Category Archives: Engagement Planning

And the Cash Flows On

Posted by on June 17, 2019 Comments Off on And the Cash Flows On

As a fraud examiner and information systems auditor, I’ve always been a big fan of the cash flow statement and I think you should be too. For the non-accountant investigators among you, the cash flow statement reveals what happened to the client’s cash during the reporting period. It’s very much like your bank account statement: You have a beginning balance of cash at the start of the month, you deposit your paycheck, you write some checks for your mortgage and groceries, and then you end the month with a new cash balance. This is what a cash flow statement is: simply a beginning balance of cash, plus or minus some cash transactions, to arrive at an ending cash balance.

Another way to view the cash flow statement is as an income statement that is adjusted for non-cash transactions and transactions that have not yet impacted cash. Non-cash transactions are transactions that affect the income statement but will never affect cash. Depreciation is a non-cash transaction that is added back to profits on the cash flow statement since cash is never paid out or collected when an asset is depreciated. The cash flow statement also clarifies transactions that immediately impact cash. A company can make a sale but not collect on it, or incur an expense and not immediately pay for it in cash. These are called accounts receivable and accounts payable, respectively. Revenues that are earned but not received and expenses that are incurred but not paid would show up on the income statement, but not on the cash flow statement. So the formula for the statement is simply …

Beginning Cash Balance
+I- Net Cash Flows from Operating Activities
+I- Net Cash Flows from Investing Activities
+I- Net Cash Flows from Financing Activities
= Ending Cash Balance

There are two methods of reporting cash flows from operations; in the direct method, the sources of operating cash flows are listed along with the uses of operating cash flows, with the difference between them being the net cash flow from operating activities. In contrast, the indirect method reconciles net income per the income statement with net cash flows from operating activities; that is, accrual-basis net income is adjusted for non-cash revenues and expenses to arrive at net cash flows from operations. The net cash flows from operating activities is the same amount regardless of which method is used. The indirect method is usually easier to compute and provides a comparison of the company’s operating results under the accrual and cash methods of accounting. As a result, most companies choose to use the indirect method, but either method is acceptable.

So what does all this provide as a tool for the fraud examiner? Simply, the cash flow statement provides any CFE with lots of neat information for further analysis in a very compact form. First of all, the statement tells you what the company’s cash receipts and cash payments were for the period. Remember that it’s unlike the income statement in that the income statement takes into account all revenue and expense transactions, whether or not they affected cash. The cash flow statement only considers transactions that involve cash.

The cash flow statement divides the company’s cash transactions into three categories:

• Operating activities, which include all cash received and paid out in connection with the company’s normal business operations, such as cash received from customers and funds paid to vendors. This category essentially encompasses any cash transactions that affect items on the income statement.
• Investing activities, which are cash flows related to the sale or purchase of non-current assets, such as fixed assets, intangible assets, and investments. This category generally covers those cash transactions that affect the asset side of the balance sheet.
• Financing activities, which are all cash inflows and outflows pertaining to the company’s debt and equity financing. Inflows include the proceeds received from issuing stocks and bonds and from borrowing money from a bank. Outflows include debt repayments and cash dividends paid to shareholders. In general, this category includes the cash transactions that affect the liabilities and owners’ equity side of the balance sheet.

In a perfect world, a company should only need loans when it has a timing problem between collecting and spending money or when it’s expanding. However, if a company expends more money than it will ever make, it will eventually go out of business. This is where the cash flow statement is so useful to the fraud examiner. You will want to get an idea of the cash flow necessary to run the business so that you will be able to tell whether the company is generating enough cash from operations to continue to do business. The examiner can also evaluate the relationship between total cash generated from financing and investing activities and the amount generated by operating activities.

Some things you will want to note from the cash flow statement in connection with any suspected financial fraud:
• Does the company have heavy demands on its operating cash each period?
• Do the inflows equal or exceed the outflows?
• Is the cash balance increasing or decreasing over time?
• Is the company making smart decisions about sources and uses of cash given its apparent financial condition?

This is information pertinent to the investigation of a wide range of fraud scenarios, the successful investigation of which involves different data than that commonly available in the income statement. The income statement alone does not reveal a complete picture of the company’s financial health, necessary for a full investigation of so many types of fraud. Evaluating income and cash flows includes considering the timing of items, such as collections of accounts receivable. In the end, a company might have a fabulous looking income statement, but might not have any cash available for operations. This may occur because the revenues recorded on the income statement have not been collected. Remember, as part of doing business, companies usually allow customers to make purchases on credit; this means the companies will collect the cash subsequent to the actual recording of the revenues. For example, a small high-tech manufacturer might have a healthy looking profit on its income statement, but not be able to pay its employees’ salaries. However, the entrepreneurial owners of the company expect all is well, since they think the net income on the income statement to be equal to the amount of cash in the company’s bank account. But, as is often the case, there’s a timing difference between when the company records a sale and when it actually receives the cash from its customers. As a result, the cash balance seldom, if ever, will match the income on the income statement. Other transactions – such as accrued or prepaid expenses, depreciation, and inventory purchases – will also cause a disparity between an organization’s net income and its net cash flows.

The statement of cash flows represents a trove of invaluable information that can cast light on virtually every aspect of a client’s financial health and, thus inform any investigation. Use it to your advantage.

Another Sold Out Event!

Posted by on May 19, 2019 Comments Off on Another Sold Out Event!

 

 

 

 

Our Chapter wants to extend its formal thanks to our partners, national ACFE and the Virginia State Police, but especially to our event attendees who made this year’s May training event a resounding, sold-out success! As the rave attendee evaluations revealed, How to Testify, was one of our best received sessions ever!

Our presenter, Hugo Holland, CFE, JDD, brought his vast courtroom experience as a prosecutor and nationally recognized litigator to bear in communicating every aspect of a complex practice area in a down-to-earth comprehensible manner with no sacrifice of vital detail.

As Hugo made clear, there are two basic kinds of testimony. The first is lay testimony (sometimes called factual testimony), where witnesses testify about what they have experienced firsthand and their factual observations. The second kind is expert testimony, where a person who, by reason of education, training, skill, or experience, is qualified to render an expert opinion regarding certain issues at hand. Typically, a fraud examiner who worked on a case will be capable of providing both lay, and potentially, expert testimony based on observations made during the investigation.

Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) and forensic accountants serve two primary roles as experts in forensic matters: expert consultants and expert witnesses. The fraud investigator must always be prepared to serve as an expert witness in court and learning how best to do so is critical for the training of the rounded professional. The expert consultant is an independent fraud examiner/accounting contractor who provides expert opinions in a wide array of cases, such as those relating to fraud investigations, divorces, mergers and acquisitions, employee-employer disputes, insurance disputes, and so on. In a fraud case, the CFE could identify and document all fraudulent transactions. This in turn could lead to reaching a plea bargain with a guilty employee. Therefore, the CFE helps solve a problem before any expert trial testimony is needed.

In addition, CFEs and forensic accountants are called upon to provide expert consultation services involving testimony in such areas as:

• Fraud investigations and management.
• Business valuation calculations.
• Economic damage calculations.
• Lost profits and wages.
• Disability income analysis.
• Economic analyses and valuations in matrimonial (prenuptial, postnuptial, and divorce) accounting.
• Adequacy of life insurance.
• Analysis of contract proposals.

Hugo emphasized that the most important considerations at trial for experts are credibility, demeanor, understandability, and accuracy. Credibility is not something that can be controlled in and of itself but is a result of the factors that are under the control of the expert witness. Hugo expounded in greater detail on these and other general guidelines:

• The answering of questions in plain language. Judges, juries, arbitrators, and others tend to believe expert testimony more when they truly understand what the expert says. It is best, therefore, to reduce complicated, technical arguments to plain language.

