Fraud

Refresh your audit planning and fraud assessment

Leave a Comment / Audits, Fraud /

As we roll into audit season, would be wise to revisit your audit planning and risk assessment. Gary Zeune can help you do that in his superb article, Fraud: The 15 biggest risks for 2013.

He reminds us that we really, really need to understand our clients and their overall environment. We need to look at fraud from different angles all the time.

Try these ideas to refresh your thinking:

#1 – Are there things going on in DC or issues for which nothing is happening that could devastate your client’s industry? If so, you need to pay attention to the action or lethargy in play.

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Refresh your audit planning and fraud assessment Read More »

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

Leave a Comment / Accounting, Audits, Books you might enjoy, Compilations & reviews, Fraud /

“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: …

“Tragedy of Fraud” e-book now available at AmazonRead More »

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

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

Leave a Comment / Accounting, Audits, Books you might enjoy, Fraud, Other stuff /

(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: …

‘Tragedy of Fraud’ in e-book format – soon to be releasedRead More »

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

Illustration of fraud triangle in a comedy movie

Leave a Comment / Accounting, Fraud /

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.

Illustration of fraud triangle in a comedy movie Read More »

Official report on New Mexico Finance Authority’s faked audit report – Part 3

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The Office of State Auditor (OSA) has issued several official reports on the fabricated June 30, 2011 financial statements from the New Mexico Finance Authority. You can find two of the reports here and here.

This is the third in a series of posts on the reports.  Previous posts are here and here.

Are lots of new procedures needed inside NMFA?

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Official report on New Mexico Finance Authority’s faked audit report – Part 3Read More »

Official report on New Mexico Finance Authority’s faked audit report – Part 3 Read More »

Official report on New Mexico Finance Authority’s faked audit report – Part 2

2 Comments / Audits, Fraud /

The Office of State Auditor (OSA) has issued several official reports on the fabricated June 30, 2011 financial statements from the New Mexico Finance Authority. You can find two of the reports here and here.

This is the second in a series of posts on the reports.  Previous post is here.

Report conclusion

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Official report on New Mexico Finance Authority’s faked audit report – Part 2Read More »

Official report on New Mexico Finance Authority’s faked audit report – Part 2 Read More »

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

2 Comments / Accounting, Audits, Fraud /

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: …

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

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

Where are they now? 3 of 4 defendants in Upland bribery case are in prison

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Four men have been convicted and sentenced in the Upland bribery case.  The mayor had a scheme to shake down two owners of a local business in return for helping them get back their business license.

Where are they now?

Three are in federal prison and the fourth has not reported in.

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Where are they now? 3 of 4 defendants in Upland bribery case are in prison Read More »

Official report on New Mexico Finance Authority’s faked audit report – Part 1

1 Comment / Audits, Fraud /

The New Mexico Office of State Auditor (OSA) has issued several official reports on the fabricated June 30, 2011 financial statements from the New Mexico Finance Authority.

This will be the first in a series of posts on the report.

You can find a 47 page report dated December 3, 2012 here.  You can find a more detailed 174 page report dated December 12, 2012 here.

The longer report has a very helpful 10 page executive summary. If you are a CPA interested in learning about fraud, systemic failures of internal control, the importance of tone at the top, and all the other things that we CPAs look at, you will learn a lot by reading the executive summary.

Good news from the investigation

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Official report on New Mexico Finance Authority’s faked audit report – Part 1 Read More »

Guilty plea over faked audit report at New Mexico Finance Authority

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The former controller of the New Mexico Finance Authority pled guilty to three felony counts on November 29, 2012. There were two forgery charges and one for securities fraud.

He was sentenced to five years probation.  The sentence includes the provision for a conditional discharge.

A special report from the Office of State Auditor dated December 12, 2012 stated:

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Guilty plea over faked audit report at New Mexico Finance AuthorityRead More »

Guilty plea over faked audit report at New Mexico Finance Authority Read More »

Time to let the dust settle on HP’s writeoff of Autonomy goodwill

2 Comments / Audits, Fraud /

The view of HP’s claimed fraud against its acquired sub is getting murkier.  Looks like we need to let the dust settle before we decide who gets the vigilante mob’s lynching.

News filtering out now is about a lot of revenue that can be recognized under IFRS but not under U.S. GAAP. Apparently, some things we would consider to be “channel stuffing” are allowed under IFRS.

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Time to let the dust settle on HP’s writeoff of Autonomy goodwillRead More »

Time to let the dust settle on HP’s writeoff of Autonomy goodwill Read More »