Do you monitor your parents’ financial activities because they’re lured into buying unnecessary things? Perhaps one of your parents caught the other giving out a credit card number to an unsolicited telemarketer. This Forbes article can help you steer your…
Fraud is detected through tips more than any other method, making hotlines one of the leading anti-fraud controls. More than 39 percent of whistleblowers used telephone hotlines, and more than half used email or a web-based form to report their…
As various criminal organizations seek to exploit electronic systems, check fraud and identity theft have become increasingly prevalent. While banks have been emphasizing the use of technology to speed up transactions, the protections around those transactions have languished. According to…
Jyhjing “Victoria” Harrington, accounting manager for law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf, recently testified (subscription required) that she made—and instructed others to make—fake accounting entries in the law firm’s accounting records to distort the firm’s true financial condition (the law firm…
Companies are increasingly using nonstandard metrics—tailored accounting treatments that alter traditional accounting rules to present financial results. Not surprisingly, these measurements generally present a rosier view of the company’s financial performance. Should companies use nonstandard metrics? And if so, in…
Have you ever asked the company or department you’re auditing if personal credit cards are used to pay vendors? We’ve recently seen this in a few fraud investigations, and it appears to be a red flag. If someone can control…
The 2012 U.S. Fraud Examiners Manual spells out guidance for corrective action. It notes that policies with consequences and processes for people who commit or condone fraudulent activity are an important deterrent for fraud. Possible consequences include termination of employment,…
Dr. Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, founder of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, recently wrote an article in the Journal of Accountancy addressing expense account abuses at companies. According to Wells, employees who overreport on expense reports use one…
The 2012 U.S. Fraud Examiners Manual provides many recommendations for establishing a fraud hotline as a tool for preventing billing schemes and other fraud schemes. It encourages companies to study the feasibility of installing a fraud hotline to provide a…