• The answering of only what is asked. Expert witnesses should not volunteer more than what is asked even when not volunteering more testimony could suggest that the expert’s testimony is giving the wrong impression. It is up to employing counsel to clear up any misimpressions through follow-up questions. That is, it is up to counsel to “rehabilitate” his or her expert witness who appears to have been impeached. That said, however, experienced expert witnesses sometimes volunteer information to protect their testimony from being twisted. Experience is needed to know when and how to do this and Hugo supplied it. Our presenter emphasized repeatedly that the best thing for an inexperienced expert witness to do is to work with experienced employing attorneys who know how to rehabilitate witnesses.

• The maintenance of a steady demeanor. It is important for the expert witness to maintain a steady, smooth demeanor regardless of which questions are asked and which side’s attorney asks them. It is especially undesirable to do something such as assume defensive body language when being questioned by the opposing side.

• Attendees learned how to be friendly and smile at appropriate times. Judges and juries are just people, and it helps to appear as relaxed but professional.

• To remain silent when there is an objection by one of the attorneys. Continue speaking only when instructed to do so.

• Attendees learned how best to state the facts. The expert witness should tell the truth plainly and simply. Attendees learned how the expert’s testimony should not become more complicated or strained when it appears to be harmful to the client the expert represents. The expert witness should not try to answer questions to which s/he does not know the answer but should simply say that s/he does not know or does not have enough information to form an opinion.

• Attendees learned to control the pace. The opposing attorney can sometimes attempt to crush a witness by rapid fire questions. The expert witness should avoid firing back answers at the same pace. This can avoid giving the appearance that s/he is arguing with the examining attorney. It also helps prevent her from being rushed and overwhelmed to the point of making mistakes.

• Most importantly, Hugo imparted invaluable techniques to survive cross examination. Attendees learned how to testify effectively on both direct and cross examination, basic courtroom procedures, and tricks for general survival on the witness stand. Attendees were told how to improve their techniques on how to offer testimony about damages and restitution while learning to know when to draw the line between aggressive testimony and improper advocacy. All our attendees walked away with more effective report writing and presentation skills as well as benefiting from a solid exploration of the different types of evidence and related legal remedies.

Again, thanks to all, attendees and partners, for making our May 2019 training event such a resounding success!

The Man in the Mirror

Posted by on December 10, 2018 Comments Off on The Man in the Mirror

I readily confess I would not have won any awards for effective delegation during my early years as a fraud examiner/information systems audit professional. To my mind the buck stopped with the guy in the mirror I saw shaving every morning. I prided myself on being personally capable of performing every routine task of every assignment involved in whatever function I was managing at the time. What finally weaned me from the practice of doing it all myself was the threat of burn-out and the seemingly ever-increasing demands of a typical work week of seventy hours.

The demands of managing in an assurance environment featuring risk assessments, regulatory compliance, fraud investigations, corporate governance, and engagement quality control can be crushing for any new (or not so new) manager but especially so for those unwilling or who simply lack the skills to adequately delegate; those skills usually only come with experience.

While some new to assurance or investigative management may think delegating simply means passing off work to subordinates, the lines of delegation also can occur laterally to peers and upward to superiors. The distinction is important, because in delegating to subordinates, one of the goals is to achieve long term investigative team development. This goal comes with a shift in emphasis from managing to leading. Managing is about getting the work done, whereas leading fosters learning, growth, and a greater sense of responsibility among individual members of the your team.

According to the ACFE, the first step to successful delegation within examination work is recognizing when to let go rather than trying to do too much. For CFEs new to leadership responsibilities, a willingness to delegate can be challenging. CFEs typically advance to management positions as a result of their individual achievements and performance. This advancement fosters a sense that the person best suited to accomplish a given task is the one whose already done it satisfactorily, but that is not the way leaders should think. Even though an assurance professional has advanced to a management position based on past accomplishments, he or she needs to take a broader view of what is in the long term interest of her function group and/or organization. A conscious commitment to delegation can enable the individual manager to not only increase their personal productivity but also (and here I speak from personal experience) gain better control of their lives and, hence, prevent burnout.

An honest self-examination is a precursor to delegation. CFEs and other assurance professionals in a management position need to understand their capabilities and role(s) within the organization. One way to do this is by considering their vision for and the needs of the organization. Then, what are the assurance function’s immediate and long-term goals, including capabilities and developmental needs? Realizing that trusting others, not just one self, to do a high quality job is a personal decision and there can be many barriers to it. What is the nature of your own personal career goals and your priorities for work-life balance? A periodic, wholly candid assessment of these and similar issues can give any manager a better perspective on his or her motives in relation to delegating.

Delegating is more than just shoving work on someone who possesses the skill set to fit the task. Rather, delegating is an opportunity to cultivate members of the investigative team by increasing the number of people who are capable of taking on a bigger role, which can help strengthen the team and create a succession plan in the event of unexpected personnel turnover. How often have we all been witness to the chaos which can ensure when a key staff member leaves and no-one has been groomed to fill her place?

To the extent possible, an new staff CFE should be matched strategically with an assignment that is a bit above his or her head as a way of providing a positive learning experience. Delegating with career development in mind means managers will need to resist playing the role of lifeguard. Subordinates will struggle at times, but managers shouldn’t be too quick to act as helicopter parents and come to the rescue. Instead, managers should remain confident in the basic capabilities of their staff and allow reasonable time for learning and growth, which enables the team to gain experience and add more value to the organization.

Knowing whether a particular assignment is within an examiner’s potential capabilities and can enable him or her to grow professionally, however, is often not an easy task. As managers delegate assignments, they should consider not limiting assignments only to those areas in which an investigator has had prior experience. Also, managers need to avoid the tendency toward primarily delegating interesting or important assignments to the most favored team members; managers should groom everyone on the team not just the superstars; it’s the superstars who are, let’s face it, the most desirable targets for external recruiters. The same is true for undesirable assignments; managers also should spread those among the whole team, which can demonstrate that everyone is treated fairly. A thoughtful delegating process helps keep the assurance team challenged and motivated, thereby reducing the likelihood of losing promising but insufficiently challenged staff members.

Initial parameters need to be established to prevent misunderstandings, deficient productivity, or delays in the timely completion of examinations. All parties involved should have a clear understanding of the delegated assignment and of expectations. However, managers should refrain from giving excessively detailed instructions. Successful delegating does not mean micromanaging anyone. Instead, managers should consider focusing on discussing the objectives, scope, and outcomes of the assignment. When examiners are allowed the flexibility and freedom to perform their work, they not only learn more but also may show considerable ingenuity. Managing CFEs can foster an environment of participative management by encouraging input from subordinates toward refining the plans, expectations, and deadlines, as well as emphasize how the present investigation fits into the larger scheme. When a team member sees the whole process rather than only a part, he or she is less likely to miss a critical matter and may become more motivated to deliver a quality product.

The ACFE recommends that the CFE engagement manager should give his or her subordinates authority to operationally pursue their assignment and to make decisions as they see fit. Delegating the authority is no less important than assigning the responsibility for a task. In the absence of conferring an appropriate level of authority, the team member’s performance could be undercut. Also, examination managers should keep an open mind by welcoming new ideas, innovative suggestions, and alternative proposals from others. Nothing is more motivating for a subordinate than to realize that he or she has a significant ownership stake in the results. This is another reason why managers should delegate as much of an entire assignment, rather than a small portion, as possible. Doing so can help instill a sense of importance and self-esteem for the staff investigator no matter what the number of years of their experience.

Communication is an essential element of successful delegating, and regular updates about progress, results, and deadlines should occur weekly, or sometimes daily, depending on the staff member’s level of experience and the type of assignment. Meetings can be conducted face-to-face, by phone, or through videoconferencing and do not always have to be long to be effective.

As managers check on progress, they should be supportive rather than intrusive and avoid putting a subordinate on the defensive by being too critical. Managers also should allow for communication flexibility by encouraging more immediate contact between progress meetings in the event a matter requiring urgent attention unexpectedly develops.

