Fraud is defined as a misrepresentation with intent to deceive. It usually implies lying for a specific gain that causes someone a financial loss. Fraud is a very real and costly problem that sometimes causes not only monetary losses, but also serious injuries and even death.
Fraud in business and government is widespread. Fraud in financial statements was the main reason for the debacles of Enron and WorldCom. New legislation is aimed at preventing fraud and enhancing the ability to catch perpetrators earlier rather than later. The most significant legislation has been the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), designed to improve the confidence of investors with regard to the veracity of corporate financial statements. However, fraud is hard to stop with legislation.
The fraud examiner determines whether fraud has taken place and detects the necessary evidence if fraud has occurred. A fraud examination involves “resolving allegations of fraud from inception to disposition; to obtain evidence, take statements and write reports; to testify to findings; and to assist in the detection and prevention of fraud.”
Most CPAs are not trained properly for the role of fraud examiner and traditional audits can only discover a small portion of the fraud that occurs. Fraud examiners have the required specialized knowledge from the fields of accounting, auditing, law, and criminology. They design procedures to actively look for fraud in an organization, and discover all the evidence to build a case against the perpetrators.
At Fulcrum Inquiry, our Certified Fraud Examiners and forensic accountants are trained in the newest and more sophisticated techniques as they are developed, and are able to provide a unique and creative approach to your case. We utilize computer forensics and other computer technology which allows our work to be more complete, yet at a lower cost.
Fulcrum Inquiry has substantial experience in performing a wide variety of fraud, internal, royalty and outside investigations. Because of this experience, our fraud experts find things that others miss.
See our blog at www.betweenthenumbers.net for current news and commentary.
For more information, see www.fulcrum.com
Articles:
Billions Of Theft From The U.S. Government Could Be Stopped
MF Global Trustee Reports Significant Management Malfeasance
SEC Inspector General Report Shows Incompetence At Best, And Fraudulent Cooperation At Worst
