Fraud 101: Techniques and Strategies for Understanding Fraud

A straightforward guide explaining the nature of financial fraud Fraud continues to be one of the fastest growing and most costly crimes in the United States and around the world. The more an organization can learn about fraud in general and the potential fraud risks that threaten the financial stability of the organization's cash flow, the better that organization will be equipped to design and implement measures to prevent schemes from occurring in the first place. Fraud 101, Third Edition serves as an enlightening tool for you, whether you are a business owner or manager, an accountant, auditor or college student who needs to learn about the nature of fraud. In this invaluable guide, you will discover and better understand the inner workings of numerous financial schemes and internal controls to increase your awareness and possibly prevent fraud from destroying your organization's financial stability. It offers guidance, understanding, and new, real-world case studies on the major types of fraud, including * An understanding of why fraud is committed * An overview of financial fraud schemes * White-collar crime * Uncovering employee embezzlements * Establishing internal fraud controls * The nature of collecting evidence With case studies included throughout the book to gain insight to the real world of fraud, Fraud 101, Third Edition describes the features of fraud and then provides proven methods of prevention, as well as solutions to expose different types of fraud.

Stephen Pedneault, CPA, CFF, CFE, is the founder and Principal of Forensic Accounting Services LLC, a CPA firm located in Glastonbury, Connecticut, specializing in forensic accounting, employee fraud, and litigation support matters. Steve is also the author of the forthcoming Wiley title, Anatomy of a Fraud Investigation. He has written numerous articles appearing in local and national media and is a contributor to Fraud Casebook: Lessons from the Bad Side of Business (Wiley). For more information about Stephen Pedneault, go to Preface. Acknowledgments. Introduction. CHAPTER 1 The World of Fraud. Definition of Fraud. The Many Types of Fraud. CHAPTER 2 Why Is Fraud Committed? A Rationalizing Society. Financial Statement Fraud. Financial Fraud Comes in Different Shapes and Sizes. Motivators Differ by Type of Business. Employee Schemes. In the End. CHAPTER 3 Financial Statement Fraud Schemes. Where Do Things Go Wrong? Trend Analysis. Beyond Traditional Audits. CHAPTER 4 Employee Embezzlements. The Fraud Triangle. Areas for Concern. CHAPTER 5 Other Fraud Schemes. Duplicate Payment Fraud. Multiple Payee Fraud. Shell Fraud. Defective Delivery Fraud. Defective Receipt Fraud. Defective Shipment Fraud. Defective Pricing Fraud. CHAPTER 6 Contract Rigging Schemes. Stage One: Obtaining the Contract. Stage Two: Contract Change Orders. Unbalanced Bidding. Detection Recommendations. Rotation Fraud. Where Do We Go from Here? CHAPTER 7 Responses to Fraud. Government's Response to Fraud. Accounting Profession's Response to Fraud. Internal Audit Profession's Response to Fraud. New Credentials, More Training, Better Awareness. Articles, Books, and More Resources. CHAPTER 8 The Importance of Internal Controls and Internal Audit. Why Have Internal Controls? Déjá Vu. Good Internal Controls. Internal Audit. CHAPTER 9 Evidence. What Is Evidence? Documentation. CHAPTER 10 Conducting Fraud Investigations: A Practical Approach. Proactive Fraud Investigations. Discovery Investigations. Supportive Investigations. Strategy. Predication. The Investigative Plan. Conducting the Procedures. Findings. Use of the Findings. CHAPTER 11 Fraud Investigation Alternatives. Assessing the Feasibility of a Full Investigation. Monitoring Operational Areas at Risk of Fraud. Revamping Internal Controls: Closing the Barn Door. Doing Nothing? APPENDIX A Vending Lessons Learned. APPENDIX B Living a Facade Prevention Techniques. APPENDIX C Disappearing Inventory. Internal Controls. Index.