Fraud & Embezzlement: Case Studies from the Trenches

Overview

Governmental entities are the second largest victims of embezzlement. This seminar examines recent events involving theft of public money and circumstances that allowed the fraud to occur. Case studies we examine include the 2012 $54 million embezzlement from the City of Dixon by Rita Crundwell. The events that impacted the small Illinois town of 16,000 residents was the largest governmental fraud case to date, and spanned an astonishing 20 years. This remarkable story inspired an award-winning documentary, Æ’?oAll the QueenÆ’?Ts Horses.Æ’?? We will also examine factors that led to scandals involving the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, World Com, Collin Street Bakery and the Ohio American Cancer Society, among others. This course is ideal for CPAs, government finance personnel, all Internal Auditors, lawyers, governance professionals, accountants and human resource personnel. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives

By the end of this course, the participant will be able to...

• Understand the factors that create an environment for fraud to easily occur.
• Identify areas where there could be an inadvertent failure to separate duties.
• Ascertain the proper role of an external auditor and identify areas where independence can be compromised.

Highlights

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:

• How organizations can find themselves defrauded due to lax oversight and weak internal controls.
• How the existence of the Æ’?otrusted advisorÆ’?? creates situations where CPAs can drop their professional skepticism.
• Illustrations of the issues companies should look for in preventing fraud and embezzlement.