...INTRO Fraud has plagued the world of accounting since the establishment of the profession. Fraud can be committed against an individual or a business. In order to identify fraud, an auditor must be able to differentiate between what is considered fraud and what is considered error. Fraud as defined in our textbook as “intentional misstatements that can be classified as fraudulent financial reporting and/or misappropriation of assets.” On the other hand, error is “unintentional misstatements or omissions of amounts or disclosures.” This simply means that fraud and error can have the same affect on a company and its books, the main difference between the two is the intent of the perpetrator. This paper will explore the basic types of fraud, preventing and detecting fraud, an example of a major fraud committed in United States history and the governments reaction to the prevalence of frauds in the 1990s and early 2000s. TYPES OF FRAUD There are three basic types of fraud perpetrated by employees. They are misappropriation of assets, bribery and corruption, and fraudulent financial reporting. Misappropriation of assets is the theft or misuse of assets that belong to a company. Misappropriation of assets is the most common type of fraud; statics show that it has occurred in over 91% of fraud schemes. It is also the simplest type of fraud to understand and commit which might explain its prevalence in many business fraud schemes. Asset misappropriation is also the least expensive...
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...CORPORATE FRAUD & THE ROLES OF AUDITOR (BANGLADESH PERSPECTIVE) Submitted To: Tahmina Ahmed Lecturer Department Of Accounting And Information Systems University Of Dhaka. Submitted By: Group No. 02 ID 18003 18051 18053 18073 18089 18200 NAME Safiqur Rahman Mahadin Anik Mahmudul Islam Arnab Kumar Chakrabartty Abdullah Al Noman Namrata Chakma Date of Submission: November 11, 2014. 1|Page This Report Includes The Following Contents Chapter No. Contents Page No. 01.Introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Introduction. Scope of the report. Objective of the report. Limitations of the report. What is corporate fraud? Kinds of corporate frauds. Reasons for corporate fraud. Auditor’s role. Bangladesh perspective. Findings of the study. 03 03 03 04 04 05 05 06 09 10 02.Literature Review 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 03.Findings Of The Study 3.1 04.Conclusion & Recommendations 4.1 4.2 Conclusion. Recommendations. 12 13 05. References. 5.1 References. 14 2|Page CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 WHAT IS CORPORATE FRAUD AND WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE REPORT? The term ‘Fraud’ essentially includes the use of deception to make some personal gains for oneself dishonestly obviously and create some losses for another within the organization or outside the organization. Although definitions of corporate fraud vary in different situations, most of them are based on these general themes. The term ‘Corporate Fraud’ usually includes activities such as corruption, misuse of accounts...
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...Running head: INDIVIDUAL PROJECT: Forensic Accountants: Fraud Busters 1 Individual Project: Forensic Accountants: Fraud Busters Pamela Turner Professor Ann Nelson Contemporary Business 508 February 13, 2013 Strayer University INDIVIDUAL PROJECT: Forensic Accountants: Fraud Busters 2 Individual Project: Forensic Accountants: Fraud Busters Determine the most important five skills that a forensic accountant needs to possess and evaluate the need for each skill. Be sure to include discussion regarding the relationship between the skill and its application to business operations. The age of information technology there is a definite rise in computer crimes, financial frauds, employee thefts and securities scams, insurance and bank frauds. The forensic accountant searches out fraud and criminal transactions in banking, corporate entity or from any other financial records within an organization. Forensic accountants take a more proactive, skeptical approach in examining books of accounting. The base of a forensic accountant is accounting knowledge. The dispersement of the knowledge of auditing, internal controls, risk assessment and fraud detection. There must be a basic or general understanding of the legal environment. The legal environment is essential in order to support the litigation. A strong set of communication skills both oral and written (Houck, 2006). Forensic...
