4 Takeaways from 27th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference

As always, the ACFE Global Fraud Conference delivered a week of learning and networking opportunities to more than 3,000 professionals from approximately 70 countries. From Oscar-winning actor, Richard Dreyfuss, to New York Times investigative journalist, David Barboza, the keynote speakers delivered riveting, informative, and inspirational presentations.

Judge Jed S. Rakoff kicked things off Monday morning sharing his candid views on punishing corporations and individuals. With over 80 unique sessions, we had the opportunity to learn about so many topics. You know the topics are relevant and the presenters are top notch when the presenters attend the conference to learn from others. Finally, the conference concluded with Roomy Khan, convicted fraudster, who was sentenced by Judge Rakoff. Now that’s a full circle if there ever was one!

The following are my top four takeaways from this year’s conference:

• Data is growing by leaps and bounds. I enjoy learning about new tools and techniques for gathering data (e.g., social media), performing analytics (e.g., Arbutus), and summarizing data through visualization (e.g., Tableau). As an example, we leave a trail of breadcrumbs everywhere we use our smartphones and devices, and Echosec is a tool that helps users obtain geographic information based on a variety of search functions. It is amazing how retail websites use our data and predictive data analytics (e.g., amazon.com). However, the majority of companies choose not to advance in this area. There will be great rewards for the ones that choose to harness this powerful asset, and failures and bankruptcies for those that choose to remain complacent.
• Cybercrime is the greatest threat to your business. As mentioned previously, businesses are generating data exponentially, and all of them are relying more and more on technology and connectivity. If a cybercriminal takes any of those three things away (increase in data, enhanced technology and connectivity speed), your business could be closed for who knows how long. I remember when I worked at the movie theater; we had a manual process to follow for selling tickets, food, and drinks if the system went down. We were not as efficient, but we didn’t have to close our doors. I bet most of you reading this blog work for companies that don’t have a back-up plan. If they do, it probably hasn’t been tested for many years. If you are in the healthcare industry, a cyberattack could be the difference between life and death for a patient. For other companies, it could mean confidential data leaks (e.g., law firm hacked by a competitor) or interruption of customer services resulting in mass refunds (e.g., internet or cable provider outage). No matter the type of attack, you must be prepared to respond.
• Body language is changing. There were several presentations on reading body language or non-verbal communications, including one of the keynote speakers, Steve van Aperen. These presentations are always insightful and raise new points. One point that I took away, not that it was explicitly stated by anyone, is the fact that body language and non-verbal communication styles are changing. As an example, if someone doesn’t make meaningful eye contact, it could be an indication of them telling a lie. It seems there are more people today who make less eye contact than when I started my career. Therefore, eye contact may be a little less important during the interview process. Just remember the art of reading body language has not changed—you must benchmark the interviewee’s behaviors to determine normal, and then look for variations from their normal.
• Corporate data analysis group. I have observed financial analysts in other companies, but they are usually loosely organized by operational units and focus on answering questions that are asked by management. However, Erich Heneke leads a small group of data analysts with the Mayo Clinic’s Supply Chain Department. Heneke’s group performs data mining and analysis, but they bring internal audit skills to the group. There is clearly a focus on accuracy of data and results along with evaluating risks and controls. This is a great mixture of skillsets and should be a best practice for financial analysts in the future.

I had an amazing experience at this year’s conference, and I can’t wait to see what’s on the agenda for next year. 

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