...When examining the many different aspects of fraud one common trend is usually found. This is concealment or some sort of alteration of financial statements. Financial statement fraud is usually committed by those individuals that have influence over a company or have some sort of opportunity to do so. These individuals include C-level management, controllers, and anyone else that has to do with the information that is placed in the financial statements. These individuals will make these alterations to meet the demands of the markets, to increase their financial bottom line, to increase stock price allowing for their own portfolios to be enhanced, and to overcome current financial losses (Albrecht, Albrecht, Albrecht, and Zimbelman, 2012, p.360). With financial statement fraud there are numerous ways to commit it. This can be through revenue, inventory, expenses, and even subsidiary reporting. Financial statement crimes over the past decade, and possibly longer, have similar characteristics that individuals should look for and should be aware of the effect of them. According to the text “Fraud Examination” COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations), released a study that showed these traits. The traits are the average fraud lasts two years, improper revenue recognitions, have an average impact of $400 million dollars, CEO involved in 89%, median assets involved are at $100 million, change in auditors, and press coverage leading to dips and/or decreases in stock price (Albrecht...
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...Anatomy of computer accounting frauds A. Seetharaman, M. Senthilvelmurugan and Rajan Periyanayagam Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Malaysia Keywords Fraud, Corruption, Financial reporting, Whistleblowing, Internal control, Corporate governance Abstract This paper introduces fraud as asset misappropriations (85 per cent of cases), corruption and fraudulent statements. Symptoms include accounting anomalies, lack of internal control environment, lifestyle and behaviour. The most effective tools for fraud detection are internal audit review, specific investigation by management, and whistle-blowing. The paper details the fraud investigation process and the role of auditors as fraud examiners. The correlation of fraud perpetrators’ personality with the size of losses is examined. Personality is analysed into age, gender, position, educational background and collusion. A strong system of internal control is most effective in fraud prevention. Fraud prevention procedures, targeted goals and improvements to system weaknesses feature in the paper. Fraud impacts on accounting transactions in accounts receivable, receipts and disbursements, accounts payable, inventories and fixed assets, and financial reporting. The monetary impact resulting from fraud is analysed by the type of victim and the amount of loss. Internal control and good employment practices prevent fraud and mitigate loss. Computer accounting frauds 1055 Introduction Accounting fraud involves an intentional action...
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...Fraud Prevention and Management Recommendations The purpose of this Fraud Prevention Plan is to set out the approach to dealing with fraud risk within our organization. In order to prevent the types of frauds that have already occurred within our organization it will be necessary to create “a culture of honesty, openness, and assistance…..fraud prevention is where the big savings occur” (Albrecht, Albrecht, Albrecht, & Zimbelman, 2012, p.103). What is required is the implementation of a comprehensive hiring, fraud, and ethics training program with strong controls, with punitive treatment of fraud offenders. “Research confirms that anyone can commit fraud. Fraud perpetrators usually can’t be distinguished from other people on the basis of demographic or psychological characteristics.” (Albrecht et al. 2012, p. 33). The value of an effective fraud prevention program requires several components. The lack of fraud prevention leads to enormous risk. The corporation will need to install processes and controls to ensure that honest people are hired. When candidates are going through our interview process they will need to be thoroughly vetted on the accuracy of their work history, education, and stated accomplishments. In addition to the standard practiced of contacting references provided by the candidate, these referenced individuals will be asked to provide additional references. The result of checking references provided by the initial reference will in many instances...
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...CHAPTER 5 COMPUTER FRAUD SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 5.1 Do you agree that the most effective way to obtain adequate system security is to rely on the integrity of company employees? Why or why not? Does this seem ironic? What should a company do to ensure the integrity of its employees? The statement is ironic because employees represent both the greatest control strength and the greatest control weakness. Honest, skilled employees are the most effective fraud deterrent. However, when fraud occurs, it often involves an employee in a position of trust. As many as 90% of computer frauds are insider jobs by employees. Employers can do the following to maintain the integrity of their employees. (NOTE: Answers are introduced in this chapter and covered in more depth in Chapter 7) Human Resource Policies. Implement human resource policies for hiring, compensating, evaluating, counseling, promoting, and discharging employees that send messages about the required level of ethical behavior and integrity Hiring and Firing Practices: Effective hiring and firing practices include: o Screen potential employees using a thorough background checks and written tests that evaluate integrity. o o Remove fired employees from all sensitive jobs and deny them access to the computer system to avoid sabotage. Managing Disgruntled Employees: Some employees who commit a fraud are disgruntled and they are seeking revenge or "justice" for some wrong...