Any significant delegated assignment should culminate with a constructive evaluation of the subordinate’s performance. Often, there is a tendency to view the simple act of delegation itself as work done. As an old colleague of mine used to say, “A task delegated is a task completed.” Even in a case where the smaller scope of a subordinate’s assignment does not merit an exit session, it is still a boost for team morale to give recognition and show gratitude for the work done.

I have never met an experienced (and successful) CFE investigation team leader who did not embrace the role and significance of delegating. However, the ability to delegate depends on trust, communication, and encouragement. When delegating, assurance managers need to accept the risk that mistakes can and will occur and remember that professionals can learn from their mistakes. Not only is valuable experience gained by the investigative team, but the manager’s time also is freed up for more critical tasks and projects. In the long run, a commitment to delegation serves to strengthen any team of investigators as well as benefit our client organization, whatever and wherever that might be.

On Motivation

Posted by on November 19, 2018 Comments Off on On Motivation

The ACFE tells us that there is no simple profile for employees who commit fraud. However, some ACFE statistics are available. Its research has repeatedly shown that about 10 percent to 15 percent of employees are fundamentally dishonest and are likely to steal from their company if given the opportunity. About 66 percent of employees are likely to steal under the right circumstances, such as when under pressure, or when “everyone is doing it,” and the opportunity exists. In contrast, about 20 percent to 25 percent of employees are fundamentally honest and are unlikely to steal under any circumstances.

Furthermore, those employees who do steal from the company are unlikely to have a prior criminal record, and those with a good education, family, background, and work record can be just as likely to steal as anyone else.

On the other hand, research shows that the three elements of the standard fraud triangle, with which we’re all familiar, have proven themselves descriptive over many the years in explaining which employees may defraud our client companies.

• Pressure – Usually related to financial pressure such as large medical bills, gambling problems, drug habits, and extravagant living.

• Opportunity – Required to commit any fraud.

• Rationalization – Likely depends on the type of criminal and the criminal’s personality type or possible personality disorder.

The rationalization component of the fraud triangle suggests possible types of individuals who may commit fraud:

• The fundamentally dishonest employee without a personality disorder. This person could habitually be dishonest but does not have a personality disorder. Rationalization comes easily because the person is accustomed to dishonesty. Therefore, the rationalizations are likely to include statements such as “I need it more than they do” and “They won’t miss it.”

• The fundamentally dishonest employee with a personality disorder. Various personality disorders may contribute to the ability of the employee to rationalize fraud. Psychiatry uses the diagnosis antisocial personality disorder and the related diagnosis dissocial personality disorder. The following are characteristics that apply to persons with these types of mental disorders:

— Nonconformist behavior; tend to be misfits.
— Habitual lying and dishonesty.
— Impulsiveness.
— Irritability and aggressiveness.
— Insensitivity to harming self or others.
— Strong disregard for the needs of self and others.
— Tendency to blame others for personal faults and mistakes.
— Lack of responsibility.
— Difficulty in establishing and maintaining close relationships.
— Absence of the ability to feel emotions or the full range of normal emotions.

The deceitfulness dimension of these disorders could enable the person to hide some or all of his or her antisocial characteristics. This type of person is often able to steal without giving much conscious thought to rationalizations. The crime could simply arise out of the mental disturbance.

• Then there is the normally honest employee who steals given pressure and opportunity and rationalizes the theft. A person who does not normally steal is likely to give serious thought to rationalizing the theft. One common rationalization is that the person is only borrowing the money; often the person takes money with the intent to pay it back, and many times does in fact pay it back. The result is that the corporate till can become the employee’s personal lending institution; however, in many cases, the person is never able to pay back the ill-gotten loan. The normally honest employee is likely to steal out of a sudden financial need or because of a problem with a financially excessive lifestyle.

The ACFE advises us to consider possible motives when examining evidence related to an occupational fraud. Motive is the power that prompts a person to act. Motive, however, should not be confused with intent, which refers to the state of mind of the accused when performing the act. Motive, unlike intent, is not an essential element of crime, and criminal law generally treats a person’s motive as irrelevant in determining guilt or innocence. Even so, motive is relevant for other purposes: it can help identify the perpetrator; it will often guide the examiner to the proper rationalization; it further incriminates the accused; and it can be helpful in ensuring successful prosecution.

The examiner should search relevant documents to determine a possible motive. For example, if a fraud examiner has evidence in the form of a paycheck written to a ghost employee, s/he might suspect a payroll employee who recently complained about not having received a raise in the past two years. Although such information does not mean that the payroll employee committed fraud, the possible motive can guide the examiner.

During the process of interviewing suspects, interviewers should seek to understand the possible motives of interviewees. To do this, interviewers should suspend their own value system. This will better position the interviewer(s) to persuade suspects to reveal information providing insight into what might have pressured or motivated them and how they might have rationalized their actions.

In an interview situation, the examiner should not suggest reasons for the crime. Instead, the examiner should let the individual share his or her motivations, even if the suspect reveals those motivations in an indirect manner.

In interviewing suspects for motives:

• Leave your ego at the door.
• Talk to the suspected perpetrator as an adult.
• Do not patronize the suspect.
• Use good communication skills to develop rapport with subjects so that they will feel comfortable talking to you.
• Avoid being confrontational with the suspect. If the interviewer is confrontational, the perpetrator will be less likely to make an admission.

When conducting an interview with a suspect, the interviewer should begin by asking questions about the standard procedures and the actual practice of the operations at issue. This is necessary to gain an understanding of the way the relevant process is intended to work and how it actually works. Additionally, asking such basic questions early in the interview will help the interviewer observe the interviewee’s “normal” behavior so that the interviewer can notice any changes in the subject’s mannerisms and word choice.

Next, the interviewer might ask non-accusatory questions related to the issue at hand, such as:

• Why do you think someone would do something like this?
• What do you think should happen to a person who would do something like this?
• Of all of the people who work in this area, who could be involved?

The answers to these questions can help the interviewer understand the possible motives of various suspects, narrow the pool of suspects, or even obtain an admission. For example, a suspect who answers the question “Why do you think someone would do something like this?” with a sympathetic answer might be trying to appeal to the interviewer’s sense of compassion to reduce or minimize his or her punishment.

The more the interviewer knows about the perpetrator, the better chance s/he will have of identifying the perpetrator’s motive and rationalization. Once the perpetrator thinks that the interviewer understands her motive, she will become more likely to confess.

During the motivation identifying interview, fraud examiners must also remember that there are times when rational people behave irrationally. This is important in the interview process because it will help humanize the misconduct. Unless the perpetrator has a mental or emotional disorder, it is acceptable to expect that the perpetrator committed the fraud for a reason.

Situational fraudsters, those who rationalize their right to an illegal enrichment and perpetrate fraud when the opportunity arises, do not tend to view themselves as criminals. This is in contrast to deviant fraudsters, who are more proactive than situational fraudsters and who are always on the alert for opportunities to commit fraud. Situational fraudsters rationalize their crimes. Situational fraudsters feel that they need to commit fraud to regain control over their lives. Thus, an interviewer will be more likely to obtain a confession from a situational fraudster if s/he can genuinely communicate that s/he understands how anyone under similar-circumstances might commit such a crime. Genuineness, however, is key. If the fraudster in any way detects that the interviewer is constructing a trap, s/he generally will not make an admission of wrongdoing.

In summary, the fraud triangle is always helpful in explaining motivations for employees to defraud their employing organization by drawing attention to pressure, opportunity, and rationalization. Pressure is typically caused by sudden financial needs arising from things such as medical bills, gambling problems, drug habits, and extravagant living. The opportunity depends on the employee’s position and the strength of the company’s internal control processes. Rationalization depends on the type of criminal. The pure sociopath may need little or no rationalization. The fundamentally dishonest employee may give some conscious thought to rationalizing crimes, but the rationalization comes easily because the person is accustomed to dishonesty. Finally, the normally honest employee generally expends the most effort in rationalizing the crime, and often this type of person will really think that s/he is only borrowing the money.

