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Chapter 4
Detecting Fraud in Financial
Reporting
Every customer statement was fiction, so the first task is to reconstruct the books and
records of BLMIS. One of the early projects was to digitize the records so they are
easier to compare, including customer statements, incoming letters, faxes, and bank
records. The forensic accountant will use records from third parties and customers.
Every customer account must be reconstructed from the ground up.
Source: WebCPA staff, Forensic Accountants Reconstruct Madoff Books, May 15, 2009.
http://www.webcpa.com/news/Forensic-Accountants-Reconstruct-Madoff-Books-50484-1.html
Chapter 4 Forensic and Investigative Accounting 2
PCAOB Guidance: Smaller Public Companies
1. Scaling the Audit for Smaller, Less Complex Companies.
2. Evaluating Entity-Level Controls.
3. Assessing the Risk of Management Override and
Evaluating Mitigating Actions.
4. Evaluating Segregation of Duties and Alternative
Controls.
5. Auditing Information Technology Controls in a Less
Complex IT Environment.
6. Considering Financial Reporting Competencies and Their
Effect on Internal Control.
7. Obtaining Sufficient Competent Evidence When the
Company Has Less Formal Documentation.
8. Auditing Smaller, Less Complex Companies with
Pervasive Control Deficiencies.
Chapter 4 Forensic and Investigative Accounting 3
Entity-Level Controls
Source: SAS No. 99, “Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit,” New York:
AICPA
FAs must learn the tricks of the trade as well as the trade.
Brainstorming
Increased emphasis on professional
skepticism.
Discussions with management.
Unpredictable audit tests.
Responding to management override of
controls.
Source: Robert Tillman and Michael Indergaard, Control Overrides in Financial Statement
Fraud.
Chapter 4 Forensic and Investigative Accounting 34
WorldCom Fraud Massive
At least 40 people knew about the fraud.
They were afraid to talk.
Scott Sullivan handed out $10,000 checks to 7 involved
individuals.
Altered key documents and denied Andersen access to
the database where most of the sensitive numbers were
stored.
Andersen did not complain about denied access.
Company officials decided what tax rates they wanted and
then used the reserves to arrive at the tax rates.
Under the sentencing guidelines the base offense level is determined for a specific
offense.3 For example, the basic offense level for larceny, embezzlement, and
other forms of theft is 6 where the loss is $5,000 or less. However, if the loss is
more than $2.5 million, add 18 to the 6. Other adjustments are made for victim,
role, obstruction of justice, multiple counts, and defendant’s criminal history.
Negative adjustments can be made for accepting responsibility.4
(continued on next slide)
A Department of Justice Fact Sheet dated March 15, 2006 said that as a result of
the Booker decision, the fairness, consistency, predictability, and accountability
that were the hallmarks of the mandatory guidelines are in serious jeopardy as a
result of a decline in compliance with the guidelines. Within one year the
number of sentences imposed within the guidelines has dropped 62.2 percent.5
4 Ibid., p. 395.
5 Department of Justice, Fact Sheet: The Impact of United States v. Booker on Federal Sentencing,
Interview notes should state that the UpJohn warning was given.