International Fraud Awareness Week - What do you Need to Know?

The ACFE, in conjunction with an impressive list of supporting organizations, is promoting “International Fraud Awareness Week” this week (November 13th – 19th).

Why, might you say, is this important?

Because fraud is a risk every business faces. In fact, according to the ACFE Report to the Nations, on average, businesses lose 5% of their gross revenues to fraud.

In my upcoming book The Thief In Your Company (look for it in January 2017),I explain that no organization is immune from the risk of fraud. From the smallest of companies to large publicly traded ones, from non-profits to government entities – fraud risk is real.

There are several contributing factors to clients who experience fraud, and they include:

·        An “It Can’t Happen Here” attitude
·        Implicit trust of employees
·        Little to no oversight over financial transactions
·        Lack of timely or accurate financial reporting

Every single one of my clients is shocked when fraud occurs in their organization. They simply cannot believe it to be true. They believe they are immune from this ever happening to them.

Take it from my client, a local hospital foundation. Earlier this year, their long-time Executive Director was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars by misusing the foundation’s credit cards. This woman was a rising star in the community, someone who had contributed to successful fundraising campaigns for the foundation, and who was a beloved mother and friend.

Her fraud was uncovered by accident when a new assistant, who inadvertently intercepted and opened the mail, discovered questionable charges on the foundation’s credit card.

The monetary losses of the organization did not stop when the fraud was uncovered. The foundation has suffered with declining contributions as a result. And we have not begun to discuss the emotional impacts of the crime on the board members, the employees of the hospital and its foundation, and on many members of the local community.

The impacts of fraud go beyond the loss of money.  The heartbreak is palpable.

Whether your organization is large or small, there are simple, yet effective, steps you can take to mitigate your fraud risk.

The ACFE has a great infographic on actionable items to address fraud risk.

A few additional points come to mind:

1.    First, you have to Look

The #1 fraud schemes are fraudulent disbursement schemes. Simply put, your money is in the bank and your employee uses those funds to benefit themselves. The best way to uncover these frauds includes a simple step each month, which I’m finding more and more organizations neglect. Namely, a thorough review of:

                                         i.   Bank statements and cancelled check images

                                        ii.   Credit card statements

                                       iii.   Payroll reports

2.    Pay attention to the numbers…and your gut

My clients often tell me that “something wasn’t quite right”. Or, “I kept getting information that was inaccurate or late”. A doctor client of mine explained to me that he was seeing more patients and thinking about hiring another practitioner, yet he was taking less and less money home. His office manager was stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from him.

All of my clients had “bad bookkeeping” and/or a “gut feeling”, but they never obtained supporting documentation to figure out the source of the problems.

3.    Leave the door open

There are likely others in your organization who know when something isn’t right. They may even know about a specific scheme or suspect an individual. Whistleblowers must overcome immense internal and external hurdles to find the courage to come forward. Typically, it is because the fraudster is the most well-liked or trusted person in the organization. Or, the fraudster is concerned about backlash or jeopardizing their job. Or, they simply don’t believe they will be believed.

Talk about the importance of whistleblowers in your organization. Celebrate when those people come forward with new ideas or innovations, and follow through when they provide a tip regarding a problem.



In my office, every week is “fraud week” – we have no shortage of fraud cases we’re working on at any given time, and new cases come in quite regularly these days.

It is my hope that International Fraud Awareness Week will be successful in doing what it sets out to do, creating awareness on the topic of fraud and fraud risk. Take a few simple steps today to talk to your board members, colleagues, management, and staff on this topic. Assess controls in key areas. Implement a hotline. Call your bank and get those statements and check images returned to you each month. Ask questions about those financial reports and request the source documents that back up some of those numbers.

Take your newfound awareness and use it to create the change necessary to reduce fraud risk in your organization.

Tiffany Couch, CPA/CFF, CFE is the founder and Principal of Acuity Forensics, a forensic accounting firm located in the Pacific Northwest. She is currently the Chairwoman of the ACFE Board of Regents and is the author of the upcoming book, The Thief in Your Company. 

Good Guys vs. Bad Guys

This article was originally published in Fraud Magazine - March/April 2015 issue.

“I love getting bad guys — I think that would be so fun to do with you!” said the prospective job applicant sitting across from me. I’d just asked her why she would want to come to work for my firm.