An Ancient Skill

Posted by on October 8, 2018 Comments Off on An Ancient Skill

I remember Professor Jerome Taylor in his graduate class at the University of Chicago introducing us to the complexities of what the ancients called the trivium.  Because the setting for the process of fraud examination is so often fraught with emotion and confusion, even a beginning fraud examiner quickly realizes that presenting evidence collected during examination fieldwork merely as a succession of facts often isn’t enough to fully convince clients and to adequately address their many concerns (many of which always seem to emerge all at once). To capture stakeholders’ attention, and to elicit a satisfactory response, CFEs need to possess some degree of rhetorical skill.

Rhetoric refers to the use of language to persuade and instruct. Throughout the Middle Ages, European universities taught rhetoric to beginning students as one of three foundational topics composing what was known as the trivium. Logic and grammar, the other two foundational topics, refer to the mechanics of thought and analysis, and to the mechanics of language, respectively. We CFEs and forensic accountants essentially follow the trivium in our work, whether we realize it or not. After gathering evidence through fieldwork, we apply logic to analyze that evidence and to present our vision of the facts to our client organizations in our final reports. We also use grammatical rules to structure text within our reports and memorandum.

Applying the trivium requires a balanced approach; too much focus on any one of the three components to the exclusion of the others can lead to ineffective communication. Fraud examiners need to consider all three trivium components evenly and avoid the common trap of collecting too much evidence or performing too much analysis in the belief that such concentrations will help strengthen our final reports.

The ancient Greeks defined three key components of rhetoric, the speech itself (text), the speaker delivering the speech (author), and those who listen to the speech (audience). Collectively, these components form what’s called the rhetorical triangle. For CFEs, the triangle’s three points equate to the final report or memorandum, the CFE him or herself, and our clients or stakeholders. All three of the rhetorical triangle components are interrelated, and they are each essential to the success of all investigative and/or assurance work. Each should be considered before any engagement and kept in mind throughout the engagement life cycle but especially during the report writing and presentation process.

Although the investigative team lead would be considered the primary author, each of the engagement team members plays a supporting role by authoring observations and preliminary findings that are then compiled into an integrated report. The person performing the important task of draft reviewer also has a role to play, ensuring that the final report meets ACFE and other applicable standards and fulfills the overall purpose defined in the planning document.

The character of the intended audience should be considered with each engagement. Audience members are not homogeneous; each may have different perspectives and expectations. For this reason, CFEs need to consult with them and consider their perspectives even before the engagement begins to the extent feasible.

Once engagement fieldwork has been completed, the authors compose a written report containing the results of the investigative field work. The report represents perhaps the most important outcome communication from the examination process, and the best chance to focus the client’s attention.

When crafting the final report, three separate but interrelated components, designated ‘appeals’, need to be considered and applied: ethos, logos, and pathos.

Ethos is an appeal to the audience’s perception of the honesty, authority, and expertise of the report’s author. Closely related to reputation, ethos is established when the audience determines that the author is qualified, trustworthy, and believable. Because the term ethics derives from ethos, adhering to ACFEs standards and Code of Ethics supports this appeal.

Some helpful formulations, in the form of questions, to keep in mind regarding the ethos component when formulating your report are:

–What assumptions does your audience likely make about you and the investigative process, what you produce, and the level of service you and your team provide?
–Is there a way to take advantage of their positive assumptions to improve the fraud investigation process for the future?
–What can you do to overcome their negative assumptions, if any?
–Do you create the expectation that what you produce and the level of service you provide will be above average or even exceptional?
–Are you using all the available channels to create an impression of excellence?

For CFEs with an on-going or long-term employment or other relationship with the client, the need to consider ethos begins long before the start of any particular engagement. Ethos is supported by the structure and governance of the fraud examination or forensic accounting function as well as by the selection of team members, including alignment between the type of engagements to be performed and the team’s qualifications, education, and training. The ethos appeal is also established by choosing to comply with examination and audit standards and with other professional requirements to demonstrate a high level of credibility, build trust, and gain a favorable reputation over time.

Logos appeals to the audience’s sense of logic, encompassing factors such as the reason and analysis used, the underlying meaning communicated, and the supporting facts and figures presented. The written document’s visual appeal, diagrams, charts, and other elements, as well as how the information is organized, presented, and structured, also factor into logos. Story conveys meaning. From the time we’re born we learn about the world around us through narratives. This aspect of logos continues to be important throughout our lives. We experience the world through our senses, particularly our eyes. Design and visual attractiveness are key to engaging an audience made up of the visual animals we are.

–Is what you are presenting easy to understand?
–Is your presentation design simple and pleasing to the eye?

Investigators need for logos is addressed by their written report’s executive summary; detailed observations, and findings as well as appendices with secondary information that can be used to further instruct the audience. The report describes the origin, drivers and overall purpose of the engagement, its findings, and conclusions. Ultimately, from a rhetorical standpoint, examiners try to tell a convincing, self-contained short story that conveys key messages to the audience. The structure and format of the report, together with its textual content and visual elements, also support the logos appeal.

Like ethos, the logos appeal is fulfilled long before an individual engagement begins. It starts with the rational, periodic assessment and identification of business processes at high-risk for fraud; areas requiring management’s attention, resulting in the development and implementation of effective anti-fraud controls. CFEs are then prepared to undertake engagements, executing steps to collect valid and relevant evidence to justify conclusions and to guide and support the client’s initiation of successful prosecutions.

Pathos is an appeal to the audience’s emotions, either positive (joy, excitement, hopefulness) or negative (anger, sadness). It is used to establish compassion or empathy. Unlike logos, pathos focuses on the audience’s irrational modes of response. The Greeks maintained that pathos was the strongest and most reliable form of persuasion. Pathos can be especially powerful when it is used well and connects with the audience’s underlying values and perspective. Used incorrectly, however, pathos can distort or detract from the impact of actual factual evidence.

Examiners should strive to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and look for ways to better understand the client/audience’s perspective. Attention to pathos can help support not only examination objectives, but the overarching goal of creating a satisfactory investigative outcome. CFEs should also be mindful of their overall tone and word selection, and ensure they balance negative and positive comments giving credit to individuals and circumstances where credit is due.

To some extent, pathos is interdependent with ethos and logos: The sting of negative results can be reduced somewhat by the positive effect of the other two appeals. For example, clients/audience members are more likely to accept bad news from someone they trust and respect, and who they know has followed a rational, structured approach to the engagement. But at the same time, ethos and logos can be offset by negative pathos. Preferred practice generally consists of holding regular meetings with corporate counsel and/or other critical stakeholders over the course of the investigation, maintaining transparency, and providing stakeholders with an opportunity to address investigative findings or provide evidence that counters or clarifies the CFEs observations.

In summary, while all three elements of rhetorical appeal play an important role in communication and while none should be neglected, CFEs and forensic accountants should pay particular attention to pathos. The dominance of feelings over reason is part of human nature, and examiners should consider this powerful element when planning and executing engagements and reporting the results. By doing so, certified investigators can help ensure audiences accept our message and make informed judgements related to fraud recovery, prosecution and possible restitution.

Then & Now

Posted by on September 17, 2018 Comments Off on Then & Now

I was chatting over lunch last week at the John Marshal Hotel here in Richmond with a former officer of our Chapter when the subject of interviewing came up; interviewing generally, but also viewed in the context of the challenges and obstacles that fraud examiners of the next generation will face as they increasingly confront their peers, the present and future fraudsters of the Millennial and Z generations.

Joseph Wells says somewhere, in one of his excellent writings, that skill as an interviewer is one of the most important attributes that a CFE or forensic accountant can possess and probably the one of all our skills most worthy of on-going cultivation. But, as with any other professional craft, there are common pitfalls of which newer professionals especially need to be aware to increase their chances of successfully achieving their interviewing objectives.