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...The Threat of Fraud Tracey Brewer American InterContinental University Security and Loss Prevention CRJS270-1301B-01 Jade Pumphrey March 28, 2013 Abstract Identity theft, whether on a personal or business level is a criminal act. So, for many years individuals have plotted and schemed to come up with scams to obtain personal information from other individuals or organization to either sabotage one’s reputation or obtain financial gain. Either way, this wave of criminal activity is wreaking havoc to innocent people and successful organizations everywhere. The Threat of Fraud Introduction Corporate fraud and executive identity theft are crimes that are on the rise. I don’t think corporations understand the impact this crime can have on their business. It only takes a few measures to ensure that the company is protecting against someone being able to access information that could bring the entire corporation to the ground. It can takes years to establish credit, build clientele and provide a service to the country or a community, however, it can only take the click of a mouse, that one email attachment or that one dishonest employee and your entire businesses financial data has been obtained, used or sold for the sole purpose of financial gain. Therefore, to protection your organization’s personal information. Well, it’s time to get the facts, take the necessary precautions, and start the process for what could be the first steps in protecting your organization...
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...resources, as well as content and concepts from the text. ANSWER I was overwhelmed while doing the internet news search to find an example of business that has abused its power. The search came up with so many examples that it made me realize that probably all the business abuse their position in some or the other way. There were many example to choose from but I chose “Corporate accounting scandal at Satyam “, which is also infamously called as India’s Enron. The reason why I selected this particular company is that I had my cousin brothers and sisters working for this company and this scandal affected our families in a big way. The background Scandals are like an iceberg, they represent the only visible catastrophic failure. Saytam Computers was founded By Mr. Ramalinga Raju who hailed form a traditional agriculture family of Andhra Pradesh, India in 1987 with a just 20 employees and converted the company got Public in 1992.The chairman of the company was the founder himself, Mr. Ramalinga Raju (Alias Raju) until January 7, 2009 when he resigned from the board of directors after admitting to corporate fraud. (Author HT correspondent, April, 9, 2015). The company offered consulting and information technology services to the various business sectors. The company had services in 66 countries and 53000 employees in 6 continents. It was listed on Bombay stock exchange, NSE & NYSE. The scam Ironically,...
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...Discussion "Fraud " Please respond to the following: * From the e-Activity, evaluate the cause(s) of the fraud. Recommend a strategy that could have prevented the fraud. Support your recommendation with examples. ACC 578 Week 2 Discussion 1 "Data Analysis and Fraud Investigation" Please respond to the following: * Imagine that you have been hired as a fraud examiner to review the risk of fraud at a major retailer. Analyze the data analysis tools available to you and propose a plan for which tools you will use. Provide a rationale for your plan. ACC 578 Week 2 Discussion 2 "Audit Objectives and Computer Analysis" Please respond to the following: * You have been tasked by your audit manager to develop an audit plan of a major bank. Propose the key elements of your audit plan and the end result you expect from implementing the audit. Justify the key elements you chose for the plan. * From the e-Activity, analyze the systems the company used and propose a computer analysis plan that would have detected the fraud. Support your analysis with examples. ACC 578 Week 2 Assignment 1 Fraud Prevention and Detection Policy Due Week 2 and worth 160 points You are a senior accountant at a new start-up information technology company known as Dingwow Inc. You have just recently been hired and the company has charged you with recommending a fraud policy. Use the Internet, Strayer databases, or your text, to research the elements of an effective fraud policy. Write...
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...http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudAmericanHistory.htm History of Fraud in America (Edited for use in MBA 590_ NCSU) Bob Jensen at Trinity University Colonial History Earliest "business" fraud in America centered around phony heath cures. Armstrong and Armstrong (1991) document many of the snake oil ploys that commenced soon after the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. Medical frauds ranging from deceptive medicines to spiritual cures to bloodletting expanded over time to modern day cancer miracle cures and Internet charlatanism. Since early America was largely agricultural, various land schemes accompanied the growing market for deceptive rural living and farming products. As the original 13 colonies were established land was owned by men who had been granted land from the English King. They in turn sold land to individuals and established common areas. Although many of the early dealings were legitimate, it did not take long for land swindles to commence. Swindlers were either buyers or sellers of land. Victims were often new immigrants and Indians who lived on the land before Colonial times. One of the best known frauds was the 1626 purchase of Manhattan Island for trinkets valued at 60 guilders (approximately $24). In this case the Carnarsie Indians from Brooklyn perpetrated the fraud since their land was not even connected to Manhattan Island. But in most cases it was the white men who cheated the Indians and each other. Land swindling grew rampant as America expanded...