I considered my next move carefully. “Tell me how you would feel about working for one of those bad guys,” I said. The furrowed brow and crook of her neck indicated that she was perplexed. I obliged her. “Well, in this office we work for white-collar criminals, tax evaders and people sometimes perceived as the ‘bad guys.’ So how would you feel about that?” I asked. I then sat back to observe what her verbal and nonverbal cues would be (I practice my interviewing skills any chance I get, don’t you?). She was suddenly parched, swallowed multiple times and took a deep breath before answering, “I didn’t think you would ever do such a thing. I mean, I guess, well … I always thought of you as someone who worked for the good guys.”

I didn’t hire the applicant.

I had a similar conversation with a fraud examiner over lunch during a recent speaking engagement. She clearly was frustrated by her clients who chose not to prosecute their alleged fraudsters. She told the group at our table about a couple of prosecutions that had resulted in the alleged fraudster “only having to do community service and a small amount of restitution.” She was physically and emotionally upset about these outcomes. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked, “Why does this bother you so much?” She explained that she had put so much work into these cases and it wasn’t “fair” or “right” that these people avoided more formal or significant punishment for their alleged crimes.

I gently reminded her that it wasn’t our job to exact punishment. Most importantly, our own ACFE Code of Professional Ethics expressly prohibits us from opining on a person’s guilt or innocence. She acknowledged this, but I pressed further. How many defense cases have you worked? The reaction from her was similar to my job applicant. “None!” she said. “I don’t see how I could ever defend someone who had committed a fraud!”

Encounters such as these aren’t uncommon. Admittedly, they’re delicate conversations — often ones that those of us in private practice discuss in private.

ACFE training is unlike any other. If you want to be a fraud examiner, there’s no better place to get your education, training and credential (and I don’t say this just because I’m an ACFE faculty member and member of the Board of Regents). However, the training applies to both sides. In my own private practice, there’s plenty of room and good reason to work defense cases. In fact, the work is similar no matter what side you’re working on.

If you’re considering how or whether to take on defense cases, read on.

Consider your ability to be impartial

Discovering “why” you’re doing your job is important (it certainly makes going to work every day easier). A predisposition to “get” a bad guy can be a detriment in a case and can place blinders on a fraud examiner who might see questionable documentation as a crime — when in fact it’s only red flags of fraud. Zealotry could lead to unnecessary work, false accusations, inaccurate employment-related decisions and potential liability, which can then harm the client or others.    

Consider a recent case of mine. A woman (I’ll call her Betty) had worked 30 years as the office manager for my client’s medical practice. A new physician-partner in the group was trying to get up to speed, so he asked Betty for bank records, financial statements and other standard documents. She refused. An office-sized firestorm ensued. Doctors took sides, and accusations flew among staff members even though they didn’t yet have any real information.

I walked into the perfect climate for possible fraud: A long-term trusted office manager who never took vacations and who was now refusing to provide simple financial documents.

My interviews discovered that Betty was the sole person responsible for billing insurance companies and patients, collecting funds and taking them to the bank, writing checks, reconciling the bank account, processing payroll and managing the financials. Sounds familiar? Surely I would find fraud, right?

We scoured the bank statements, canceled checks and payroll records. We didn’t find any fraudulent disbursement schemes. We searched the billing system and analyzed customer credits. Betty had supported them with appropriate documentation. We traced funds to the bank with no exceptions. After all that, we still didn’t find fraud.

We recommended stopping the investigation, but the medical practice asked us to keep going back further. More records, more expense but still no fraud.

When I finally talked to Betty, she said she had “hurt feelings” when the new physician began asking questions. Why wouldn’t he trust her when she’d worked there for so long and gave all of herself to her job? However, I gently reminded Betty that her sole custody of these funds meant that she was unsafe in her job, and any missing money would point to her. Betty’s demeanor changed immediately, and she was suddenly ready to start offloading some of her responsibilities.

We didn’t take this job as a true defense engagement, but our work resulted in effectively clearing someone who was “on the defense” against potential criminal allegations.

Fraud examiner’s role

As fraud examiners, our roles are the same in plaintiffs’ or defendants’ cases: We’re fact finders. We conduct interviews, examine documents, identify evidence, prepare reports, and, yes, even work on obtaining confessions.