Failure to plan sufficiently is without a doubt, the primary error interviewers make. It seems that the more experience an interviewer has, the less he or she prepares. Whether because of busyness or overconfidence, this pitfall spells disaster. Not only does efficiency suffer because the interviewer might have to schedule another interview, but effectiveness suffers because the interviewer might never discover needed information. Fraudsters often take time before interviews to prepare answers to anticipated questions. The ACFE reports having briefed career criminals on their tactics, thoughts and behaviors about interviews, and they typically respond, “I had my routines that I was going to run down on them” and “I always had my story made up”.

During his or her planning for an interview, the CFE must carefully consider the interviewee’s role in the fraud and his or her relationship to the fraudster (if the interviewee isn’t the fraudster), available information, desired outcomes from the interview and primary interview strategy plus alternate, viable strategies. The success or failure of the interview is determined prior to the time the interviewer walks into the room. Either the interviewer is part of his or her own plan or she is part of someone else’s. The CFE, not the interviewee, has to control the interview.

An interviewer whose mind is made up before an interview even begins is courting danger. Confirmation bias (also known as confirmatory bias or myside bias) greatly decreases the likelihood that an interviewer dismisses, ignores or filters any contradictory information during an interview, whether the interviewee expresses it verbally or non-verbally. Thus, interviewers might not even be aware that they’re missing important information that could increase the examination’s effectiveness.

How many times have experienced practitioners been told by colleagues that they believed that particular interviewees were guilty only to later discover they were actually innocent? If such practitioners hadn’t been aware that their colleagues could have caused them to have confirmation bias, they might have dismissed contradictory interviewee behaviors during subsequent interviews as minor aberrations. It’s imperative that the interviewer maintain an open mind, which isn’t so much a skill set as an attitude. The effective interviewer gives the interviewee a chance by looking at all the data, listening to others and theorizing a hypothesis without precluding anything. Also, the ACFE tells us, if the interviewer maintains an open mind, the interviewee will perceive it and be more cooperative.

A guiding principle should be, the interview is not about the CFE; the CFE is conducting the interview. The interview is a professional encounter. If you don’t conduct the interview, someone else can conduct it, but the interviewee remains the same. Interviewers are replaceable; interviewees aren’t. Never lose sight of this foundational truth. If the interviewer personalizes the interview process s/he will focus on his or her inward emotions rather than on the interviewee’s verbal and non-verbal behavior. An interviewer’s unfettered emotions will have a debilitating impact on a number of levels.

If the interviewer becomes personally involved in an interview, the interviewer becomes the interviewee and the interviewee becomes the interviewer. Most of us want to search for connections to others. But if we connect too strongly, we will become so similar (at least in our own minds) to interviewees that we might have difficulty believing the interviewee is guilty or is providing inaccurate information. Once that occurs, the interviewer probably wont obtain necessary evidence or could discount incriminating evidence.

Before each interview, remind yourself that your objective is to collect evidence in a dispassionate manner; you won’t become emotionally involved. Focus on the overall objective of the interview so that you won’t be caught up in details that could connect you too closely with the interviewee. If, for example, you discover that the interviewee is from the same part of the country you’re from, remind yourself of the many persons you know who also are from that area so you’ll dilute the influence that this information could have on your interview.

With regard to interviewing members of the present and up-and-coming generation, a majority of our youngest future citizens spend an inordinate amount of time looking at plastic screens as a significant mode for learning, communicating, being entertained and experiencing the world instead of interacting directly with others in the same space and time. This places novice CFE interviewers at a disadvantage because they have been formally trained that much of the communication between an interviewer and an interviewee takes place non-verbally. Concurrently, the verbal aspects of communication are replete with meta-messages. For example, what kind of impression does an individual make whose voice inflection rises or falls at the end of a sentence? Can this inflection be as adequately and consistently communicated via a text message compared to in-person communication? This example (and there are many more) contains the essence of the interviewing process. Unfortunately, nuances, interpersonal communication subtleties and appropriate responses that were previously thought to be integral parts of the social modeling process aren’t as readily available to the current generation of interviewers and interviewees as they were to previous generations. Research has shown that electronic devices, such as tablets, cellphones and laptops shorten attention spans. Web surfers usually spend no more than 10 to 20 seconds on a page before ads or links distract them and they move on to burrow down into succeeding rabbit holes.

A great deal of communication now takes place via 244-character communication snippets on Twitter. The average person checks his or her phone once every six minutes. Psychologists have recently coined the term ‘nomophobia’, the fear of being out of cellphone contact; shortened from ‘no-mobile-phone-phobia. A 2015 global study reported that students’ ‘addiction’ to media is similar to drug cravings.

The attention span of the average adult is believed to have fallen from 12 minutes in 1998 to five minutes in 2014. If interviewees’ attentive capacities are just five minutes, or less, then after that point interviews provide diminishing returns. Our attention deficits probably result from a lack of self-discipline and the delusional belief that we can cognitively multi-task. We can’t do anything about our natural limitations, but we can discipline ourselves to pay attention. We can also plan and conduct our interviews with few distractions. Interviewers new and experienced should require that all participants turn off their cellphones and, when possible, interviewers should try to ask questions in an unpredictable order.

So, we can expect that a new generation of fraud examiners will soon be interviewing individuals for extended periods of time who have as much of a dearth of direct, face-to-face interpersonal communication as they do. At the extreme, we can envision two or more uncomfortable people in an interview room. All of whom can only remain in the moment for five minutes or less and are fidgety because they need plastic-screen fixes.

An additional challenge will be that CFEs of the Millennial and Z generations will soon be spending hours interviewing older interviewees who are more familiar, explicitly and implicitly, with the subtleties of interpersonal communication. These are people who have spent significantly more time in direct, face-to-face communication. The interpersonal communication-challenged interviewer will be at a significant disadvantage when interviewing guilty, guilty-knowledge, deceptive and/or antagonistic interviewees. As my lunch companion pointed out, many experienced fraudsters are master manipulators of inexperienced interviewers.

It is urgent that younger fraud examiners and forensic accountants be instructed in the strongest terms to put down their plastic screens and practice engagement with others in direct communication, with friends, family and those who cross their paths in the normal flow of life. As a lead CFE examiner or supervisor, encourage your younger employee-colleagues to write down their communication goals for each day. Suggest they read all they can on face-to face interviewing and questioning plus verbal and non-verbal behaviors. They can take interviewing and public-speaking classes or join a toastmasters group. Anything to get them to converse and observe body language and expressions.

Interviewing techniques are the vehicles that ride up and down the road of interpersonal communication. If that road isn’t adequate, then drivers can’t maneuver their vehicles. Your younger employees are the only persons who can bring themselves up to the necessary interpersonal speed limit to make their one-on-one interviews successful.

Skilled for Success

Posted by on July 23, 2018 Comments Off on Skilled for Success

Our Chapter is periodically contacted by human resource staff and others seeking CFEs for recruitment to both in-house staff and management positions. I took the opportunity afforded by one such call this last week to query the caller about what her ideal CFE candidate would look like. What attributes came to mind when she pictured the experienced CFE she was seeking? Technical ability? Investigative knowledge? Attention to detail?

All of those were certainly important, she said, but since this position would supervise others and deal directly with clients, she mentioned what she called ‘success skills’ (sometimes termed soft skills) as of over-riding importance. I asked her what she meant by success skills specifically and she said that for her and for many other human resource professionals, the culture of the organization she is recruiting for and the professional’s interpersonal behaviors and critical reasoning and judgment can frequently heavily outweigh technical skills and relevant experience. After I referred her to several folks who had furnished our Chapter with resumes for just this kind of enquiry, my caller pointed me to several sources where I could obtain information on the types of skills to which she was referring.

