Accounting

“Tragedy of Fraud” e-book now available at Amazon

“Tragedy of Fraud – The Ripple Effects from Fraud and the Wages Earned” describes the tragic consequences from fraud.

There are ripple effects that spread out to harm innocent bystanders.  The perpetrator draws a wide range of well-deserved wages that will be paid in full.

The book looks at two fraud incidents to learn what happens after a fraud is discovered. One took place in a local megachurch and the other in the mayor’s office of a small city.

The book closes with a discussion of the fraud triangle. That’s the idea that three components need to be present for a fraud to take place – opportunity, motivation, and rationalization. There are steps an organization can take to reduce those factors.

You can find the book at Amazon here.

This book is a compilation of blogs posts that have been previously published at Nonprofit Update and Attestation Update. The posts have been edited slightly and reorganized for easier reading.

Major sections of the book:

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‘Tragedy of Fraud’ in e-book format – soon to be released

(Cross posted from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

Tragedy of Fraud – The Ripple Effects from Fraud and the Wages Earned will be released soon in Kindle format. This is a compilation of blog posts about the damage caused by fraud. It will also discuss the fraud triangle.

The sections of the book are:

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Illustration of fraud triangle in a comedy movie

I have a post on my other blog explaining that a 1968 movie, The Producers, gives a great illustration of the fraud triangle.

First opportunity, then motivation, followed by rationalization. Then a full-steam-ahead fraud.

Of course, in any good melodrama the bad guys get caught in the end. The scammers go to prison.

… Where they commit the fraud again.

Check out my post, Fraud triangle illustrated in a movie.

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No more unlimited FDIC insurance on transaction accounts after 12-31-12

(Cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

I had thought about writing a short post about the end of unlimited insurance on non-interest bearing checking accounts.  Since I’ve now seen two articles talking about going back to the $250,000 limit, it’s better to point you to other bloggers.

Check out:

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My guest post at re: The Auditors is at the top of the list for her favorites of 2012

Wow! My guest post on the Olympus fraud, How Do You Hide A Multibillion Dollar Loss? Accounting For The Olympus Fraud, (link below) is at the top of Francine McKenna’s list of favorite posts for 2012.

Her comment: …

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HP’s fraud allegations still a bit vague

I still can’t quite figure out what is in Autonomy’s accounting that was a severe problem and why that led to an $8.8 billion write-off.  That seems to be a common thread in the discussion of HP and Autonomy that I’ve been reading lately.

I won’t go into much detail. Just want to give a few links to leave a trail of the direction things seem to be going.

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Umm. Looks like we need lots more info on the HP writeoff

I previously used the analogy of a train wreck in progress. Looks like the freight cars are still flying through the air.

Jonathan Weil, in his post at Bloomberg, HP’s Explanation Still Makes No Sense, says the numbers provided by HP aren’t adding up.

The allegation by HP is that

About $200 million of Autonomy’s revenue had been recorded prematurely or improperly over a two-year period beginning in 2009,

Umm. Looks like we need lots more info on the HP writeoff Read More »

This month’s accounting train wreck involves an $8 billion writeoff at HP

If you enjoy watching train wrecks while the freight cars are still airborne and the engine is still sliding down the track sideways, you really have to quickly check out HP’s investment in Autonomy.  You can watch it unfold in daily slow mo.

Fast background, amounts, Big 4 players, and some links

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Convergence or Co-whatever-its-called-today with IFRS is Co-drifting-away

The IASB staff have released a report responding to the very lukewarm SEC staff report on IFRS convergence.  Tom Selling at The Accounting Onion characterizes the IASB report as The IASB’s Stages of Grief.

He points out numerous places where there are massive differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS. A few examples he sees are:

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The so-called ‘small GAAP’ from AICPA is gonna’ be great. It’s actually called financial reporting framework for small- and medium sized entities and it’s not GAAP, but you get the point.

Just finished watching a webinar from the AICPA, Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-sized Entities FRF for SMEs

This framework, FRF-SME, will be extremely helpful for owner-managed businesses.

If you’ve been waiting for “small-GAAP” for a decade or three, it has finally arrived.  This will be one of two ways you can get to simpler, easier financial statements.

I will provide a few random thoughts on key ideas from the webinar.

Overall goal

The so-called ‘small GAAP’ from AICPA is gonna’ be great. It’s actually called financial reporting framework for small- and medium sized entities and it’s not GAAP, but you get the point. Read More »

“Small GAAP” is almost here – AICPA releases draft of reporting framework

It’s been under discussion since I was in college. I hear tell it has been discussed for around 40 years.

What is “it”?

Small GAAP. Some set of accounting rules that aren’t as complicated as GAAP and are more useful for smaller, simpler organizations.  Something without fair value, variable interest entities, or derivative accounting so complex you need a new master’s degree to understand it.

There are two versions of a small GAAP on the horizon. One from FASB and the other from the AICPA.

This week the AICPA released the exposure draft of Proposed Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities.  At the moment that’s going to be called FRF for SMEs.

I think this is going to be a very big deal.

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Complexity is only going to increase – consider the accounting rules for revenue recognition

I’ve realized for a long time that the complexity of everything is increasing. About the time you get your brain wrapped around that idea, consider that the rate of change will accelerate. Especially in accounting.

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