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 […]

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 […]

The manipulation of a company’s financial statements does not occur as often as asset misappropriation schemes like payroll fraud, check kiting, or inventory theft. And the losses from financial statement fraud aren’t readily apparent to most people. When money is […]

When an IRS auditor or criminal investigator suspects that a taxpayer has unreported sources of income, he or she looks for ways to calculate that unreported income. One way is the net worth method of proof. Forensic accountants and fraud […]

People who steal from their employers often exhibit telltale characteristics that could tip off management that they’re likely to commit fraud. These characteristics include attitudes on the job, daily work habits, and personal lifestyle issues. A few of these traits […]

Most attorneys don’t think about the issue of fraud in companies until a client (or their law firm) is hit by employee theft. It’s simply not one of those issues that is taken too seriously unless huge risks are identified […]

I love working on divorce cases where one spouse is trying to hide money. When a business owner has a cash business and is getting divorced, sometimes the income coincidentally (or not so coincidentally!) drops dramatically. What can we do […]

How do you investigate fraud in a cash business? It is difficult because cash leaves no paper trail. But Tracy Coenen has some techniques she uses to try to uncover unreported cash sales. She gives examples including restaurants and laundromats. […]

Insider fraud is most commonly detected in companies through a tip, either from an employee, a customer, a vendor, or an outside party. Anonymous hotlines are excellent tools for reporting fraud, but management must have a plan for evaluating these […]

Doing a lifestyle analysis on a business during a divorce  can be very important to find out the truth about the numbers. It involves going down to the detailed transaction level to look for clues about what has really happened […]