The SEC announced that it had reached a settlement with Technip for multiple violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The SEC allegations focus on Technip’s role as a global engineering, construction and services company based in Paris, France in bribing Nigerian government officials over a 10-year period in order to win construction contracts in… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Forensic
Barry Minkow in the News
Barry Minkow was the famed entrepreneur who started ZZZZ Best in the 1980’s, only to have it collapse in 1987 under the weight of a discovered Ponzi scheme. Minkow was convicted of fraud, among other charges, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but only served 7 years. Minkow now is head of the Fraud… 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 »
If You Are Planning to Work for Grant Thornton in Hawaii, Think Again.
Accounting firm Grant Thornton is leaving the Hawaiian market this summer after more than 50 years, and selling its practice to two of the firm’s audit partners from the Honolulu office. Several established Big Four firms have preceded Grant Thornton in this exodus, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, who left in 2006 after 55 years. Questions: 1. What… Read more »
The Costs and Benefits of Simultaneous Audits for Multinational Companies
Simultaneous audits mean two separate exams, conducted by different governments, in which those governments share with each other some of the taxpayer’s information. Even though you may not have heard of them, they have existed since the 1970s, but are becoming more common today as government tax agencies race to match the level of global… Read more »
More Forensic Accountants of the Future Needed
In recent efforts, the AICPA is promoting forensic accounting skills to CPA firms and university professors. As part of this push, the Institute has published a new report entitled, “Characteristics and Skills of the Forensic Accountant, which presents qualities that surveyed attorneys, forensic CPAs and academics see as critical for the forensic accounting discipline, particularly… Read more »
The “Three R’s” of Skimming
There are numerous methods of skimming and many reasons why it is done. This article walks you through one civil case resolved by a forensic accountant and highlights the difference between a criminal case and civil case. It also addresses numerous types of skimming and how they are perpetuated and caught. 1. What is the… Read more »