Podcasts about acfe

On today's episode we're talking about the complex issue of cryptocurrency and divorce, and to help unpack it, I brought in Chris Groshong. Chris made the leap from biotech to fintech when he founded CoinStructive back in 2015. Since then he's worked for crypto financial institutions and has helped hundreds of people track down crypto lost to scams, hacks, and yes, hidden in divorce. If crypto feels confusing, secretive, or even a little bit shady to you, you're not alone. But as Chris explains, the blockchain is actually built on transparency. So once you know what to look for, it becomes a powerful tool for uncovering hidden assets.  In this conversation, we break down what crypto really is, how it shows up in divorce, and what steps you can take if you suspect it's being used to conceal money. Here's what else we discuss in this episode: What cryptocurrency is and why understanding how it works is so important in the context of divorce (3:29) What the hell is the blockchain?? (4:56) Why crypto can be risky in divorce: people often forget that it's not just about gains, but losses too (21:26) Red flags that might signal your spouse is hiding crypto (think unexplainable withdrawals, hardware wallets, or sketchy apps) (24:56) How crypto investigations actually work and why they're often more successful than you'd think (44:49) Learn more about Chris Groshong: Chris Groshong is a Certified Fraud Investigator who focuses on helping victims of cryptocurrency scams. He is also the Chief Compliance Officer for several crypto financial institutions including Bitcoin ATM operators, OTC exchanges, Wallet operators, DeFi platforms and more. He helps oversee money transmitter licensing and regulatory affairs for his clients at a fraction of the cost of attorneys. He is a member of the CFCIA (California Financial Crimes Investigators Association), Government Blockchain Association, The Chamber of Digital Commerce, ABA (American Bar Association), ACFCS, ACFE, ACAMS, and has served as an Expert Witness in a Federal fraud case involving Bitcoin and Monero as well as several Divorce cases. He maintains a public-private partnership with the FBI through Infragard. Chris is the Executive Director of the Crypto Recovery Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of crypto thefts and scams by providing Blockchain Forensics to victims who can't afford services, as well as access to low or no-cost Mental Health services and preventative education and training. Resources & Links:The Divorce Survival Guide Resource BundleFocused Strategy Sessions with Kate  Phoenix Rising: A Divorce Empowerment Collective Chris's website Crypto Recovery Alliance Chris on LinkedIn =================== DISCLAIMER:  THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS AVAILABLE ON THIS PODCAST ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ADVICE.  YOU SHOULD CONTACT AN ATTORNEY, COACH, OR THERAPIST IN YOUR STATE TO OBTAIN ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO ANY PARTICULAR ISSUE OR PROBLEM. Episode link: https://kateanthony.com/podcast/episode-328-crypto-and-divorce-how-to-uncover-digital-assets-with-chris-groshong  

In this episode of Fraud Talk, John Warren, CEO of the ACFE, and Jennifer Liebman, Editor-in-Chief of Fraud Magazine, delve into some of 2024's most scandalous fraud cases. From Boeing's guilty plea tied to deadly aviation crashes to Vietnam's sentencing of a real estate tycoon to death for embezzlement, they explore the global implications of these high-profile frauds. Tune in to understand the evolving nature of fraud, including the role of AI and platforms like TikTok in modern schemes, and uncover critical lessons for prevention and compliance.