I’ll never forget the first time a defense attorney called me. My firm was new and I, too, thought my role was to go after “the bad guys.” A call from a new attorney, Steve, changed all of that. His client was accused of taking nearly $10 million from a publicly traded company. She was looking at significant jail time. I wrongly assumed he was calling to ask me to “defend her” (i.e. find some angle or story to get the charges dropped). I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Ms. Couch, I need help here. The government is telling me she’s taken millions. My client is telling me she didn’t, and it can all be explained. I don’t know who to believe.”

Admittedly, the government’s case was terrible. The feds’ work-up of the case was cumbersome and confusing. The CPA firm that’d originally handled the case hadn’t prepared a written report. I accepted the case, and Steve’s client became my client.

I traced millions of dollars of the public company’s funds into our client’s account. I told Steve the facts — what had happened and how. I had no plausible explanation for these funds being in this account. Amazingly, I worked with our client (the defendant) to confess and admit to her wrongdoing. Steve then could negotiate a plea deal with the government. Our client went to prison for many years. And since then, the attorney has brought or referred countless cases to us .

Communicate your role

Some attorneys will want to pay you to testify to certain positions early in cases. Run away. Fast. Not only do I disengage from these matters, I refuse future calls from these people. Clients pay us for our expertise and our time. They don’t pay us for our opinions or for “prescribed” testimony.

Testimony is based on facts and work performed. You don’t need to worry if cases are for “plaintiffs” or “defendants” when you’re clear in your role and responsibilities and you’re able to communicate that role via your engagement letters and in meetings with your clients. You only need to be concerned that you have the resources to perform the work well.

Bias

For those of us in private practice, we also have a business reason to take on cases from “both sides.” Opposing counsel is going to immediately question your credentials and experience to see if you’re working for “our side” or the “other.” He’s going to try to infer a perception of bias. But he can’t do that if you have had a healthy balance of clients who are plaintiffs and defendants.

Working for the defense can help you construct better plaintiffs’ cases. You’ll better understand your work, the necessity for simpler and easily comprehended reports, and that all findings need to be documented with evidence.

The ‘why’ of my job

In the decade I’ve had the privilege of calling myself a Certified Fraud Examiner, I’ve discovered my “why”: I work hard for my clients — whether plaintiffs or defendants — who trust me to assist them through what can be the most difficult times in their lives and who thank me for support and expertise.

When we’re able to take complex and confusing information and turn it into clear and concise deliverables, then our clients are able to make educated decisions. When a client thanks you for doing that, you can’t receive a better compliment.

Taking the leap to start your business

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to start your own fraud examination practice? To be your own boss? To be free to take the reins on a case? Perhaps you’re already a self-employed fraud examiner, and you’re looking for ideas on how to find balance in your life.  Or perhaps you’re looking for ideas on how to find clients. If so, I hope my experience and advice will help you on your journey.

In 2007, with a promising career at a well-known firm ahead of me, I thought I was set. Visions of partnership and my own (corner) office danced in my head! What I couldn’t foresee were the changes taking place that forced me to stand up for my ethics and change my definition of success.  I had plenty of employment offers — many from other prestigious accounting firms — but I found myself at a crossroads. Building a practice for another firm seemed daunting, at best.

I discussed it with my spouse, who said, “If you don’t start your own business now, you may never get another chance.” “Who, me? A business owner?! The one who plays it safe, who has a plan? Who isn’t, by nature, a big risk taker? Yeah, right!” The idea was as farfetched as my flying to the international space station.

But, nearly seven years after that conversation, that’s exactly who I am. A business owner operating a thriving forensic accounting (fraud investigation and litigation support) practice.

While the practice has grown exponentially over the last several years, it hasn’t been easy. I’ve learned several important lessons along the way, which I will share here.

Take time to plan

A quote by an unknown author says it all: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Planning your business takes time and energy. And planning is not a one-time effort culminating in a static document.

At a minimum, plan your budget. Consider costs such as business insurance, professional liability insurance, taxes and licensure. If you intend to immediately secure office space, be certain to factor in the cost of rent, leasehold improvements and utilities of the new space.

Research professional fee rates in your area, and price yourself in a median range. Take your minimum budget requirements, divide it by your set hourly rate and you’ll have the minimum number of hours you’ll need to bill clients and generate revenue.

But don’t stop there. You’ll need to factor in at least 30 percent more time for running your business. Marketing, billing and other administrative tasks will devour more time than you can imagine. This is work that doesn’t generate revenue but is crucial to running a successful business.