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...European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences ISSN 1450-2887 Issue 17 (2009) © EuroJournals, Inc. 2009 http://www.eurojournals.com A Synthesis of the Critical Factors Affecting Performance of the Nigerian Banking System Godwin Chigozie Okpara Department of Banking and Finance, Abia State University, Uturu E-mail godgozie@yahoo.com Abstract This paper is set out to determine the factors impacting most on the performance of the banking system in Nigeria. To do this, factor analysis technique was used on the factors identified by the collaborative study of the CBN/NDIC. The result revealed that factors such as undue interference from board members, political crises, undercapitalization and fraudulent practices are the most critical factors inhibiting the efficient performance of the Nigerian financial institutions. The author therefore contends that the just concluded N25billion recapitalization exercise of the central bank was a necessary but not a sufficient measure in the right direction. The sufficient measure must be one that controls all the identified critical factors at the same time. 1.0. Introduction Banks in most economies are the principal depositories of the public's financial savings, the nerve centre of the payment system, the vessel endowed with the ability of money creation and allocation of financial resources and conduit through which monetary and credit policies are implemented. The success of monetary policy, to a large extent, depends...
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...Health Insurance Fraud By: WAHEED ALKHAMEES KHALED ALNAFEE Further Issues Hospital Administration PA 551 Master of Health and Hospital Administration (Parallel) King Saud University One:- Introduction Definition Insurance is the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment. It is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. An insurer, or insurance carrier, is a company selling the insurance; the insured, or policyholder, is the person or entity buying the insurance policy. The amount of money to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage is called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice. The transaction involves the insured assuming a guaranteed and known relatively small loss in the form of payment to the insurer in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate (indemnify) the insured in the case of a financial (personal) loss. The insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be financially compensated. Types of Insurance Services Insurance can take a number of different forms. Some of these types: Auto insurance Auto insurance protects the policyholder against financial loss in the event of an incident involving a vehicle they own, such as...
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...A View of an Accounting Fraud and Litigation from Inside the Courtroom What the Jury Heard in the PharMor Case 1 In the Phar‐Mor case, several members of top management confessed to, and were convicted of, financial statement fraud. Certain of Phar‐Mor’s creditors and investors subsequently brought suit against Phar‐Mor’s independent auditor, Coopers & Lybrand, alleging the firm was reckless in performing its audits. A jury found the audit firm liable for fraud. While this module can only contain a very small portion of what the jury heard in the five‐month trial, we identify the most important points presented to the jury through a careful review of the trial transcripts and selected interviews with attorneys who were in the courtroom on a daily basis. Unless otherwise noted, all facts and statements are based on actual trial transcripts. Background The $500 million accounting fraud at Phar‐Mor, Inc., led to the bankruptcy of one of the largest private companies in the United States in 1992. As a result of the company’s fraud and subsequent failure, charges were filed against both Phar‐Mor’s management and the company’s auditors. Phar‐Mor’s former management was collectively fined just over $1 million, and two former members of Phar‐Mor management received prison sentences. The company’s former auditors, Coopers & Lybrand LLP (Coopers), faced claims of more than $1 billion, although final settlements were a small fraction of that amount...