In this special episode of Seize & Desist, our host, Aidan Larkin, sits down with blockchain intelligence specialist, author and Asset Reality co-founder Nick Furneaux for a behind-the-scenes look at his second book, ‘There's No Such Thing As Crypto Crime', and the challenges of writing it over the last two years while balancing work, family, and building a house.Nick shares his journey from leaving school at 16 with no qualifications to becoming one of the world's foremost authorities in crypto investigations, having analyzed over $20 billion worth of crypto-related crime and trained thousands of investigators globally.Aidan and Nick also discuss the growing challenges for law enforcement, the role of AI in fighting scams, the rise of organised crypto crime, and why education and better training are essential for tackling the evolving world of cryptocurrency.Timestamps02:00 - Nick's background06:00 - Nick's first experience with crypto14:00 - Lessons from Yap Island: How Public Ledgers Work16:00 - Why investigators must understand crypto18:00 - Why so many scams use cryptocurrency25:00 - Understanding the appeal of Bitcoin ATMs33:00 - The challenges presented by AI38:30 - Building a future of accessible crypto educationResources MentionedThere's No Such Thing as Crypto Crime: An Investigative HandbookInvestigating Cryptocurrencies: Amazon.co.uk The world's first crypto auction: Asset Reality's origin story Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System Sweden pays drug dealer £1m after seizing his Bitcoin Operation ShamrockBillion-dollar cyberfraud industry expands in Southeast Asia as criminals adopt new technologieshttps://www.linkedin.com/posts/aidan-larkin-29810781_bitcoinatm-moneylaundering-activity-7259916571886694400-AUpI/ TRON, Tether, and TRM Labs Establish First-Ever Private Sector Financial Crime Unit to Combat Crypto Crime | TRM InsightsVirtual Asset Transfer Fundamentals | Asset Reality Academy About our GuestNick Furneaux is a leading blockchain intelligence specialist with over 20 years of experience in computer security and forensics. He is the author of ‘Investigating Cryptocurrencies' (2018) and ‘There's No Such Thing As Crypto Crime' (2024), the only books focused on investigating crypto-related criminal activity. Nick also serves as a Blockchain Intelligence Expert at TRM Labs and is the co-founder of Asset Reality.Over the course of his career, Nick has contributed to high-profile investigations in fraud, murder, terrorism, and child protection, focusing on live data acquisition, volatile data analysis, and the role of cryptocurrency in criminal activity.A sought-after speaker at global conferences such as SOCEX and ACFE, Nick regularly provides training to governments, law enforcement, and corporations worldwide on advanced forensic techniques.DisclaimerOur podcasts are for informational purposes only. They are not intended to provide legal, tax, financial, and/or investment advice. Listeners must consult their own advisors before making decisions on the topics discussed. Asset Reality has no responsibility or liability for any decision made or any other acts or omissions in connection with your use of this material.The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Asset Reality employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the views of the company. Asset Reality does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of the information in any particular podcast and will not be responsible for any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies of any part of such material. Unless stated otherwise, reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Asset Reality.

International Fraud Awareness Week, a global initiative started by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), takes place every November. Shining a light on better fraud prevention across businesses and banks, podcast guest John Gill, President of the ACFE, chats to us about the landscape of payments fraud. He explores the role of AI and machine learning, the potential risks associated with faster payments processing, and the outlook for B2B financial crime in 2025.

Namibië het 'n beslissende stap geneem om bedrog te bekamp met die stig van 'n plaaslike afdeling van die Vereniging van Gesertifiseerde Bedrogondersoekers, of ACFE. Die vereniging is 'n globale leier in teen-bedrog opleiding en sertifisering, en het ten doel om Namibiese professionele persone te bemagtig om die groeiende bedreiging van bedrog aan te spreek. Dit is veral belangrik in die lig van Namibië se plasing op die Finansiële Aksie Taakmag se gryslys. Kosmos 94.1 Nuus het gesels met Lehana Nel, die president van ACFE Namibië, wat uitbrei.