Regularly take time to evaluate your plan and measure it up to your reality. Rework as necessary.

Don’t navigate waters alone

If you’re a fraud examiner you need the skills of an accountant, a psychologist, an attorney and a technical writer (to name just a few). Realistically, most of us don’t come to the table with all of these skills. For example, I’m a CPA. Before I was exposed to fraud and litigation work at a big firm, I could tell you about preparing tax returns and performing financial statement audits but nothing about writing a fraud examination report.

Perhaps you have a background in law enforcement with excellent investigative and interviewing skills, but you’re unsure of the accounting-related facets of an engagement. Whatever the case, don’t attempt to offer services or skills that you don’t possess. You don’t have to be everything to everyone. (Remember the third point in the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics: “A Certified Fraud Examiner … will accept only assignments for which there is reasonable expectation that the assignment will be completed with professional competence.”

Much of my success has come from putting together teams of professionals who offer complementary skills. It’s not uncommon for me to be engaged on a matter and subsequently contract with a computer forensic specialist, a business valuation expert or a private investigator with more interrogation skills.

Stick to what you know and do it well. Team up with other professionals in your area. You will find that they, in turn, will remember you next time they need your specific skills.

Communication is key

Client communication at our firm starts with a robust engagement letter. This letter communicates the type of service to be performed, document retention, fee schedules, billing and payment agreements and dispute resolution. We don’t perform any work until the client (and its attorney, if applicable) executes this engagement letter.

Communicating and understanding expectations is key to any successful engagement. Not all clients (or their attorneys) are the same. Some attorneys loathe email communication as it relates to their client’s matter; others use it as the only means of communication. One client might want a full written report of investigation when you’ve completed your assignment; others may only want an oral report. It’s imperative to understand your client’s wants and needs up front to ensure you understand what the end goal looks like.

Communicating about fees can be difficult for some, but it’s imperative for cash flow. A common fee issue is when an estimated budget clearly isn’t going to be sufficient for the amount of work necessary to do a job well. You’ll know this is the case when you’ve spent one-half of the client’s money, but you’re not nearly halfway through the work. When this happens, stop working. We call a timeout and contact our client. We explain the nature of the issue (perhaps it’s a lack of documents, or we’re finding more than we first expected) and ensure there’s an agreement for further funds. Or, we give the client options for a different scope of service. Communicating with your client at all times during the engagement helps to ensure that you’re meeting their expectations and they’re honoring their obligations.

Pick your head up

Unlike a traditional tax or accounting practice, a fraud examiner doesn’t have the luxury of annuity work. It can easily be feast or famine. Just when I’m convinced that no work will ever come through the door again, numerous potential clients will call me or dormant cases will fire up again.

So, when there’s work to be done and we’re being paid by the hour, we often put our heads down, pencils up and charge forward. However, losing yourself in your work can ultimately damage your practice. You have to find time in your day to do some sort of marketing. Take a local attorney to lunch, write a newsletter or schedule yourself to speak at a professional networking function. Consistent, frequent and targeted marketing (even when you’re busy with client work) helps to ensure your pipeline will always be full.

Cash is king

You’d think a CPA would have cash flow down to a science, but it can be an ongoing struggle, especially with a feast-or-famine practice. But losing the cash-flow worries can be as simple as working on retainer.

Admittedly, it’s not easy to ask someone to pay you money before you’ve even met them or started work. The first time I asked for a retainer, a whopping $1,000, I prepared myself for the refusal, or worse — the potential client walking away from the engagement. So, I was surprised when he pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check immediately! We hold client retainers in a separate account until we’ve earned the money. We then transfer the funds to our operating account for paying bills immediately. Another way to manage cash flow is to bill clients weekly, semimonthly or immediately when we complete an engagement.

We’ve made it a practice to stop working if retainers haven’t been replenished, or if monthly invoices aren’t paid by the tenth day of the month. We communicate this clearly in our engagement letters, and sometimes we’ll stop work on a case. It’s funny how the money arrives in the mailbox when you cease working. Don’t waste your time or talent on clients unwilling to pay you.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

Building a client base does not happen overnight. We’ve cultivated a successful practice by making clients happy — one at a time. Happy clients tell others about you. Cultivate your own satisfied clients by knowing your strengths, planning for your future and communicating clearly and often. Success may not look like the dream of the corner office you once had in your head. However, perhaps, like me, you’ll find that the reality of entrepreneurship is better than any dream you could imagine.

