Social Media Strategies for Professionals and Their Firms
By Michelle Golden

Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, 2010 (hardcover, 348 pages, $45)

Reviewed by Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, CFF

There are many books on the market about social media marketing and social networking for. Social Media Strategies for Professionals and Their Firms breaks no new ground. But it is well organized, very thorough, and offers most of what you need all in one place: fundamentals for beginners as well as tips and ideas for experienced bloggers and social networkers like me.

The internet offers infinite space in which to carve out a piece of blogger stardom.

INSIGHT – The Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society - November/December 2010
By Christine Bockelman

When CPA and financial fraud expert Tracy Coenen started her accounting blog The Fraud Files in November 2005, she intended it to be a way to market her name and experience. Five years and hundreds of posts later, she’s getting 30,000 unique visitors a month. She also credits the blog with bringing in at least 30 percent of her firm’s annual revenue. “And when I say 30 percent, I mean actual money in pocket,” says Coenen, owner of Sequence Inc., a forensic accounting and fraud firm with offices in Chicago and Milwaukee. “Not bad for a little bean-counter, eh?”

Written by Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, CFF

When companies have big problems, they usually bring out the big guns. The benefits of using large law firms, audit firms, and other professional service firms are undeniable. These firms offer a depth of experience that is invaluable, and they have seemingly unlimited resources in terms of manpower. A large firm often has the ability to mobilize an engagement team quickly, and can bring in experts from around the world.

College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Management
Entrepreneurial Award
Tracy L. Coenen, Arts ’93, Grad ’96

Tracy Coenen may not know where the bodies are buried, but she knows how to follow the numbers. When it comes to forensic accounting, she wrote the book on the subject. In fact, she wrote three: Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide, Essentials of Corporate Fraud, and The CPA’s Handbook of Fraud and Commercial Crime Prevention.

Jane Pribek – Wisconsin Law Journal

Beaver Dam attorney James H. Olson, of Olson Law Offices LLC, got a sick feeling when a letter from a nearby community bank arrived at his home. The letter was from the bank vice-president, who told Olson that his assistant had been cashing checks on an account that Olson never created. The VP tried to contact Olson at his office, but the calls never went through.

Olson went to the bank the next day and learned that this had been going on for quite some time.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Rick Romell

Tracy Coenen was a criminology major at Marquette University when a class on investigating financial crimes sparked her interest in forensic accounting – a field she had never heard of until then. She started taking business courses, eventually securing an MBA and the skills necessary to become a certified public accountant.

What does she do? Forensic accountant with her own business, Sequence Inc.

Written by Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, CFF

Wisconsin Law Journal

Ask a random group of attorneys what they think of social media, and you’ll get some funny looks. Several of them will turn up their noses, while an equal number will have no idea what you’re talking about. A few may have a favorable opinion of social media, and a couple may even participate in this phenomenon.

Written by Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, CFF

Wisconsin Lawyer Magazine

There are two inexpensive and simple steps that can be taken to provide more oversight for the disbursement function at a law office. First, a partner needs to be actively involved in the process of issuing checks and payments. It’s not enough to simply glance at checks to vendors and immediately sign them. Before any check is signed or sent out, it should be compared to an invoice, credit card statement, or other documentation that will help verify the legitimacy of the payment. This reduces the risk that an employee pays a personal credit card with company funds or otherwise improperly issues a payment from the firm’s checking account.

Written by Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, CFF

Wisconsin Law Journal

One of the last places you’d expect to find fraud is in a law practice. Like accounting, the practice of law is a profession in which ethics are of utmost importance. Accountants and lawyers are often too trusting of their fellow professionals, and therefore leave themselves open to the risks of fraud.

Written by Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, CFF

FOCUS – Newsletter of the AICPA Forensic & Valuation Services Section

Forensic accounting and fraud investigation are hot specialties in the accounting world. Experts agree that the need for fraud detection services is growing, creating opportunities for small and midsized firms that are looking to start or expand a forensic accounting practice. Building a stable forensic accounting practice takes time because the services and clients are unique. The key to becoming a real competitor in the area of fraud investigation to focus your firm’s strengths on the right quality services and clients to enhance your brand.