There are a shocking amount of businesses that ultimately fail because of fraud. Many managers and business owners are unaware of their losses because they do not have the systems in place to look for fraud and it may not be their primary concern. Today's guest is James Ratley. Jim graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. In 1971, he joined the Dallas Police Department as a police officer. He was on numerous task forces with a concentration on major fraud cases. He joined a major forensic accounting practice and was in charge of fraud investigations. In 1988, he was named the Program Director of The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and in 2006, became the President. In 2011, he became the CEO and he retired in 2018 after 30 years there. James has been an adjunct professor, published author, and named by Accounting Today as one of the top influencers multiple times. Show Notes: [1:14] - James shares his background and the way his career panned out over 30 years. [3:35] - When the ACFE was established, there was no information or education around it at all. [5:09] - The average organization loses 5% of their revenue to fraud. Out of every ten people hired, statistically, six of them will steal from you. [6:46] - Fraud can be prevented and strategies to reduce fraud are typically inexpensive. [8:40] - It's important for business owners not to be afraid to call it fraud. [10:25] - Fraud perpetrators believe they deserve what they've taken. [13:26] - It's important for businesses to have strong management and leadership. Training is crucial. [14:18] - James discusses the most common types of fraud and how even the seemingly minor things could be detrimental. [18:24] - Fraud perpetrators are really good at hiding what they are doing and making the business owners believe it could never be them. [20:15] - Another strategy is to separate tasks out and be strict about them. [21:37] - Surprise cash counts is another good strategy. [23:13] - There are no small frauds, only frauds that have not had time to reach maturity. [25:44] - You impact rationalization through education. [29:16] - James lists some of the red flags that could indicate something more going on. [31:31] - There should be policies and regulations that purchasing officers are held to. [36:30] - Auditors must be completely independent. [40:10] - Some business owners will deny the problem is happening because it is hard to deal with and accept that someone they trust could be stealing. [44:35] - Many small organizations go out of business due to operating at a loss. Most of the time this is because of fraud. [47:25] - Never judge someone by the standards you have for yourself. [51:12] - Something to remember is that most fraudsters will steal in even numbers. [53:11] - In most cases that James has worked, the manager had seen all the signs, but never thought anything about it. Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.  Links and Resources: Podcast Web Page Facebook Page whatismyipaddress.com Easy Prey on Instagram Easy Prey on Twitter Easy Prey on LinkedIn Easy Prey on YouTube Easy Prey on Pinterest ACFE Website

Eddie Miro, author of 'Outlaw Summer, Cyber Dreams: The Hacker's Journey Through Crime and Redemption,' joins John Gill, President of the ACFE, on Fraud Talk to share his story of transformation from hacker to educator. Eddie opens up about his troubled family background and his descent into criminal activities, including cybercrime. They delve into the critical topics of physical security, social engineering and the importance of user awareness training for small to medium-sized companies.

Send us a Text Message.In this episode, CII General Counsel Jeff Mahoney interviews John Warren, the CEO of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). ACFE recently issued the 13th edition of the largest and most comprehensive study on the costs and effects of occupational fraud entitled "Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations."

All Things Internal Audit: Key Takeaways from Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations In this episode, Mason Wilder, research director of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, discusses the findings and implications of the Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations. This conversation covers: Fraud detection and reporting methods Fraud profiles Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fraud Importance of fraud risk management Using reports to enhance fraud prevention efforts Value of fraud awareness training This episode is available on all major podcast platforms or on our YouTube channel.

Amanda Holden, a partner with Deloitte's Financial Crimes, joins Samuel May, ACFE research specialist, on Fraud Talk to uncover the intricacies of fraud prevention and program integrity in the Canadian public sector. They navigate the crucial role of proactive prevention and detection, addressing the unique challenges faced by public entities in a rapidly evolving fraud landscape. Holden explores the essential COSO framework, emphasizing the balance between expediency and robust fraud controls. Dive into Holdens's expert insights on breaking down cultural barriers, enhancing information sharing and leveraging cutting-edge data analytics and technology.