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...A Project Report On “Forensic Accounting And Auditing” Submitted By Durvesh S. Naik Roll No: - 6025 MCOM PART-II (Advanced Accountancy) 2014-15 MULUND COLLEGE OF COMMERCE SAROJINI NAIDU ROAD, MULUND (W.) MUMBAI-80 SUBMITTED TO UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-15 DECLARATION I Durvesh Naik student of Mulund College of Commerce, S. N. Road, Mulund (W.) Mumbai – 80 of Mcom Part II (Advanced Accounting) Seat no: - 6025, hereby declare that I have completed the project on the title “Forensic Accounting and Auditing” during the academic year 2014-15. The information submitted is true and best of my knowledge and belief. Date of submission: - Signature Place:- Parle Tilak Vidyalaya Association's MULUND COLLEGE OF COMMERCE Sarojini Naidu Road, Mulund West, Mumbai 400080. Certificate This is to certify that Mr. __________________________________________________________ Of Mcom. Part II (Advanced Accountancy) Semester _______ has undertaken completed the project work titled _________________________ ______________________________ during the academic year __________ under the guidance of Prof. ______________________________________. Submitted on _________________ to this college on the fulfillment of the curriculum of Mcom (Advanced Accountancy) University of Mumbai. This is a bonafide project work & the information presented is true/ and original to the best of our knowledge...
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...of accounting practice basic concepts and apply them in real case situations. This will help me a lot, in accounting and auditing discipline and auditors decision making process in the real world. I am sincerely thanked to him, that he gives us this case as an assignment, which will help us in future. Because of, this case is based on the practical experience from ‘real world’ situation that is applicable to all business organization. It is making us familiar with real experience. We now know what kind of fraud is taking place in organization, how we can prevent them, how we improve breakdowns, what kind of process should an auditor follows to discover fraud, all of this will help us further carrier as an auditor Dhaka April 2011. Neaz Executive Summary An audit is an examination of a company’s financial statements prepared by the directors of the company. Its purpose is to give the company’s owners an independent, professional and informed opinion stating. Assurance services are a class of services provided by certified public accountants (CPAs) in public practice. While the term is sometimes used inconsistently among individual CPA firms, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Special Committee on...
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...Chapter 1: Auditing: Integral to the Economy 5 copy 1. The need for assurance services arises because the interests of the users of information may be different from that of the interests of those responsible for providing information. True False 2. A financial statement audit is a systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence. True False True False True False True False 3. Auditors should conduct their work with an attitude of professional skepticism. 4. A bank using Milton Company's financial statements to determine the creditworthiness of a potential loan to Milton is a good example of the need for unbiased reporting. 5. An integrated audit requires the auditor to assess the effectiveness of internal controls. 6. In all states, a CPA must have completed at least 150 hours of college semester hours to receive their license. True False 7. The Center for Audit Quality was started by the International Federation of Accountants. True False 8. The Center for Audit Quality has the primary authority to set auditing standards. True False 9. In an audit, management is considered the “client”. True False 10. Auditing is the process of attesting to assertions about economic actions and events. True False 11. Auditing is the process...
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...Melisa Schellhamer, April 13, 2010 Melisa Schellhamer, April 13, 2010 SEC files a fraud case against Goldman Sachs, an industry leader, is now being investigated for unfair investing scandal. SEC files a fraud case against Goldman Sachs, an industry leader, is now being investigated for unfair investing scandal. Goldman Sach’s Case # 5 AC805 Advanced Management Accounting Control Systems Goldman Sach’s Case # 5 AC805 Advanced Management Accounting Control Systems The Goldman Sachs fraud case opened by the Securities and Exchange is one of the items that were highlighted by the down turn of the economy in the last few years. Goldman Sachs has vigorously denied any wrongdoing, but the case against them seems fairly tight if the information currently provided is accurate. At the center of all of this Fabrice Tourre. Tourre is an employee of Goldman Sachs that has been charged with fraud. The nature of the charge is that as an employee of Goldman Sachs he helped create a Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) that was not disclosed to potential investors. More damning than anything however that seized email correspondence is seems to point to the fact that he was fully aware of what he was doing. How this all ties in is that a CDO is an investment vehicle whose performance is directly related to a set of assets. In regards to this case the CDO was a family of securities that were backed by subprime residential mortgages. As this is considered risky...