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...organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, loans, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies, stock brokerages, investment funds and some government sponsored enterprises. A&O Financial Services Inc. works in Financial industry which means that they were receiving deposits from many depositors for the aim of investing them in safe investments for a definite period of time, and then to return back the money along with an additional amount of money as a return. Definition of Fraud: In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud. In the simplest terms, fraud occurs when someone knowingly lies to obtain benefit or advantage or to cause some benefit that is due to be denied. The Fraudulent Case: On September 28, 2011, in Richmond, Adley H. Abdulwahab, of Houston, Texas, a hedge fund manager and part owner of A&O, and...
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...Week 6 Assignment Keller Graduate School of Management 2/14/2016 Fashioning A Fraud Case Study Expense reports are a fact of life for any business that sends employees to visit clients other offices, or conferences. While most employees are honest and abide by corporate rules, there are enough dishonest ones to make a serious dent in the bottom line. In the “Fashioning A Fraud Case”, Bobbie Jean Donnelly defrauded her company of approximately $275,000 over a two year time span, by submitting travel and expense reimbursements. She committed this fraud by using several different expense reimbursement schemes. There are four methods of reimbursement schemes; mischaracterized expense reimbursements, overstated expense reimbursements, fictitious expense reimbursements, and multiple reimbursements. In this case schemes such as multiple reimbursements, mischaracterized expense reimbursements, and fictitious reimbursements were present. Donnelly and four other employees from her department submitted expenses multiple times for reimbursement. They would submit American Express bills for reimbursement instead of submitting detailed receipts of individual expenses. Further review showed that employees were submitting the same expenses twice by submitting one month of charges, then submitting the subsequent month with the old charges and new charges combined with late fees. Throughout the investigation auditors also discovered that employees were submitting the same receipt multiple...
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...Importance of forensic accounting and fraud awareness in Malaysia As a result of recent, highly publicized financial scandals; reported increases in occupational fraud; and heightened concerns over money laundering to support terrorism and racketeering, legislative mandates and public expectations have heightened the necessity to hrther define the auditor's and accountant's responsibility for detecting fraud within organizations. Successful fraud or forensic accounting analyses and findings reported by practicing professionals may be the difference between whether perpetrators avoid detection of their illegal activities or they are brought to justice. In most cases, success is directly and primarily dependent upon the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the professionals performing the work. Consequently, the demand for entry-level professionals with formal education in fraud and forensic accounting has grown. Academic institutions and stakeholder organizations that provide education in these fields are faced with a number of questions regarding the nature, extent, and format of a worthwhile curriculum. A review of existing higher education institution offerings indicates that the number of courses available varies from a single class to programs of 4-10 different courses. Programs are offered at the undergraduate and graduate level as majors, minors, tracks, or as nondegree "certificate" programs. Further, job opportunities and the student applicant pool are likely to vary...
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...Summary Piercing the corporate veil is the judicial act of imposing personal liability on otherwise immune corporate officers, directors, and shareholders for the corporation’s wrongful act (Black Law Dictionary). In other words, courts may pierce the "veil" that the law uses to divide the corporation (and its liabilities and assets) from the people behind the corporation. The veil creates a separate, legally recognized corporate entity and shields the people behind the corporation from personal liability. In Enron Case , mulltiple corporate governance mechanisms, both internal and external, failed to constrain the actions of Enron's management team: • In particular, Enron's board failed to oversee management and apparently did not understand the risks inherent in the firm's business strategy. • It also appears that several board members and the external auditor faced potential conflicts of interest that attenuated their role as monitors. • Further, the board, analysts (credit and equity), external auditors, and federal agencies failed to identify problems at Enron or did not respond to obvious signs that there were problems at the firm. • Finally, Enron's role as a dominant player in nascent and inefficient markets, afforded the firm's management the opportunity to manipulate prices, asset values, and thus the firm's financial position Table of Content Executive Summary (1 Page) I. Background Of Enron’s Case (2 Pages) II. 5 Theory of Piercing The Corporate Veil (4 pages) III...