Published in Fraud Magazine, September/October 2014 Issue

Knowing When to Walk Away... and When to Run

Tiffany was recently interviewed for an article in The Fraud Examiner, the online newsletter for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

July 2014

By Scott Patterson, CFE

You have been toiling for months on a case and you know where the evidence is leading. The satisfaction of solving the puzzle and unraveling the trail of fraud is what a fraud examiner lives for. As you present your findings to your client and discuss the need to dig further into certain clues and red flags, this is your moment.

Yet, the meeting turns … strange. Your client seems to either not hear, or not understand, what you are telling him. Finally, it becomes clear: Your client wants you to stop pulling on the thread you have been unraveling, and put your attention elsewhere. Despite your protests, and the evidence you have gathered, your client wants you to firmly shut that door.

It is a dilemma that would put any fraud examiner in a bind. You know there is more to the story, but the client who writes your check is telling you, in no uncertain terms, the scope of your job – and how to do it. Which stones to turn, and which are off-limits.

While it may be difficult to do, the best decision when your work is being compromised is to disengage from the client. That’s what ACFE faculty member Tiffany Couch, CFE, CPA, CFF, has had to do more than once. In a recent interview with the ACFE, Couch discussed uncomfortable situations in which she had to make the choice to leave business behind, and keep her ethics – and reputation as a CFE – intact.

“I’ve had a few ethical dilemmas in my career,” Couch said. “Most recently, I was working for a city, and I’d been there for a very long time, six to eight months, off and on.  And … I was noticing that the client was at risk in certain other areas – areas that they had not communicated to me about.

“But because of my proximity … I could see what was going on,” Couch said. “I went to the city council, and I said: ‘You’ve got a problem here.’”

'Being Too Fussy'

After sharing her insight with the council, Couch immediately received pushback – from none other than the city’s mayor.

“The mayor called me into his office, shut the door, and said: ‘You’re being too fussy. You are here only to do your job. And your job is not to tell us – or to be looking at – these other things.’”

Couch, nonplussed with the mayor’s response, soon found herself in an argument. She explained to the mayor: “Now you’re asking me not to do my job, because my job is to tell you everything that I see. Whether or not you agree, if it’s my opinion that it’s a problem, and I’m concerned, I have to communicate that to you – and the rest of your fellow city council members.

“And [the mayor] said, ‘No, you’re not going to do that.’”

That was that. With Couch convinced she could not effectively do her job, she decided that afternoon to disengage from her client, the city. And while the choice was clear, she said that having to just walk away from months of work was difficult to do.

'Am I Hearing You Right?'

Sometimes, you might be put to an ethical decision before you are even hired. Couch recalls a situation where she was a lock for a big job, “a six-figure case, easy,” that would provide a long period of work. “It was a fraud investigation … It was just really going to be fun,” she said.

Unfortunately, her first meeting with the potential client’s attorney raised red flags right off the bat.  According to Couch, the attorney told her that the client was being accused of various wrongdoings … and he further told her that “we have all of these documents, and here’s what happened.  And here’s how I’m going to explain it. And I want you to testify. I want to make sure that you testify that all of this was reasonable and okay.”

Couch was shocked. “This was at the first meeting before I’ve even looked at any documents,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Did I hear him right?’

“So, I asked a few other questions, and I could clearly understand what he was saying. And he was looking at me and saying: ‘I want you to testify the way I want you to testify – so that my client will not be in trouble.’”

Her integrity on the line, Couch walked away from the opportunity.

“That night the associate called and she said: ‘You had the case, Tiffany.’ And I said: ‘Yes, I know I had the case.’ And she said: ‘Why did you not take it?’

“Because he was telling me how he wanted me to testify before I even looked at a single document,” Couch said. “And I’m never going to be known as the expert who can be paid for her opinion. You pay me for my time, my opinion is my own.”

Such a statement serves as an important reminder for all fraud examiners. Your opinion is your own – along with your integrity and reputation. Taking the ethical route is not always about accepting the right engagements. It also means knowing the ones from which to walk away.