Today's episode with Dan Ramey is about how to sell to clients - specifically attorneys. In this episode, Dan and Leah discuss: Types of services that fall under forensic accountingHow to sell forensic accounting service to attorneysHow to avoid the sales-y feelingConsiderations when starting a forensic accounting practice as a solo practitioner or within a public accounting or consulting firmIn this season of the Data Sleuth Podcast, join Leah Wietholter as she discusses the business of forensic accounting with successful professionals who have done just that! As part of this series, Workman Forensics and podcast guests are providing free resources and tools to accompany each episode to help you with your practice whether you're just starting out or wanting to take it to the next level. Make sure to listen to the end of the episode to find out how to download! Lastly, during the last episode of the season, we are going to answer all of your questions - so if you have any questions about the business of forensic accounting, send them to Leah via YouTube, LinkedIn, or by emailing us at podcast@workmanforensics.com.GUEST BIODan is the Founder and President of Houston Financial Forensics, LLC, and Dan T. Ramey, CPA, LLC.  His professional certifications include CPA/CFF/CITP/ABV, CFE, CVA, CIA/CRMA, CISA/CISM, and CMA.  He is a past President of the Houston Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and formerly a member of the Board of Governors.  Dan previously served as Chairman of the Houston CPA Society's Forensic and Valuation Committee and served two terms as the Treasurer of the Houston Chapter of InfraGard.  Dan is also an adjunct professor at the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University – Accounting and Business Law Department and the C. T. Bauer School of Business – Accounting Department at the University of Houston, where he currently teaches Forensic Accounting and previously taught Enterprise Risk Management. Both courses are graduate level in the Masters of Accountancy programs.Dan graduated from Baylor University with a BBA in Accounting and from Houston Christian University with an Executive MBA. Dan was awarded the Certified Fraud Examiner of the Year award by the ACFE Houston Area Chapter in December 2019.  In 2020, Dan was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the ACFE Houston Area Chapter.  In 2018, he was recognized by the ACFE at their Global Annual Conference in Las Vegas as Educator of the Year.Houston Financial Forensics, LLC is a professional services provider in the areas of fraud investigation, cyber security / cyber fraud risk assessment, forensic accounting, and litigation support.Email: dan@houstonfinancialforensics.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danramey/RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODETo access the downloads discussed in this episode, visit: www.datasleuthpodcast.comTo learn more about the Investigation Game Education Edition, visit: workmanforensics.com/tig-educatorsOrder your copy of Leah's book, Data Sleuth: Using Data in Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigations today on Amazon!CONNECT WITH WORKMAN FORENSICSYoutube: @WorkmanForensicsFacebook: @wforensicsTwitter: @wforensicsInstagram: @wforensicsLinkedIn: @workmanforensicsSubscribe and listen to this and more episodes of The Data Sleuth® Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, or anywhere you listen.

In many episodes, Greg cites statistics from “A Report to the Nations,” the biennial report on occupational fraud, from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. As luck would have it, the most recent edition dropped in 2024, and so naturally, Caleb and Greg took the opportunity to discuss it. HOW TO EARN FREE CPEIn less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.Download the app:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.appQuestions? Need help? Email support@earmarkcpe.com.CONNECT WITH THE HOSTSGreg Kyte, CPATwitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyteLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/Caleb NewquistTwitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquistLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/Email us at ohmyfraud@earmarkcpe.com Sources:Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report To The Nations [ACFE]

Most internal fraudsters display at least one of eight (8) red flags that fraud is occurring.  Do you know what to look for? Keep Listening.  Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help implementing authentication techniques, internal controls, and best practices to prevent fraudulent payments, regulatory fines or bad vendor data. Check out my new Vendor Process Training Center for 116+ hours of weekly live and on-demand training for the Vendor team.  Links mentioned in the podcast + other helpful resources:    ACFE Occupational Fraud 2024:  A Report to the Nations:  https://legacy.acfe.com/report-to-the-nations/2024/ Training Session:  IRS W-9 Examples By Tax Classification - What To Look For When Accepting From Your Vendorhttps://training.debrarrichardson.com/course/w9Vendor Process Training Center:  https://training.debrarrichardson.comFree Live and On-Demand Webinars: https://debrarrichardson.com/webinarsVendor Validation Reference List with Resources Links: www.debrarrichardson.com/vendor-validation-download (Get 25% Discount on the Global Vendor Registration Numbers)Vendor Master File Clean-Up:  https://www.debrarrichardson.com/cleanupYouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeoffeQu3pSXMV8fUIGNiw More Podcasts/Blogs/Webinars www.debrarrichardson.comMore ideas?  Email me at debra@debrarrichardson.com Music Credit:  www.purple-planet.com

In this episode of Fraud Talk, Andi McNeal, VP of Education for the ACFE, and ACFE Research Director, Mason Wilder, delve into the critical insights of Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, discussing its evolution, consistent themes and groundbreaking findings. They explore the significance of tips and internal controls in detecting fraud, the increased median losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift towards web-based reporting mechanisms. Concluding with actionable advice, the episode underscores the value of the report in enhancing anti-fraud programs and heightening fraud awareness within organizations.

