• Judgment of Management and Financial Statement Fraud

    With thousands of detailed accounting rules, how can there be financial statement fraud? There are areas of the financial statements that rely heavily on the judgment of management. They make estimates and decide how to apply the accounting rules. This […]

  • Personal Red Flags of Fraud

    As victims of occupational fraud reflect on crimes committed against their companies, they wonder if there were any signs that a fraud was occurring. They wonder how a trusted employee could steal from the company. Sadly, frauds are committed by […]

  • Five Common Fraud Myths

    I’ve been investigating fraud for over 25 years. When I first started, financial fraud wasn’t a big topic. In fact, most people had never heard of forensic accounting. Then in 2001 and 2002 everyone became more aware of the issue […]

  • How Credible Are Fraud Tips?

    Companies rely heavily on reports about questionable behavior from employees, customers, vendors, or other outside parties. Tips are the most common way that fraud is detected by companies, so any credible tip should be taken very seriously. How does a […]

  • Questions to Ask When Starting a Fraud Investigation

    In order to properly plan a fraud investigation, a fraud examiner needs to be able to ask good questions that extract valuable information about what needs to be done. The specific questions vary with each investigation, but the following are […]

  • Getting Background Information on Company Owners and Executives

    Have you ever wanted or needed to do a background check on an owner or executive of a company? If you’re considering investing in a public or private company, you may want to find out information on the people who […]

  • What to Do After a Fraud Investigation

    After a fraud investigator is done with her work and has issued the expert report, company management and retained attorneys must decide what to do with the information presented. If the case is already in litigation, the use of the […]

  • Is It “Creative Accounting” or Fraud?

    Companies engaged in financial statement fraud sometimes use creative phrases to legitimize or cover up what they’re doing. Examples include: Aggressive accounting – We’re following the rules, but pushing the limits to make the financial statements look as good as […]

  • Work Programs in Fraud Investigations

    If you’re familiar with the process of a financial statement audit, you know all about audit work programs. They’re basically the checklists and guides that auditors use to make sure they follow all the required steps for auditing the financial […]

  • Fraud Investigations vs. Audits

    After management becomes aware of a potential fraud and decides that a fraud investigation is necessary, the process of creating a team, mapping the investigation plan, and requesting information begins. An organized approach is the best way to ensure that […]