Investigation

Minding your own business: Preventing payroll fraud with internal controls

Small businesses are particularly susceptible to payroll fraud, and they can go under as a result. Here’s a story about a controller who used many tricks in the books to rob a medical practice and some lessons on how to detect and avoid such scams.

Investigating the investigators, no profit in tragedy for identity thieves and more

Timothy Pikas, CFE

Reflecting on Enron and lessons learned

When I first started teaching fraud at the university level about 20 years ago, I had no idea that I was about to be handed a case study like no other. A few months later the now-infamous accounting scandal at Enron hit the headlines, and the once-celebrated energy firm collapsed in disgrace soon thereafter.

Adjusting to a new reality

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work and provided an opportunity for fraudsters to scam the populace like never before. The ACFE Board of Regents looks back on its experiences and provides advice on how to fight fraud in this post-coronavirus landscape.

Revamp controls now to battle burgeoning synthetic ID fraud

Fraudsters combine stolen personally identifiable information from many different individuals to create dangerous Frankenstein identities. Guard against this growing insidious fraud and protect the IDs of your customers.

New mission, same focus: Interview with Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York

Preet Bharara speaks about lessons learned, the outlook for new insider trading rules under the Biden administration, the challenges of overseeing COVID-relief funds, the difficulties of investigating Ponzi schemes and much more.

Calibrate your professional skepticism: How to modulate your skepticism threshold to better spot red flags

An auditor applied the correct level of skepticism and uncovered the largest government misappropriation, $6.9 million, in Washington state’s history. Here’s how the team investigated the crime, and how you can modulate your skepticism threshold to better spot red flags and evidence that otherwise might have remained hidden.

Game-changing digital background checks and asset searches

Fraud examiners understand the importance of knowing whom you’re doing business with. From compliance and due diligence to investigative asset tracing, solid background-checking skills are key tools for CFEs. But beyond traditional methods, new techniques are emerging to greatly enhance business transparency — and some may surprise you.

Wasted opportunities: Find and investigate waste now

Investigators and auditors spend hours looking for fraud and abuse but often overlook the third bad boy: waste. Fraud is flashy, and abuse is sinister. But waste often gets a short shrift. These CFEs encourage us to look for waste so we can save our organizations millions during these lean times.