• Navistar v Deloitte: Blame the Auditors for Fraud Committed and Concealed By Employees

    In cases of corporate fraud, including embezzlement, financial statement fraud, earnings management, bribery, and the like, it’s easy to blame the auditors. After all, they have very deep pockets, often with large malpractice policies. Even though the task of auditors […]

  • China MediaExpress Holdings: Critics and Short Sellers Were Right!

    In February, I wrote about China MediaExpress Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CCME) and several fraud allegations that had surfaced via researchers at Muddy Waters and Citron Research. After looking at the allegations and the support (or lack thereof), my conclusion was that […]

  • Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fraud

    Sarbanes-Oxley has done little to curb corporate malfeasance. Therefore, CFOs should implement a range of fraud-prevention measures. Laton McCartney – CFO Magazine As a convicted felon, Sam E. Antar, the former CFO for the now-defunct consumer-electronics chain Crazy Eddie, no […]

  • Failing to Find Fraud When Auditing Cash

    UPDATE: In March 2011, CFO Jacky Lam of China Media Express and the auditors (Deloitte) resigned. Deloitte said they could no longer rely on the representations of management, and they suggested an investigation was in order. Ping Luo, the analyst […]

  • Learn From the Costly FCPA Mistakes of Others

    A recent Compliance Week article, An Expensive Lesson on FCPA Compliance [subscription required], provides some valuable insights on the direction that our government is taking with enforcement. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations are a huge focus of the feds right […]

  • The Case for Independent Internal Investigations

    The United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG) continue to make life tough for those in charge of corporate compliance and ethics. Corporate attorneys, both in-house and outside counsel, must ensure that companies are following protocols set for by the USSG. Rightfully, […]

  • Risks and Rewards of Independent Internal Investigations (ACC Docket)

    The Association of Corporate Counsel publishes ACC Docket, a monthly magazine for members. The October 2010 issue features an article on the benefits of independent internal corporate investigations. The most valuable portion of the article discuss how we have arrived […]

  • Internal Investigations and the Use of Auditors and Accountants

    When whistleblowers report potential ethics violations within companies, the first step the company must take is an internal investigation. The best internal investigations are independent and led by outside counsel, for a variety of reasons. But what about the part […]

  • Koss Fraud: We Didn’t Bother to Look at the Endorsements On Our Own Checks, But Grant Thornton Should Have!

    The latest news in the Koss Corporation fraud committed by ex-VP of Finance Sue Sachdeva is a lawsuit filed by the company against Sachdeva and auditors Grant Thornton. It’s unlikely that the company will collect much from Sachdeva, but the […]

  • “Monitoring” That Works

    Guest Post by Ronald Kral, MBA, CPA, CMA Managing Partner of Candela Solutions LLC All organizations use some form and degree of monitoring in reaching strategic, operational, reporting and compliance objectives. Yet, many organizations do not fully leverage the power […]