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...The Role of Power in Financial Statement Fraud Schemes Chad Albrecht • Daniel Holland • Ricardo Malaguen˜o • Simon Dolan • Shay Tzafrir Received: 24 June 2011 / Accepted: 12 December 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract In this paper, we investigate a large-scale financial statement fraud to better understand the process by which individuals are recruited to participate in financial statement fraud schemes. The case reveals that perpetrators often use power to recruit others to participate in fraudulent acts. To illustrate how power is used, we propose a model, based upon the classical French and Raven taxonomy of power, that explains how one individual influences another individual to participate in financial statement fraud. We also provide propositions for future research. Keywords Financial statement fraud Organizational corruption Recruitment Collusion Power and influence Introduction In recent years, fraud and other forms of unethical behavior in organizations have received significant attention in the business ethics literature (Uddin and Gillet 2002; Elias 2002; Rockness and Rockness 2005; Robison and Santore 2011), investment circles (Pujas 2003; Albrecht et al. 2011), and regulator communities (Farber 2005; Ferrell and Ferrell 2011). Scandals at Enron, WorldCom, Xerox, Quest, Tyco, HealthSouth, and other companies created a loss of confidence in the integrity of the American business (Carson 2003) and even...
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...Accounting Frauds and the Timing of Analyst Coverage Decisions and Recommendation Revisions: Evidence From the US Susan M. Young* Associate Professor Fordham University New York, NY 10019 syoung16@fordham.edu Emma Peng Assistant Professor Fordham University New York, NY 10019 ypeng@fordham.edu *Corresponding author We thank workshop participants at the AAA annual meeting, City University of New York, CUNY Baruch College Emory University, and the editor for their helpful comments. We are grateful for the data provided by an anonymous reviewer and research assistance of Aili Weng and Xiaolan Wang. We appreciate funding from Fordham University. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2202393 An Analysis of Accounting Frauds and the Timing of Analyst Coverage Decisions and Recommendation Revisions: Evidence From the US Abstract: This paper provides a comprehensive exploration of the types of accounting fraud committed by firms over the period 1995 – 2009. Using detailed data from US SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAER), we examine the likelihood and timing of analyst coverage decisions and recommendation revisions related to fraud firms versus firms without accounting fraud. We find that analysts have a higher probability of taking the more severe action of dropping coverage rather than only revising down recommendations for firms with any type of accounting fraud and also for specific egregious types of accounting fraud. Through...
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...A GUIDE TO FORENSIC ACCOUNTING INVESTIGATION THOMAS W. GOLDEN, STEVEN L. SKALAK, AND MONA M. CLAYTON JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. A GUIDE TO FORENSIC ACCOUNTING INVESTIGATION THOMAS W. GOLDEN, STEVEN L. SKALAK, AND MONA M. CLAYTON JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright © 2006 by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the individual member firms of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this...
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...Auditors’ Ability to Assess Fraud Risk on Their Ability to Detect the Likelihood of Fraud Nahariah Jaffar* Faculty of Management, Multimedia University Arfah Salleh Graduate School of Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia Takiah Mohd Iskandar Faculty of Economics and Business Management, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hasnah Haron School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia ABSTRACT The Malaysian Approved Standards on Auditing, AI 240 on “Fraud and Error” (MIA, 1997) requires the auditor to assess the risk of fraud and error during the audit of financial statements. Based on the risk assessment, the auditor should design audit procedures to obtain reasonable assurance that misstatements arising from fraud and error that are material to the financial statements taken as a whole are detected. Inability of the external auditor to detect material misstatements, particularly intentional misstatements, may expose the external auditor to litigation. The present study aims to examine the effect of the external auditor’s ability to assess fraud risk on his/her ability to detect the likelihood of fraud. An experimental approach is adopted by sending case materials to audit partners and audit managers attached to auditing firms operating in Malaysia. The result shows that in a high fraud risk scenario, the external auditor’s ability to assess fraud risk has a positive effect on his/her ability to detect the likelihood of fraud, whereas in a low fraud risk scenario not. The...
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