Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation for Non-Experts

Manage client emotions in forensic accounting and fraud investigations While many resources exist that outline the primary functional aspects of conducting a forensic accounting or fraud investigation, this book is the first of its kind in addressing the significance of client emotions during investigations and how important the management of those emotions is to the investigation as a whole. Forensic accounting expert Stephen Pedneault has nearly 30 years of experience conducting such fraud investigations, and has become an expert in this form of holistic engagement management. In this comprehensive resource, Pedneault shares his real-world experiences to help the reader understand exactly what role client emotions can play in a fraud investigation, and how to acknowledge and address the emotions of all parties right from the start. Included in the book are pragmatic strategies for managing emotions throughout an engagement, starting with the initial client meeting. Readers will also learn how to develop their own personal approach to managing individuals’ emotions throughout an investigation, which has proven to be much more effective than ignoring or underestimating the role that emotions can play. The book: Is the first resource specifically addressing client emotions in fraud investigations Includes tips for dealing with emotions and managing expectations from the initial meeting Prepares practitioners for future engagements with a new, unique perspective on managing emotions Helps fraud investigators and forensic accountants develop their own personal approaches to dealing with individuals and their emotions For accountants, auditors, fraud investigators, and others in the field, this complete, groundbreaking resource is the quintessential guide to managing client emotions in forensic accounting and fraud investigations.

Get the latest tools in fraud auditing and get rid of fraud in your organization With the responsibility of detecting and preventing fraud placed directly on the accounting profession, you are responsible for recognizing fraud and learning the tools and strategies necessary to stop it. Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting, Third Edition shows you how to develop an investigative eye toward both internal and external fraud and provides crucial information on how to deal with it when discovered. This authoritative, timely book equips auditors, investigators, corporate attorneys, and accountants to identify the signs of financial fraud and successfully investigate it. This new edition will enable you to: Recognize the characteristics of organizations in which fraud is likely to occur Detect and deter accounting fraud, using the most recently developed techniques Conduct an efficient, systematic fraud investigation Use the latest methods for documenting fraud and preparing evidence-and much more PRAISE FOR Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting, Third Edition «An excellent primer for developing and implementing an antifraud program as part of a SOX 404, fraud prevention and detection process. A clear and concise history of fraud and the methods needed to deter it now and for the future. It is like having a professor on call and in your office when you need one. Well written with easy-to-understand definitions and examples, this is a must-read for anyone who is putting a financial investigation unit in place.» —George Mullins, CFE, HealthSouthInternal Audit Manager and Project Manager, Antifraud Program «The book is an excellent anti-fraud resource for those professionals charged with the responsibility of detecting, investigating, and preventing fraud. I also highly recommend it to educators as a prospective textbook for a semester-long course in macro fraud examination.» —Thomas Buckhoff, PhD, CPA, CFE, Associate Professor of Forensic Accounting, Georgia Southern University, and Principal, FraudWise, LLC «This book, better than any other in print, hits the subject areas I cover in my fraud examination and forensic accounting class. The authors have done a great job of presenting complicated terms and techniques in a manner for students to understand. I particularly like the presentation of a fraud's endgame, namely the court case that recovers assets and puts these creeps in jail.» —Douglas E. Ziegenfuss, Professor and Chair, Department of Accounting,Old Dominion University

Praise for the Fourth Edition of Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting «Tommie and Aaron Singleton have made important updates to a book I personally rely very heavily upon: Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting (FAFA). In the newest edition, they take difficult topics and explain them in straightforward actionable language. All my students benefitted from reading the third edition of the FAFA to better understand the issues and area of fraud and forensic accounting. With their singular focus on understandability and practicality, this Fourth Edition of the book makes a very important contribution for academics, researchers, practitioners, and students. Bravo!»—Dr. Timothy A. Pearson, Director, Division of Accounting, West Virginia University, Executive Director, Institute for Fraud Prevention «Finally someone has written a book that combines fraud examination and forensic accounting. The authors have clearly explained both in their earlier edition and now they have enhanced the first with additional materials. The order in which the material is presented is easy to grasp and logically follows the 'typical' fraud examination from the awareness that something is wrong to the court case. The explanatory materials presented aid this effort by being both well placed within the book and relevant to the narrative.» —Dr. Douglas E. Ziegenfuss, Chair and Professor, Department of Accounting, Old Dominion University «Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting is a masterful compilation of the concepts found in this field. The organization of the text with the incorporation of actual cases, facts, and figures provides a logical and comprehensive basis for learning the intricacies of fraud examination and forensic accounting. The authors successfully blend the necessary basics with advanced principles in a manner that makes the book an outstanding resource for students and professionals alike.»—Ralph Q. Summerford, President of Forensic/Strategic Solutions, PC