My somewhat cursory research revealed that some of the most common success skills employers look for and which they use to assess experienced employment candidate CFEs today include:

1. A strong work ethic — are they motivated and dedicated to getting the job done, no matter what? Will they be conscientious and do their best work?
2. A positive attitude — are they optimistic and upbeat? Will they generate good energy and good will especially with subordinates and clients?
3. Good communication skills — are they verbally articulate and good listeners? Can they make their case and express their needs in a way that builds bridges with colleagues, clients and team members?
4. Time management abilities – does the CFE candidate know how to prioritize tasks and work on a number of different projects at once? Will they use their time on the job wisely?
5. Problem-solving skills — are they resourceful and able to creatively solve problems that will inevitably arise during challenging investigations? Will they take ownership of problems or leave them for someone else?
6. Being a team player — will they work well in groups and teams? Will they be cooperative and take a leadership role when appropriate?
7. Self-confidence — do they truly believe they can do the job? Will they project a sense of calm and inspire confidence in others during investigative assignments? Will they have the courage to ask the questions that need to be asked and to freely contribute their ideas?
8. Ability to accept and learn from criticism — will they be able to handle criticism? Are they coachable and open to learning and growing as a person and as a professional no matter their present experience and authority level?
9. Flexibility/adaptability — are they able to adapt to new situations and challenges? Will they embrace change and be open to innovative ideas and investigative approaches?
10. Working well under pressure — can they handle the stress that accompanies investigative and reporting deadlines and crises? Will they be able to do their best work and come through for the employer in a pinch?

Armed with this information, I got back in touch with my caller and asked a few more questions; she was very forthcoming. It turns out that there is a wide range of questions interviewers can ask when trying to gauge the soft skills of a potential CFE hire. When it comes to interpersonal skills, my interviewee told me they may ask candidates to describe an unusual person they know and why the person may be different. Communication skills can be determined by having candidates relate their experiences with an angry or frustrated corporate counsel, client, coworker or interviewee. A popular question that is often asked to measure the ability of a candidate to work on a team is centered on the discussion of an investigative project that was not successful and how it was handled. The question of solutions to problems may also deal with negative situations and how they were overcome. Therefore, questions used to assess success skills often have an individual addressing the how and why, rather than what, where or who.

The next question I had for my respondent was regarding her opinion as to how a candidate CFE could go about acquiring and strengthening these skills since they really don’t involve the type of technical matters typically focused on in the everyday business school training curriculum. She replied that working with people who exhibit strong soft skills is an effective way of learning those skills. Many professional organizations like the ACFE run internal mentoring programs so that senior practitioners can pass on their knowledge and experience to newer professionals. Training events of local chapters of associations such as the ACFE are another good place to meet with experienced professionals who can assist with mentoring and soft skills.

It seems to me that success skill communication especially under-pin all aspects of the CFEs work. I can remember very early on in my auditing career reading that communication is not easy because something said doesn’t mean it was said correctly; something said correctly doesn’t
mean it has been heard; something heard doesn’t mean it was understood; something understood doesn’t mean it has been agreed upon; something agreed upon doesn’t mean it has been applied; something applied doesn’t mean it has been continually practiced. Communicating anything effectively as a professional is, therefore, an on-going continuous process that is almost never complete and seldom perfect.

The desire to grow professionally and develop a successful career is evident in most CFEs, as in all other professionals, and while the opportunity to be on the forefront of this challenge exists, it is not emphasized enough, hence what recruiters and human resource professionals have identified as the success skills gap. Critical success skills, such as interpersonal behavior, communication, report writing and presentation skills, that augment technical skills are important in developing a successful career. However, to the disadvantage of employees, especially young professionals, these skills are seldom even emphasized let alone actively taught in the typical workplace. Similarly, employees do not recognize the lack of or need for such skills and miss valuable opportunities to improve them.

In an increasingly information- and technology-driven society, success skills increasingly shape the structure of the workplace. This fact is found to be especially evident in the audit, investigative and information systems environments. Assurance professionals need to interact seamlessly with customers/clients, work in teams, communicate technical details and build relationships.

Managers hiring new and experienced CFEs will always ask: Is the candidate able to lead a team successfully, communicate effectively, make presentations or write an investigative report to management? These are key skills that determine promotions, raises and job success.

In summary, CFE job applicants are always weighed on their technical ability and, increasingly today, on their success skills. Employers often ask whether job candidates are the best fit for the organization or whether candidates will align well with the organization’s culture. Furthermore, as a number of headhunters have told me, employers can easily teach the technical skills. The success skills that make up a candidate’s character and demeanor are not so easily taught yet can have an enormous impact on whether a candidate eventually gets his or her dream job or the top-floor corner office. So, a mix of both cognitive and noncognitive skills, the latter such as motivation, self-esteem and perseverance, determine many life outcomes, including education, health and even involvement in crime.

To benefit from strong success skills and develop a long-term career, the foremost step for young professionals as for any other professional, is to own their career. The ability to direct and fill roles in opportunity areas highly depends on career ownership and effective personal management. Success skills are increasingly becoming the often-unrecognized element for career mastery; as recruiters tell me, the bottom line is that a full professional success depends on their mastery.

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Finding the Words

Posted by on May 7, 2018 Comments Off on Finding the Words

I had lunch with a long-time colleague the other day and the topic of conversation having turned to our May training event next week, he commented that when conducting a fraud examination, he had always found it helpful to come up with a list of words specifically associated with the type of fraud scenario on which he was working.  He found the exercise useful when scanning through the piles of textual material he frequently had to plow through during complex examinations.

Data analysis in the traditional sense involves running rule-based queries on structured data, such as that contained in transactional databases or financial accounting systems. This type of analysis can yield valuable insight into potential frauds. But, a more complete analysis requires that fraud examiners (like my friend) also consider unstructured textual data. Data are either structured or unstructured. Structured data is the type of data found in a database, consisting of recognizable and predictable structures. Examples of structured data include sales records, payment or expense details, and financial reports. Unstructured data, by contrast, is data that would not be found in a traditional spreadsheet or database. It is typically text based.

Our client’s employees are sending and receiving more email messages each year, retaining ever more electronic source documents, and using more social media tools. Today, we can anticipate unstructured data to come from numerous sources, including:

• Social media posts
• Instant messages
• Videos
• Voice files
• User documents
• Mobile phone software applications
• News feeds
• Sales and marketing material
• Presentations

Textual analytics is a method of using software to extract usable information from unstructured text data. Through the application of linguistic technologies and statistical techniques, including weighted fraud indicators (e.g., my friend’s fraud keywords) and scoring algorithms, textual analytics software can categorize data to reveal patterns, sentiments, and relationships indicative of fraud. For example, an analysis of email communications might help a fraud examiner gauge the pressures/incentives, opportunities, and rationalizations to commit fraud that exist in a client organization.

According to my colleague, as a prelude to textual analytics (depending on the type of fraud risk present in a fraud examiner’s investigation), the examiner  will frequently profit by coming up with a list of fraud keywords that are likely to point to suspicious activity. This list will depend on the industry of the client, suspected fraud schemes, and the data set the fraud examiner has available. In other words, if s/he is running a search through journal entry detail, s/he will likely search for different fraud keywords than if s/he were running a search of emails. It might be helpful to look at the ACFE’s fraud triangle when coming up with a keyword list. The factors identified in the triangle are helpful when coming up with a fraud keyword list. Consider how someone in the entity under investigation might have the opportunity to commit fraud, be under pressure to commit fraud, or be able to rationalize the commission of fraud.

Many people commit fraud because of something that has happened in their life that motivates them to steal. Maybe they find themselves in debt, or perhaps they must meet a certain goal to qualify for a performance-based bonus. Keywords that might indicate pressure include deadline, quota, trouble, short, problem, and concern. Think of words that would indicate that someone has the opportunity or ability to commit fraud. Examples include override, write-off, recognize revenue, adjust, discount, and reserve/provision.

Since most fraudsters do not have a criminal background, justifying their actions is a key part of committing fraud. Some keywords that might indicate a fraudster is rationalizing his actions include reasonable, deserve, and temporary.