Combating Fraud

Want more tips to prevent fraud? We've got them!
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has published simple steps any organization can take to identify and effectively manage potentially costly fraud losses:

1. Be proactive. 

Establish and maintain internal controls specifically designed to prevent and detect fraud. Adopt a code of ethics for management and employees. Set a tone at the top that the company will not tolerate any unethical behavior. 

 

2. Establish hiring procedures. 

Every company, regardless of size, can benefit from formal employment guidelines. When hiring staff, conduct thorough background investigations. Check educational, credit and employment history, as well as references. After hiring, incorporate evaluation of the employee's compliance with company ethics and antifraud programs into regular performance reviews. 

3. Train employees in fraud prevention. 

Once carefully-screened employees are on the job, they should be trained in fraud prevention. Are employees aware of procedures for reporting suspicious activity by customers or co-workers? Do workers know the warning signs of fraud? Ensure that staff know at least some basic fraud prevention techniques. 

 

4. Conduct regular audits. 

High risk areas, such as financial or inventory departments, are obvious targets for routine audits. Surprise audits of those and all parts of the business are crucial. 

 

5. Call in an expert. 

For most accounting and law firms, fraud examination is not a core business component. That's why, when fraud is suspected or discovered, it is imperative to enlist the anti-fraud expertise of a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). The CFE credential is recognized by businesses and governments worldwide as the standard for fraud prevention and detection. 

We can help you at Acuity Forensics. Give us a call at 360-573-5158.

Source: http://www.acfe.com/uploadedFiles/ACFE_Website/Content/documents/tips-to-prevent-fraud-2012.pdf

The Fraud Triangle

People often ask about the "basics" of internal fraud. Why it happens and what can be done to prevent it. The easiest way to show this is the Fraud Triangle....

What is Fraud?
Occupational fraud is the use of one's occupation for unauthorized personal gain through deliberate misuse of the employing entity's resources or assets. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) estimates that typical organizations lose 5% of their annual revenues to fraud (2012 ACFE Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud & Abuse).

	Common Pressures: • High Personal Debt • Gambling or Drug Addictions • Personal Crisis • Overworked (fewer people doing more work)
	Common Rationalizations: • I will pay it back when my next paycheck comes in • Everyone else is doing it • I am underpaid and over worked • Just this once...

It's important to note that pressure and rationalization are most often “internal” motivators that are beyond an employer's control. However, the one variable in the fraud triangle that is within the control of owners and management is OPPORTUNITY. Limiting an employee's opportunity through a strong tone at the top, proper internal controls, and oversight can limit losses due to occupational fraud.


How Does Fraud Occur?
Occupational fraud predominantly occurs as:

	Asset Misappropriation: • Comprises over 87% of all cases reported • Theft of Cash • Fraudulent Disbursements • Payroll Schemes • Expense Reimbursement Schemes
	Corruption: • Approximately 33% of all cases reported had elements of corruption schemes • Kickbacks • Bribes • Self-Dealing
	Fraudulent Financial Statements: • Nearly 8% of all cases reported were financial statement fraud schemes • Earnings management • Concealed liabilities • Timing differences • Improper disclosures

How Can Businesses Minimize the Risk of Fraud?
Make your vigilance against fraud front and center. Fraud should be discussed openly and your employees should all be trained on what to look for and pitfalls to avoid. Owners and management are responsible for setting a tone of acceptable behavior. Additionally, an anonymous tip line to report fraudulent activity is always a good idea.

Internal Controls Best Practices:   Have bank statements AND cancelled checks mailed to the business owners home. Review the bank statement for unauthorized withdrawals; review the front and back of each check to ensure they represent authorized business payments.   Segregate duties and make sure they stay segregated, even in periods of downsizing.   Perform unexpected "audits" on payments - demand backup documentation and reviews throughout the year.   Cash business? Verify cash is listed on the top of bank deposit slips and that deposit slip totals match bank statement totals.   Perform annual reviews of vendors and service providers to ensure they are legitimate.

What Should be Done When Fraud is Suspected? 
If you suspect fraud or have received information that alleges fraud has occurred, contact legal counsel for your company, notify the local authorities, and review your insurance policy to fully understand the benefits of your coverage. You may not realize it, but your insurance may cover a portion of the loss and in some cases, the cost to investigate the loss event and establish the loss amount.

Next, contact us! We can perform an independent investigation, quantify the loss, and professionally document the event. We will work with you (or your clients) to be a seamless member of your team.