A powerful new tool for all forensic accountants, or anyone who analyzes data that may have been altered Benford's Law gives the expected patterns of the digits in the numbers in tabulated data such as town and city populations or Madoff's fictitious portfolio returns. Those digits, in unaltered data, will not occur in equal proportions; there is a large bias towards the lower digits, so much so that nearly one-half of all numbers are expected to start with the digits 1 or 2. These patterns were originally discovered by physicist Frank Benford in the early 1930s, and have since been found to apply to all tabulated data. Mark J. Nigrini has been a pioneer in applying Benford's Law to auditing and forensic accounting, even before his groundbreaking 1999 Journal of Accountancy article introducing this useful tool to the accounting world. In Benford's Law, Nigrini shows the widespread applicability of Benford's Law and its practical uses to detect fraud, errors, and other anomalies. Explores primary, associated, and advanced tests, all described with data sets that include corporate payments data and election data Includes ten fraud detection studies, including vendor fraud, payroll fraud, due diligence when purchasing a business, and tax evasion Covers financial statement fraud, with data from Enron, AIG, and companies that were the target of hedge fund short sales Looks at how to detect Ponzi schemes, including data on Madoff, Waxenberg, and more Examines many other applications, from the Clinton tax returns and the charitable gifts of Lehman Brothers to tax evasion and number invention Benford's Law has 250 figures and uses 50 interesting authentic and fraudulent real-world data sets to explain both theory and practice, and concludes with an agenda and directions for future research. The companion website adds additional information and resources.

Discover how to detect fraud, biases, or errors in your data using Access or Excel With over 300 images, Forensic Analytics reviews and shows how twenty substantive and rigorous tests can be used to detect fraud, errors, estimates, or biases in your data. For each test, the original data is shown with the steps needed to get to the final result. The tests range from high-level data overviews to assess the reasonableness of data, to highly focused tests that give small samples of highly suspicious transactions. These tests are relevant to your organization, whether small or large, for profit, nonprofit, or government-related. Demonstrates how to use Access, Excel, and PowerPoint in a forensic setting Explores use of statistical techniques such as Benford's Law, descriptive statistics, correlation, and time-series analysis to detect fraud and errors Discusses the detection of financial statement fraud using various statistical approaches Explains how to score locations, agents, customers, or employees for fraud risk Shows you how to become the data analytics expert in your organization Forensic Analytics shows how you can use Microsoft Access and Excel as your primary data interrogation tools to find exceptional, irregular, and anomalous records.

Valuable guidance for staying one step ahead of financial statement fraud Financial statement fraud is one of the most costly types of fraud and can have a direct financial impact on businesses and individuals, as well as harm investor confidence in the markets. While publications exist on financial statement fraud and roles and responsibilities within companies, there is a need for a practical guide on the different schemes that are used and detection guidance for these schemes. Financial Statement Fraud: Strategies for Detection and Investigation fills that need. Describes every major and emerging type of financial statement fraud, using real-life cases to illustrate the schemes Explains the underlying accounting principles, citing both U.S. GAAP and IFRS that are violated when fraud is perpetrated Provides numerous ratios, red flags, and other techniques useful in detecting financial statement fraud schemes Accompanying website provides full-text copies of documents filed in connection with the cases that are cited as examples in the book, allowing the reader to explore details of each case further Straightforward and insightful, Financial Statement Fraud provides comprehensive coverage on the different ways financial statement fraud is perpetrated, including those that capitalize on the most recent accounting standards developments, such as fair value issues.

A fraud investigation is aimed at examining evidence to determine if a fraud occurred, how it happened, who was involved, and how much money was lost. Investigations occur in cases ranging from embezzlement, to falsification of financial statements, to suspicious insurance claims. Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide provides all the tools to conduct a fraud investigation, detailing when and how to investigate. This guide takes the professional from the point of opening an investigation, selecting a team, gathering data, and through the entire investigation process. Business executives, auditors, and security professionals will benefit from this book, and companies will find this a useful tool for fighting fraud within their own organizations.

Essential guidance on the new fair value rules for accounting managers, auditors, and fraud investigators Fair Value accounting is emerging as the next prime opportunity for financial statement fraud. Explaining the many complex applications of fair value accounting in the preparation of financial statements, Fair Value Accounting Fraud offers timely guidance on an up-and-coming issue as U.S. and international accounting rules pertaining to the use of fair value accounting continue to change. You'll find discussion of U.S. GAAP and IFRS rules on fair value accounting issues, highlighting the areas most vulnerable to fraud Explanations of 75 categories of fair value accounting fraud schemes Fraud risk checklist that you can put to immediate use Practical detection techniques useful for auditors, investigators and others who rely on financial statements Expert advice from Gerard Zack, CFE, CPA, author of Fraud and Abuse in Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Prevention and Detection Comparing US accounting standards to International Financial Reporting Standards-thereby making this book useful worldwide- Fair Value Accounting Fraud helps you understand the new rules and develop new auditing and investigative techniques to enable you to detect potential fraud.