Zack, CFE, CPA, CIA
and President of Zack, P.C. said. “When I was asked to teach these courses, I
expected to really enjoy meeting anti-fraud professionals from all over the
world and hearing their stories. And I was not disappointed.”
Zack found attendees anxious to hear the latest in anti-fraud
training. “I
shouldn’t be surprised by this any longer, but I continue to be impressed by
the level of enthusiasm shown by attendees at ACFE events held outside of the
U.S.,” Zack said. “The team of fraud fighters is more global than ever as this
field has really taken hold throughout the world.”
Zack
traveled first to Shanghai, China, April 15-16 to teach the two-day Auditing for Internal Fraud. The fraud
fighters assembled there explored the challenges auditors face when identifying
fraud and learned about the common schemes, detection techniques and methods of
preventing occupational fraud. He then
taught Conducting Internal Investigations
in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 18-19 and wrapped up in Melbourne, Australia,
April 22-23 with Fraud Risk Management.
Lim Kurniawan, CFE, is the Managing Director at Awesome
Consulting in Jakarta. He knew of Zack before attending the Conducting Internal Investigations
course because he bought the book, Fair
Value Accounting Fraud, written by Zack. In the book, Zack highlights the
risks of the International Financial Reporting Standard, a standard that is
adopted as a local accounting principle in Indonesia. Kurniawan and Zack not
only share the challenges of implementing global standards, but they also
experience the same successes and trials during the interviewing process.
Kurniawan plans to use the lessons from a simulation Zack used in the course
to help clients interview witnesses. “The skills taught in this course were
practical, which I believe to be very applicable,” Kurniawan said. “Gerry
offered specific examples from his own life, not fictitious ones. It was such an honor for
Indonesia to be visited by an amazing international speaker. I hope in the future
such a richly rewarding course could be attended by more people, thus Indonesia
could be more blessed in this way.”
The idea to host more events in the Asia-Pacific region
materialized when ACFE President and CEO Jim Ratley traveled to Singapore in 2011
for the ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud
Conference. He heard first-hand from ACFE members about their need for more
fraud-fighting education in Asia and Australia. “The hunger for knowledge was
apparent,” Ratley recalled. “They came to me with a problem and told me their
most prevalent concerns. We listened and we reacted with an effort to bring
more training to that region.”
The ACFE hopes to host even more international events in 2013 and 2014. Be sure to
regularly check the Event Calendar
for the latest conference, event and seminar schedules.