Forensic accountants are engaged for a wide variety of assignments, among them investigating fraud, auditing internal controls and quantifying damages associated with legal disputes. All of these require attention to detail and a diverse set of skills including mathematical, technological, legal, and investigative. But the...
Not all shell companies are dishonest. Despite their often-sinister reputation, these paper-only companies may be used legitimately to hold another business’ assets. Or they may be the ‘empty container’ left after a company downsizes or is acquired. That said, some fraud perpetrators use shell companies...
The COVID-19 pandemic has put enormous pressure on medical practices and healthcare workers. The last thing they need right now is to worry about financial losses and other negative repercussions of occupational fraud. To help make sure physicians and their employees can focus on patient...
Management consulting company McKinsey names synthetic identity (ID) theft the fastest growing financial crime in the United States. And a LexisNexis Risk Solutions study has found that 20 percent of ID theft losses by banks can be attributed to synthetic versions of the scheme. If you...
Forensic accountants have many tools to help them find evidence of hidden assets or fraud. But one of the most effective, particularly in divorce matters or legal disputes with former business partners, is a lifestyle analysis. This method involves developing a financial profile of a...
Business value is a function of risk and return. This is why, when appraising companies, valuation experts are always on the lookout for fraud risks. Although valuations typically are not designed to unearth dishonest behavior, experts may expand the scope of their engagement if they...
Maybe the numbers did not add up during your company’s recent inventory count. You know that most inventory discrepancies are the result of honest mistakes, such as when employees return items to the wrong shelves or customer returns are flubbed. It is even possible that...
Reports started trickling into state agricultural agencies in July: Consumers were worried about strange seed packets they had received in the mail. The unsolicited goods were not labeled and appeared to be sent from China. In a year already fraught with anxiety and paranoia, the...
When business owners suspect that an employee is stealing assets or manipulating financial results, it is time to call a fraud expert to investigate. Although the complexity of the incident will determine the investigation’s scope, there are three basic steps forensic accountants generally follow to...
Fraud tends to flourish during periods of prosperity. The reason is simple: When companies experience fast-growing revenues and rising net profits, they may lack a strong incentive to divert resources to preventing and detecting fraud. Fraud schemes can go undetected for months, even years. Furthermore,...