So, even though the concepts embodied in the fraud triangle are a good place to start when developing a keyword list, it’s also important to consider the nature of the client entity’s industry and the types of payments it makes or is suspected of making. Think about the fraud scenarios that are likely to have occurred. Does the entity do a significant amount of work overseas or have many contractors? If so, there might be an elevated risk of bribery. Focus on the payment text descriptions in journal entries or in work delated documentation, since no one calls it “bribe expense.” Some examples of word combinations in payment descriptions that might merit special attention include:

• Goodwill payment
• Consulting fee
• Processing fee
• Incentive payment
• Donation
• Special commission
• One-time payment
• Special payment
• Friend fee
• Volume contract incentive

Any payment descriptions bearing these, or similar terms warrant extra scrutiny to check for reasonableness. Also, examiners should always be wary of large cash disbursements that have a blank journal payment description.

Beyond key word lists, the ACFE tells us that another way to discover fraud clues hidden in text is to consider the emotional tone of employee correspondence. In emails and instant messages, for instance, a fraud examiner should identify derogatory, surprised, secretive, or worried communications. In one example, former Enron CEO Ken Lay’s emails were analyzed, revealing that as the company came closer to filing bankruptcy, his email correspondence grew increasingly derogatory, confused, and angry. This type of analysis provided powerful evidence that he knew something was wrong at the company.

While advanced textual analytics can be extremely revealing and can provide clues for potential frauds that might otherwise go unnoticed, the successful application of such analytics requires the use of sophisticated software, as well as a thorough understanding of the legal environment of employee rights and workplace searches. Consequently, fraud examiners who are considering adding textual analytics to their fraud detection arsenal should consult with technological and legal experts before undertaking such techniques.

Even with sophisticated data analysis techniques, some data are so vast or complex that they remain difficult to analyze using traditional means. Visually representing data via graphs,  link diagrams, time-series charts, and other illustrative representations can bring clarity to a fraud examination. The utility of visual representations is enhanced as data grow in volume and complexity. Visual analytics build on humans’ natural ability to absorb a greater volume of information in visual rather than numeric form and to perceive certain patterns, shapes, and shades more easily than others.

Link analysis software is used by fraud examiners to create visual representations (e.g., charts with lines showing connections) of data from multiple data sources to track the movement of money; demonstrate complex networks; and discover communications, patterns, trends, and relationships. Link analysis is very effective for identifying indirect relationships and relationships with several degrees of separation. For this reason, link analysis is particularly useful when conducting a money laundering investigation because it can track the placement, layering, and integration of money as it moves around unexpected sources. It could also be used to detect a fictitious vendor (shell company) scheme. For instance, the investigator could map visual connections between a variety of entities that share an address and bank account number to reveal a fictitious vendor created to embezzle funds from a company.  The following are some other examples of the analyses and actions fraud examiners can perform using link analysis software:

• Associate communications, such as email, instant messages, and internal phone records, with events and individuals to reveal connections.
• Uncover indirect relationships, including those that are connected through several intermediaries.
• Show connections between entities that share an address, bank account number, government identification number (e.g., Social Security number), or other characteristics.
• Demonstrate complex networks (including social networks).

Imagine a listing of vendors, customers, employees, or financial transactions of a global company. Most of the time, these records will contain a reference to a location, including country, state, city, and possibly specific street address. By visually analyzing the site or frequency of events in different geographical areas, a fraud investigator has yet another variable with which s/he can make inferences.

Finally, timeline analysis software aids fraud examiners in transforming their data into visual timelines. These visual timelines enable fraud examiners to:

• Highlight key times, dates, and facts.
• More readily determine a sequence of events.
• Analyze multiple or concurrent sequences of events.
• Track unaccounted for time.
• Identify inconsistencies or impossibilities in data.

Confidential Sources & Informants

Posted by on April 16, 2018 Comments Off on Confidential Sources & Informants

There has been much in the news recently concerning the confidential sources and informants involved in current Federal on-going criminal and non-criminal investigations.  During the more complex of our examinations, we, as practicing fraud examiners and forensic accountants, can also expect to encounter the same types of sources and informants. Both sources and informants serve the same purpose, to provide information helpful in the development of a case. However, there are notable differences between confidential sources and confidential informants; the two terms should not be used interchangeably.

A confidential source furnishes information simply consequent on being a member of an occupation or profession and has no culpability in the alleged offense. For example, confidential sources might include barbers, attorneys, accountants, and law enforcement personnel. A confidential informant on the other hand has a direct or indirect involvement in the matter under investigation, and s/he might (incidentally) also be culpable. The distinction between the two sources is their involvement or noninvolvement in the offense. As every CFE knows, informants can pose treacherous legal issues for the fraud examiner.

There is no question that information provided by a well-placed informant can be invaluable to any case; secretly photographed or recorded conversations provided by an informant are the most convincing type of evidence. This information is generally viewed as something the use of which is sure to be successful for a criminal prosecutor, because there is little that a white-collar criminal can dispute when caught red-handed in the fraudulent act.

The ACFE identifies several types of informants with which a CFE might expect to become directly or indirectly involved: the basic lead, the participant, the covert, and the accomplice/witness.

—Basic Lead Informants. This type of informant supplies information to the investigator about illicit activities that they have encountered. The reasons that the informant decides to supply information are varied; some informants simply want to “do their part” to stop an unscrupulous activity, while others are interested in harming the criminals against whom they are informing. For instance, many informants in drug, prostitution, or illegal gambling endeavors are involved in those activities as well and intend to eliminate some of their competition. Whatever the reason, these informants’ only role in an investigation is to supply useful information.

—Participant informants.  The participant informant is directly involved in gathering preliminary evidence in the investigation. The informant in this instance not only supplies an investigation with information, but the informant is also involved in setting up a “sting” operation, initiating contact with the criminal for arrest purposes. A participant informant is just what the name suggests, a participant in the investigation of criminal activity.

—Covert informants. A covert informant also supplies information on criminal behavior to an investigator or to authorities. The difference between covert informants and other types of informants is that a covert informant is one who has been embedded in a situation or scenario for a period, sometimes for years, and is called upon only sporadically for newly uncovered information (i.e., tip-offs) and leads. These types of informants are often referred to as moles because of the nature of their insulated situation as inside sources. There are two instances in which covert informants are commonly used: in organized crime and in hate-extremist group investigations. Covert informants are often culled to get information about upcoming criminal activities by such groups.

—Accomplice/witness informants. The accomplice/witness informant is often called upon to provide information concerning criminal activity. Unlike other types of informants, the accomplice/witness informant seeks to avoid prosecution for an offense by providing investigators with helpful information. For example, the government might promise leniency if the accomplice/witness informant offers details about a co-conspirator.

There are three essential procedures for the investigator to keep in mind and follow when using sources and informants. First, strive to keep the informant’s identity as confidential as possible. Second, independently verify the information provided by the source or informant. Third, develop witness and documentary evidence from independently verified information. For example, an informant might indicate that an investigative target committed fraud. If the fraud examiner subsequently conducts an interview and gets a confession out of the target, the information is no longer dependent on the informant’s claim.

If the confidential source or informant has provided documents, names of potential witnesses, or other evidence, all reasonable steps must be taken to protect the identity of that source. Care should be taken to ensure that the questioning of other witnesses is done in a manner that does not reveal its origin. This can usually be accomplished by phrasing questions in a certain way. For example, Smith furnished confidential information about Jones, the co-owner of Jones Brothers Construction Company. When the fraud examiner confronts Jones, she does not want him to know that she has talked to Smith.

If necessary, in this example, the fraud examiner would display the evidence from witnesses and documents that would not reveal the source or informant’s identity. The information from the source or informant is basically useless unless the fraud examiner can verify its authenticity and independently corroborate it. Suppose a source furnishes the fraud examiner with copies of documents showing that Jones Brothers Construction Company’s building code violations dropped by 80 percent since a bribery arrangement allegedly began. This kind of evidence would corroborate the source’s story. If a source told the fraud examiner that Jones frequently had drinks with Walters, the city’s chief building inspector, the fraud examiner would want to find out some way to verify this information. Recall that the third objective when using sources is to develop the witness’s information and other evidence so that it makes a cohesive case.