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...highlight corporate scandals that have happened in Malaysia. Second, it is to discuss some major causes of these corporate scandals; and third, it is to recommend the possible actions and preventive measures to curb these scandals. 1. Introduction In the recent years, the public and business community have been surprised with the exposure of many corporate scandals and accounting fraud by the managers of the company. It disappoints many stakeholders as after the financial crisis in 1997, many efforts have been initiated and implemented to strengthen the business control and foundation of the company. One of the important lessons learned from the financial crisis in 1997 is the weaknesses in the governance of the company such as too much power is given to a single person in managing the company, weak internal control and poor work of the directors that leads to the failure of the company. Due to this, a total regulatory and governance were embarked all over the world. Just to name a few, in the US, the Sarbanese Oxley Act was established, while in the UK the Code of Corporate Governance was extensively revised to stop all these corporate diseases from spreading and becoming a cancer for the global business community. However, all this effort has seemed fruitless as after the heavy debate and discussion and huge struggle by the regulator and market administrator, these corporate scandals are still returning but with more scaring facts. 1.1 What do we mean by Fraud and Misconduct ...
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...involving Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff is the largest fraudulent scam in U.S. history, to date. This giant financial Ponzi scheme created and implemented by Madoff targeted members of the Jewish community. Moreover, Madoff’s Ponzi scheme impacted upon people from all walks of life. The people involved entrusted him implicitly with large sums of money. The funds fraudulently absconded, regardless of age, whether family, friends, celebrities, or investors encompassed life savings, pensions, institutional endowments; charities, non-profit organizations and/or corporate status. Once again, an individual under the guise of a “so-called” legitimate corporation conducts egregious actions above and beyond the scope of the law. 1. Describe three types of illegal business behavior alleged against Mr. Madoff and for each type of behavior, explain how the behavior is illegal or unethical in the conduct of business. In the Complaint filed by the United States Department of Justice, Southern District of New York (The United States Department of Justice, 2008), United States v. Bernard L. Madoff, 09 Cr 213 (DC), the government alleged that: Madoff committed 11 counts of securities fraud, investment advisor fraud (wherein he allegedly misled his investors about the health of his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC), wire and mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements, perjury, filing false documents with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission...
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...Corruption Schemes Anaesha M. Whitaker Corruption Schemes What is corruption? The most common definition of corruption in the economic literature is literature is the misuse of public office for private gain. While private gain is typically interpreted in terms of monetary benefit, it can potentially include non-monetary benefits such as improved chances of re-election and helping friends or members of their social or ethnic networks obtain public resources. The usual interpretation of misuse is the use of office for illegal purposes, impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle, inducement to wrong or improper or unlawful means, but it is occasionally construed more broadly as the mis-allocation of public resources in ways that enhance the official's private returns. Recent years have also seen an explosion of empirical research on corruption measurement. The research conducted for this paper, which has developed and used both subjective guides which are based on perceptions of corruption and objective measures of illegal activity. The following topics will be discussed throughout this paper: Corruption Schemes Today; Corruption Schemes Tomorrow; Investigations of Corruption Schemes; and Detection and Prevention of Corruption Schemes. The research conducted throughout this paper focuses on the topics above. Corruption Schemes Today Corruption Schemes today are heavily engulfed in politics. “CHICAGO — Corruption has tainted...
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...HealthSouth: Fraud, Greed & Corporate Governance Marilyn J. Bordeaux HCS 5339 Rachael Kehoe HealthSouth: Fraud, Greed & Corporate Governance During the 1990s, Richard M. Scrushy, the former CEO of HealthSouth Corporation, engineered many acquisitions of rehabilitation clinics, outpatient surgical care operators, nursing homes and other health care companies. In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused the company and Scrushy of inflating earnings to the tune of $1.4 billion since 1999. In November 2003, a federal grand jury indicted Scrushy on 85 counts including conspiracy, securities fraud, money laundering and charges related to overstating HealthSouth’s earnings by nearly $3.0 billion. According to federal investigators, the company overstated earnings to meet analysts’ earning estimates, while hiding the accounting fraud from the auditors. However, questions were raised whether the auditors failed to find or simply overlooked the fraud at HealthSouth. Central to the investigation was the issue of what role Scrushy played in “cooking the books.” However, as the case unfolded, it highlighted many other issues such as: The role of Board of Directors in corporate governance; the role of the auditors; the effect of conflict of interest between an accounting firm and its consulting arm on auditing; whether the relationship between an investment bank and a company affects the quality of the bank’s research reports on the company; whether the executive...
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