On today's episode, I had the pleasure of having a chat with Jim Vogt who is wearing multiple hats: Professor at the University, Co-Founder, CEO, and Board Director. During our interview we spoke a lot about fraud awareness, what is necessary to be successful in fraud prevention and ACFE, and why we need it. We touched what are the main benefits of getting CFE.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/culty and get on your way to being your best self.   Erika Cheung arrived at the Theranos corporate headquarters at just 22 years old as a newly minted college grad. At the time, the idealistic chemist and biologist saw Elizabeth Holmes just as so many others did: As a visionary on the verge of completely disrupting the healthcare paradigm. As it would turn out, Erika's honeymoon phase at her dream gig lasted all of seven months. That's when she quit her job in the Theranos lab, bought a burner phone, and blew the whistle on one of the biggest con artists in American business history. The Theranos story has always seemed more than a little bit culty to us, so we jumped at the chance to chat with Erika about her experience. After all, sometimes a culty situation starts out looking like a promising job offer with a ‘visionary' who turns out to be a faux humanitarian. (We've been there, Erika. Oh…have we been there.) About Erika Cheung: Erika was born in Los Angeles, CA. She spent most of her education homeschooled, but started community college at age 14 and then went on to obtain a dual degree in Linguistics and Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. She was one of the key whistleblowers that reported Theranos to health regulators. Her report subsequently led to the shut down of Theranos' clinical lab which prevented the company from providing false medical results to thousands of patients. This account is covered in the book Bad Blood by John Carreryrou, 60 Minutes, the ABC Podcast: The Drop Out, and Alex Gibney's documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. Erika is the executive director of Ethics in Entrepreneurship, a non-profit whose mission is to foster ethical questioning, culture, and systems in startups and startup ecosystems. She's currently working towards obtaining her ACFE-certified fraud examiner's license to educate others on fraud prevention strategies and develop programs to protect business stakeholders from high-risk ventures. She is also an advisor to several whistleblower advocacy organizations to support individuals who may  She is also an avid mixed martial artist in her free time and hopes to support efforts that leverage martial arts to empower trauma survivors. Also…Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that…   The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody's mad at you, just don't be a culty fuckwad.   OTHER LINKS: Check out our lovely sponsors Join ‘A Little Bit Culty' on Patreon Get poppin' fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Cult awareness and recovery resources   CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Producer: Will Retherford Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin  

The award-winning Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast that takes a deep dive into a compliance-related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. Looking for some hard-hitting insights on compliance? Look no further than Compliance into the Weeds! In this episode, Tom and Matt look at the recent ACFE publication of its 2024 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report and what it means for compliance professionals. The ACFE 2024 Antifraud Technology Benchmarking report unveils an intriguing shift towards the use of AI in antifraud analytics, with a significant 83% of respondents planning to adopt generative AI in the coming years. However, the report also highlights a gap in current practices, with only a quarter of organizations utilizing analytics for corruption and bribery detection. Tom views this report as a crucial tool for understanding the evolving landscape of fraud detection. He emphasizes the importance of staying ahead of technological advancements and the potential risks of not having sophisticated tools for managing fraud investigations. Similarly, Matt underscores the report's insights into the challenges faced by antifraud professionals. He stresses the importance of aligning analytical capabilities with manpower resources and the critical role of experienced professionals in managing complex issues like bribery and corruption. Both perspectives highlight the need for a strategic blend of technology and human expertise in the ever-evolving world of compliance and audit. Key Highlights: Generative AI Integration in Antifraud Analytics Generative AI Impact on Fraud Examination Trends AI's Role in Fraud Detection and Compliance Detecting Financial Fraud Through Advanced Analytics Resources: Matt on Radical Compliance Tom   Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special edition of Fraud Talk, we focus on the ACFE's annual round-up featured in Fraud Magazine, a highlight anticipated by many in the industry. This year, we offer you an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse into the process of selecting the top five most scandalous frauds of 2023. Join John Warren, CEO of the ACFE, and Jennifer Liebman, Assistant Editor of Fraud Magazine, as they meticulously unravel each case, providing an in-depth analysis and insight into the complexities and implications of these notable frauds

Belinda Kitos, CFE, CICA and president of SCF Inc., was elected as treasurer of her homeowners association, but when she opened the books she discovered a $1.2 million fraud in her own backyard. In this month's episode of Fraud Talk, Kitos and Jason Zirkle, training director of the ACFE, explore their own experiences investigating HOA fraud and the red flags of these schemes.

