In the August blog, I provided you with a homework question.
I asked why the following fraud risk statement would not be included in the scope of your audit work:
“Payroll function causes a payroll payment to be issued in the name of an employee who is not on the human resources database.”
After a series of thought-provoking blogs, I thought it was time to write a practice blog. I hope you find it helpful in your next audit.
So, you want to be a fraud auditor?
I have been practicing as a fraud auditor for over forty years. To be honest, for the first twenty, I did not know I was a fraud auditor. I spent the next twenty refining the practice of fraud auditing. So, this blog is intended to provide you the necessary skill set to become a fraud auditor.
Professional Skepticism: The Power of Fraud Knowledge
In June 2021, I will be speaking at the ACFE virtual conference on the Power of Fraud Knowledge. When I speak at a conference, my process is to select a topic, prepare the presentation, and then prepare to communicate the presentation. To do a good presentation, one should never simply read the slides but rather explain them, illustrate the concepts, explain practical applications, and maintain the audience’s interest. So, why am I telling you this?
Last month I wrote about the Top 100 Corporate Criminal List. So, this month I will write about the most ethical companies. If you are not aware, there is an organization, Ethisphere, that publishes a report each year listing the most ethical companies. I would encourage you to look at the report.
I think it is time for a change in my focus, so this blog will not address our profession directly but rather corporate management. I believe that the concealment of criminal fraud by management is a critical emerging issue that should be top of mind for fraud auditors. Maybe it has always been an issue, but nobody wanted to discuss it.
As you are aware, the auditing standards require an auditor to consider fraud in the conduct of an audit. Depending on the standards you follow, the meaning has different requirements. No, I have no intention of critiquing each standard but rather, I want to critique the phrase “consider fraud”
Before we start on this journey, I need to explain the premise of my blog. I want to explore whether there is business value in an organization incurring the cost of preparing a comprehensive fraud risk assessment.
There is an urgent question that I don’t think has been asked often enough: Is the conventional professional view of fraud risk broad enough to protect companies from both monetary and non-monetary impact associated with internal fraud?
There’s a notion in fraud auditing that the auditor should “think like a thief.” I am going to go out on a ledge and raise the question: Is the idea of thinking like a thief a silly suggestion? I ask you, were raised to think like a thief? Did your parents compliment you on your lying skills? Did your teachers praise you on your ability to cheat on a test? Do you and your associates discuss how to steal from your employer at the lunch table? Certainly, the answer is no!