Fraud examiners should make every effort to develop and cultivate a wide range of sources. Business and financial institution executives, law enforcement and other governmental personnel, medical and educational professionals, and internal and external auditors are always good contacts for practicing fraud examiners.

The fraud examiner should strive to make contacts in her community, well in advance of needing the information they can provide; my contacts on LinkedIn and in the Central Virginia ACFE Chapter have proven their investigative value again and again!  If the fraud examiner receives an allegation and needs confidential information, s/he might obtain assistance from a source cultivated earlier.  Additionally, we need sources to feel confident that they can share information with us without being compromised. In theory, the source will never have to testify; s/he has no firsthand knowledge. Firsthand information comes either from a witness or from a document.

The fraud examiner might also encounter new sources when tracking leads during a specific investigation. S/he might interview a stockbroker from whom the target purchased stock but who does not want his identity revealed. The fraud examiner shou1d not encourage a person to provide confidential information, but rather try to get verifying reports on the record. But if the fraud examiner promises confidentiality for a source’s information, she must abide by that promise.

The ACFE advises that active recruitment of informants is generally not desirable because doing so might appear unseemly to a jury. It is better to encourage an informant to come forward. It is also desirable to develop an informant relationship, but such relationships must be handled carefully. The fraud examiner must be careful to clearly document the adequate predication for an informant’s involvement. Generally, the most fundamental questions concerning informants will focus on the degree of their culpability or the lack of it. There have been cases where the informant is guiltier than the target; in such cases the court might rule that the informant’s information cannot be introduced.

Finally, it’s recommended that all contact with informants and-sources be reported on a memorandum, although the confidential source or informant’s identity should not be included in the report. Instead of including the source or informant’s identity, the fraud examiner should use symbols to denote the source’s identity. It is further recommended that sources be preceded with an “S,” followed by a unique identifier (i.e., source #1 would be “S-l”; source #2 would be “S-2”). The symbols for informants would then be “I-1” and “I-2.”

Generally, disclosure of the identities of sources and informants should be on a strict need to-know basis. For that reason, the person’s identity should be maintained in a secure file with limited access, and it should be cross-indexed by the source’s symbol number. The reliability of the source, if known, and whether the person can furnish relevant information should always be documented in writing.

Tailoring Difficult Conversations

Posted by on March 20, 2018 Comments Off on Tailoring Difficult Conversations

We CFE’s and forensic accountants, like other investigative professionals, are often called upon to be the bearers of bad news; it just goes with the territory.  CFE’s and forensic accountants are somewhat unique, however, in that, since fraud is ubiquitous, we’re called upon to communicate negative messages to such a diverse range of client types; today the chairman of an audit committee, tomorrow a corporate counsel, the day after that an estranged wife whose spouse has run off after looting the family business.

If there is anything worse than getting bad news, it may be delivering it. No one relishes the awkward, difficult, anxiety-producing exercise of relaying messages that may hurt, humiliate, or upset someone with whom the deliverer has a professional relationship. And, what’s more,  it often proves a thankless task. This was recognized in a Greek proverb almost 2,500 years ago, “Nobody loves the messenger who brings bad news.”

Physicians, who are sometimes required to deliver worse news than most CFE’s ever will, often engage in many hours of classwork and practical experience studying and role-playing how to have difficult conversations with patients and their families They know that the message itself, may be devastating but how they deliver it can help the patient and his or her family begin to process even the most painful facts.   CFE’s are in the fortunate position of typically not having to deliver news that is quite so shattering.  Nevertheless, there is no question that certain investigative results can be extremely difficult to convey and to receive.  The ACFE tells us that learning how to prepare for and deliver such messages can create not only a a better investigator but facilitate a better investigative outcome.

Preparation to deliver difficult investigative results should begin well in advance, even before there is such a result to deliver. If the first time an investigator has a genuine interaction with the client is to confirm the existence of a fraud, that fact in itself constitutes a problem.  On the other hand, if the investigator has invested time in building a relationship before that difficult meeting takes place, the intent and motivations of both parties to the interaction are much better mutually understood. Continuous communication via weekly updates to clients from the moment irregularities are noted by examination is vital.

However, despite best efforts in building relationships and staying in regular contact with clients, some meetings will involve conveying difficult news. In those cases, preparation is critical to accomplishing objectives while dealing with any resultant fallout.  In such cases, the ACFE recommends focusing on investigative process as well as on content. Process is professionally performing the work, self-preparation for delivering the message, explaining the conclusions in meaningful and realistic ways, and for anticipating the consequences and possible response of the person receiving the message. Content is having the right data and valid conclusions so  the message is correct and complete.

Self-preparation involves considering the type of person who is receiving the difficult message and in determining the best approach for communicating it. Some people want to hear the bottom line first and the supporting information after that; others want to see a methodical building of the case item by item, with the conclusion at the end. Some are best appealed to via logic; others need a more empathetic delivery. Discussions guided by the appropriate approach are more likely to be productive. Put as much effort as possible into getting to know your client since personality tends to drive how he or she wants to receive information, interact with others, and, in turn, values things and people. When there is critical investigative information that has to be understood and accepted, seasoned examiners consider delivery tailored specifically to the client to be paramount.

Once the ground work has been laid, it’s time to have the discussion. It’s important, regarding the identified fraud, to remember to …

–Seek opportunities to balance the discussion by recognizing the client’s processes that are working well as well as those that have apparently failed;

–Offer to help or ask how you can help to address the specific issues raised in the discussion;

–Make it clear that you understand the client’s challenges. Be precise and factual in describing the causes of the identified irregularity;

–Maintain open body language. Avoid crossing your arms, don’t place your hands over your mouth or on your face, and keep your palms facing each other or slightly upwards instead of downwards. Don’t lean forward as this appears extra aggressive. Breathe deeply and evenly. If possible, mimic the body language of the message recipient, if the recipient is remaining calm. If the recipient begins to show signs of defensiveness or strong aggression, and your efforts to calm
the situation are not successful, you might suggest a follow-up meeting after both of you have digested what was said and to consider mutually acceptable options to move forward.

–Present the bottom-line message three times in different ways so your listener has time to absorb it.

–Let the client vent if he or she wishes. The ACFE warns against a tendency to interrupt the client’s remarks of explanation or sometimes of denial; “we don’t hire people who would do something like that!” Allowing the client time to vent frees him or her to get down to business moving afterward.

–Focus on problems with the process as well as on the actions of the suspect(s) to build context for the fraud scenario.

–Always demonstrate empathy. Take time to think about what’s going through your hearer’s mind and help him or her think through the alleged scenario and how it occurred, what’s going to happen next with the investigation, and how the range of issues raised by the investigation might be resolved.

Delivering difficult information is a minefield, and there are ample opportunities to take a wrong step and see explosive results. Emotional intelligence, understanding how to read people and relate to them, is vital in delivering difficult messages effectively. This is not an innate trait for many people, and it is a difficult one to learn, as are many of the other so-called soft skills. Yet they can be critical to the successful practice of fraud examination. Examiners rarely get in trouble over their technical skills because such skills are generally easier for them to master.  Examiners tend to get in trouble over insufficient soft skills. College degrees and professional certifications are all aimed at the technical skills. Sadly, very little is done on the front end to help examiners with the equally critical soft skills which only arise after the experience of actual practice.  For that reason, watching a mentor deliver difficult messages or deal with emotional people is also an effective way to absorb good practices. ACFE training utilizes the role-playing of potentially troublesome presentations to a friendly group (say, the investigative staff) as another way to exercise one’s skills.

Delivering bad news is largely a matter of practice and experience, and it’s not something CFEs and forensic accountants have the choice to avoid. At the end of the day, examiners need to deliver our news verbally and in writing and to facilitate our clients understanding of it. The underlying objective is to ensure that the fact of the alleged fraud is adequately identified, reported and addressed, and that the associated risk is understood and effectively mitigated.