A KPMG Canada survey report: KPMG’s Forensic division of Advisory Services, prepared a report that surveyed executives of Canada’s largest companies on the topic of people who had defrauded their company. The report explores who commits fraud, how the fraud is carried out, and what factors lead someone to commit fraud. KPMG Forensic recently published Profile… Read more »
Posts Tagged: ethics
Flaherty calls Europe’s debt woes ‘dire’
Urgency to Reduce Debt: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty urged European leaders to find a solution to their debt crisis quickly, or risk further harm to the global economy. “This dire and pressing problem threatens not only Europe itself, but all countries,” Flaherty told a business audience at a luncheon for the Canadian Club in Toronto…. Read more »
Too good to be true
In 2008, two men, one American, one Canadian, catapulted investment fraud into headlines around the world. The Canadian was 67-year-old Earl Jones, a Montreal native who bilked 158 investors, including his cancer-stricken brother, his own daughter and other family members, out of $50 million. Like Madoff, Jones had managed to get away with his Ponzi-type… Read more »
What can a firm do to prevent corporate fraud?
Budget cuts and reorganizations raise the pressure for individuals to meet performance targets the risk of fraud increases. Steps firms can take to help curtail corporate fraud: 1. Know who you hire. Contact references and verify the education of potential hires. Conduct criminal and financial background checks on those being considered for financially sensitive positions…. Read more »
Assessing Operational Risk: A New Profession In The Making!
Have you ever wondered what is the fundamental purpose of a Corporation: You are correct in assuming “To Make a Profit”. Henry Ford once said ” A Business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business”. Let us put ourselves into perspective and see what we are referring to. Looking back a… Read more »
Cashing in: Canada’s CEO salary surge
Walmart CEO SalaryIn the past 12 years, there’s been a 444 per cent salary increase for Canada’s top CEOs. The top 10 earners collected a total of $60.7 million in 1995—by 2007, that number had jumped to $330.3 million. For example, Paul Desmarais, CEO of Power Corp, made more than $5 million in 1995; in… Read more »
Supreme Court Rules on Constitutionality of the PCAOB
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 28, 2010, that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) violates the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers principle because board members are not appointed by the president. In a 5-4 decision, the Court stated that the president must have more power to remove PCAOB members. The five-member board… Read more »
What Do The World Cup and Public Accounting Have in Common?
OK. For all you accountants, here’s another acronym. What does FIFA stand for? Well, it’s not an inventory method, but refers to the governing organization for the world’s biggest athletic event this summer ( the World Cup). Even if you’re not a fan, you can’t ignore World Cup fever that is sweeping the globe this… Read more »
Small Discrepancies Grow Into a Giant Fraud
Satyam Computer Services, a leading Indian outsourcing company that served more than a third of the Fortune 500 companies, was at the heart of a huge 2009 fraud perpetrated through the significant inflation of earnings and falsification of accounts and assets for a number of years. Chairman, Ramalinga Raju, resigned in January 2009 after revealing that… Read more »
Madoff: Freedom in Prison?
In an extended expose, the New York Magazine reported that Bernard Madoff described his scheme as a real nightmare to him, as if he were the real victim, and complained about little old ladies bugging him for money. The article goes on to describe his celebrity in prison among the other inmates and his “freedom”… Read more »