When the IRS believes a taxpayer has unreported income, they will use alternative methods to attempt to determine the true income. One of those methods is the Expenditures Method. Tracy Coenen explains the basic methodology in this video. Note that […]

Interviewing witnesses and suspects is a critical part of any fraud investigation. There are tons of resources out there to help fraud investigators learn how to become effective interviewers. There are books, videos, courses, and certifications.  I’m going to quickly […]

Venture capital investors gave Shiloh Luckey (fka Shiloh Johnson) more than $13 million for her tax compliance startup, ComplYant. Federal prosecutors now say she lied about the company’s revenue, customers, subscriptions and cash balances. She allegedly used some of the […]

After more than 30 years conducting fraud investigations, I have learned a lot about fraudsters, their methods, and the companies they work for. Hotlines cut fraud losses in half. Anonymous reporting mechanisms like fraud hotlines decrease the cost of internal […]

Every time there is turmoil in the stock market, we hear about allegations of investment fraud. Are there more investment scams occurring, or do market conditions just lead to the discovery of more of these schemes? I’ll guess the latter, […]

I hear it over and over again: “A private investigator says he can find my husband’s secret bank accounts.” Not without breaking the law! I fight against this all the time. People are out there saying they can magically find […]

How do I become a fraud investigator? What skills does a forensic accountant need? I get asked these questions a lot, so today I’m going to give my thoughts on some of the important qualifications and skills a fraud investigator […]

Companies typically have a standard way of initiating cash disbursements like payments to vendors or employees. Often this involves entering an invoice into the accounting system, ensuring proper approval for payments, and then generating the electronic transfer or check. Sometimes […]

Financial investigations have one common problem: Large volumes of data and documentation that need to be examined. Cases such as corporate embezzlement, securities fraud, Ponzi schemes and white-collar crime often have lots of financial documentation that needs to be analyzed […]

If you’re new to the world of fraud investigations, the concept of the fraud triangle will be important for you to learn. In this video, Tracy explains the fraud triangle and its importance in fraud prevention and detection.