The Examiner – Insights on Fighting Financial Fraud

As we continue to share what we learned from our Special Investigative Unit (SIU) counterparts, we will dive deeper into the subject of resources, which I mentioned in last week’s post. Resources are an essential component to helping us meet goals.

Fraud is a risk to every organization and each one addresses it differently. Some choose to ignore it, while others develop programs to mitigate it. For those with programs, formal or informal, the resources dedicated to the fight vary greatly—which consequently creates large variations in their effectiveness.

This is a quick message to help fuel your fraud fighting efforts. Remember the following ABCs to effectively fight fraud:

This week I will begin my 44^th year of life. Birthdays are milestones that induce reflection, especially as we get older. I look back at what I have accomplished and look forward to the years ahead. From the past, I can glean nuggets of knowledge and wisdom from my shortcomings and accomplishments. By looking into the future, I can dream about what can be. It is a place to find inspiration and destinations.

When internal controls breakdown, an organization’s risk of fraud increases significantly. A few years ago, we helped a financial institution identify “an issue.”

On the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve, we buy fireworks to celebrate the holidays. It's fun for the whole family. Some enjoy throwing small snap pops to the ground, while others enjoy lighting smaller firecrackers to set off small blasts, and everyone loves watching the colors explode in the night sky. It's amazing that I am not deathly afraid of fireworks.

In today’s world and in this line of work, I often wonder whether I am the only person who really cares about fighting for integrity and holding people accountable for their actions. So I was super excited to attend my first ACFE Global Fraud Conference last month and be surrounded for several days by over 3,000 fraud fighting professionals.

The ACFE’s Global Fraud Conference is the best place I’ve found to gain technical knowledge, which helps me develop ideas related to recognizing emerging future fraud risks. It also provides me with a boost of positive energy to fuel my passion to fight fraud. The following are key takeaways from this year’s conference:

With the exhibitors gone and the conference wrapping up, the final day is always bittersweet. This is my last blog from Nashville and includes highlights from day three of the ACFE’s 28^th Annual Global Fraud Conference:

With a tropical system threatening the Gulf Coast, we haven’t noticed it here. The conference is perfect just like Nashville’s weather. The following are a few highlights from day two of the ACFE’s 28^th Annual Global Fraud Conference: