Fraud & Forensics: Times are changing…are we?

Most of you are familiar with the CSI shows on television. And you have read articles on fraud examiners catching the Madoff’s of the world lately, but most of you don’t know the process forensic accountants, fraud examiners, and law enforcement go through to quantify or qualify the information for their clients and the court. It’s not a glamorous process and it doesn’t happen in sixty minutes let alone sixty days. It’s a tedious and detail oriented process that requires pulling hundreds if not thousands of bits of information into one historical reference, and the process has been in place for a very long time. But Dylan was right, times they are a-changing.

The recent shifts in technology have made the amount of data exponential, and this means the time to manage and analyze have also become exponential. Cases now span years instead of months. Imagine an embezzlement case over five years with one hundred clients and their historical information. So how do you provide your clients with a work product using what I call the F.E.E. principle: Focused, Efficient & Effective?

In my usual internet nosing around I found this article “Follow the Money – Find the Fraud” by Tracy L Coenen, at Sequence Inc from the Wisconsin Law Journal, written by Tracy Coenen, CPA, CFF in June of this year. It’s a article about how we each must consider the complexity of our case. What are we faced with? How can we wade through mounds of documents and data and deceptive efforts to get to the facts and then put all of that into a format that educates the facts to both judge and jury. I think this article will help you ponder this thought and hopefully consider some new ideas. There is a lot out there to choose from, but in the end it is about the truth and the best and most efficient way to get to that truth. Facts speak loud, but they rarely shout ‘here I am’.

I would also like to add that technology does NOT replace the ability to interview and investigate, but it does allow us to more efficiently get to the facts to build a case and prepare that case for litigation. Remember, fraud examination and forensic accounting is not about technology it’s about the truth of the situation; the prima facie evidence necessary to present a case if you choose to go to trial.

TIP: CFF means Certified in Financial Forensics – see link above.