Dr. Emily Homer, ACFE, returns to Fraudish for an update on her career, projects with the ACFE and so much more related to fraud and criminology. Listen to the full episode for some valuable points on legal treatment of white collar criminals, the real impact of financial crime, and how we use pop culture to teach fraud. Dr. Homer is a graduate of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Louisville. She is currently a Research Specialist with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Her academic research focuses on theoretical explanations of financial crime with an eye toward prevention and detection. She hopes to help bridge the gap between scholars and practitioners and create financial crime work that will benefit both groups. Her publications have appeared in the Journal of White-Collar and Corporate Crime, Journal of Financial Crime, and Criminal Justice Policy Review, among others. Show Notes:Dr. Emily Homer Linkedin

Joining the global effort to promote International Fraud Awareness Week, we're joined by two industry experts from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners: President, John Gill, and Andi McNeal, Vice President of Education. In this discussion we get a sense of the bad actors that have brought occupational fraud to the forefront and look at the critical proactive approaches that banks and businesses can take to detect and protect against it.

In this month's episode of Fraud Talk, the Chief Training Officer for the ACFE, John Gill, CFE, meets with David Fleck, Esq., business and real estate attorney who represents victims of business, real estate and investment fraud in lawsuits to recover their money, property and dignity. They discuss trends in real estate fraud including investment fraud, title theft and deed fraud, mortgage fraud and wire transfer fraud.

Get ready for part two of our insightful ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) discussion on the Count Me In podcast. Our expert panel, Douglas, Dan, and Catie, unpack the pressures and fraud risks inherent in ESG reporting, offering invaluable insights gleaned from real-world scenarios. But it's not just about identifying risks; they also provide practical guidance for those embarking on their ESG journey. Learn how to start with what you have, concentrate on materiality, and establish a robust, cross-functional ESG team. Tune in for an essential roadmap to navigate the complexities of ESG reporting in today's business landscape. This is one episode you won't want to miss!Connect with our speakers:Catie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctserex/Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-mosher-8552519/Doug: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-hileman-fsa-crma-cpea-p-e-6abbb71/Download the reports mentioned into today's podcast:Achieving Effective Internal Control Over Sustainability ReportingManaging Fraud Risks in an Evolving ESG EnvironmentFull Episode Transcript:Adam:            Welcome back to Count Me In. Today we have part two of Unraveling ESG. We're joined, again, by Catie Selex, Douglas Hileman, and Dan Mosher for the completion of their conversation. Now, if you didn't hear part one, I encourage you to pause right now and listen to that first. In today's episode, we explore the challenges and risks of ESG reporting, including the potential for fraud. Our experts delve into the pressures companies face and discuss real-world examples of how well-intentioned sustainability efforts can sometimes lead to misreporting and potential fraud. But it's not all about the pitfalls, they also offer essential guidance to those new to ESG. Emphasizing the importance of starting with existing resources, focusing on materiality, and setting up the dedicated cross-functional ESG team. Don't miss this invaluable conversation, so let's get started. [00:00:55]       < Music > Dan:                Doug, I mentioned the ACFE's Fraud Triangle earlier, and I'm eager to hear some of your perspectives on applying that Fraud Triangle to ESG.  Doug:              Thank you, Dan, it can be done too. It's a familiar construct, and I was fortunate to be an in-house at a Big Four when Sarbanes-Oxley hit. And at the very beginning of designing internal controls and testing internal controls, we had to consider the possibility of fraud.We had to design controls to prevent fraud, in audits we had to detect fraud.  Being an environmental specialist, and then with the IIA coming out with changing their IPPF, their framework, to require testing for fraud. I've been testing for fraud and considering fraud for 20 years, in the environmental space since 2002. It looks a little different for ESG, but not as different as you might think. There is pressure, pressure can be, "We've got to get this report out." "The customer wants this answer." "We have to say, for example, that our products didn't come from Bangladesh, so what the heck? How will they find out?" There's so much pressure. I see that people are involved in ESG, in this non-financial reporting, as an add-on to their jobs. It might be 20% of their job, and it's the 20% between 120 and 140% of what they're supposed to do. People are under, and companies, are under tremendous pressure to put the right answer out there.  They have the opportunity to do so because the controls are not designed, and have not been implemented with the potential for fraud in mind. So where there are weak controls or no controls, the opportunities are there. I see this comes into play, also, when data and information comes from outside the organization. There's this tricky thing where so much of what we do, in ESG, is not only what the organization controls but what the organization can influence. There are some challenges there, how do you control what you don't control?  So the opportunity is there because the controls can be weak or nonexistent. And the rationalization can be, "Well, everybody does it."  Or "It's not about money, it's about prestige." "It's not really this, we want the award." We've seen, for example, there's a magazine, an organization, that rates colleges, the 10 best colleges in each thing. And we've started to see, in recent years, where the colleges are even fudging the information to get the prestige of being in that award. That may have secondary effects for how many people go to that college or what they're willing to pay for tuition, but that's fraud.  In my book, if you submit data and information that is incorrect, or inaccurate, or misleading, with the intent to deceive at the expense of others. Especially if that turns into actual or potential financial gain, I call that fraud. So that applies on all three sides of the triangle. It's just a matter of thinking about this ESG and non-financial world and how that can happen. Dan:                Excellent, Doug. Yes, maybe, just to add a couple of extra points around those pressures and incentives. Today we are seeing that there is incentive compensation for certain executives that is linked to various ESG measures. If you think about that and the opportunity for management override of certain controls that are out there, that's a great incentive.  If you're going to get paid a bigger bonus because of greater ESG metrics, and your ESG, for example, your emissions information is held in Excel spreadsheet, which in many cases that is the case. I saw a survey, not so long ago, of more than a thousand executives saying that, I think, it was 86% of them had their emissions data just sitting in a spreadsheet. And if you could change that with a few keystrokes, at the executive level, to boost your bonus, someone might do that. Other things I think of are from an incentive or pressure standpoint. Things around ESG-linked bonds or credits where there are a key performance indicators and you're required to maintain those metrics, to maintain certain interest rates or payment on your bond. Those things are out there and they're going to influence some portion of those that are held to them. Catie, maybe, you have some other thoughts around this as well? Catie:              Yes, Dan, so one of the things that we're seeing in ESG, especially because people are so compelled to make great strides on their data and to make progress towards their targets, in a very quick manner, is there's an emerging market of solutions that some are absolutely legitimate and there's good actors, but they're also bad actors. So one real-life example of this happening is the Vatican used a third party to preserve a forest area, as part of its carbon offset effort and to help move towards its emissions reductions targets. So, in this instance, the Vatican thought that it had protected an area of Hungarian Forest as part of that reductions plan, but that actually never happened.So while there were good intentions to reduce the Vatican's emissions footprint, ultimately, that desire left them to susceptible to fraud by this third party. So that's something else to think about is as you're incorporating other entities, that are outside of your organizational boundaries to help you reach these targets, are they genuine good actors?  Have you conducted the due diligence to ensure that they're going to support you in getting to those targets, as opposed to hinder or even mislead you, which could lead to misreporting on your part? And, Dan, I wanted to get back to that pressure element. A lot of the clients that we're working with are in those early stages of ESG reporting, and are just getting their program started. So, Dan, Doug, and I am happy to contribute, as well, but what are some guidance that we can give to listeners? In terms of for those who are at ground zero and need to start reporting, and disclosing, and to ease some of the pressure that they're experiencing from stakeholders and regulators. What are some ways that they can approach this? What are some tools that they can use to mitigate associated risks?  Dan:                I'll go ahead and start. So I refer back to some of those frameworks, that you have mentioned, Catie, as a starting point. In terms of the kinds of disclosures that an organization might make in a certain business sector. I think that they should be taking stock of the various channels in which they might be reporting that information, and looking at the various kinds of scenarios, in which the information might be incomplete or inaccurate. So even just thinking about those processes will get them on a good path forward.  I think that you probably want to think about starting fairly small, with the kinds of disclosures, and build upon those as your maturity from an ESG perspective grows. Doug, what are your thoughts? Doug:              For companies just starting out, or in the early stages, what I would say to them is, first, just recognize this is not a hobby. This is not a nice to do, this is a business imperative and it is not going away. Put the right people on it and devote resources to it, who can really get things moving. Another thing I would say is, one of my phrases, is begin with what you've got because you really can't begin with anything else. A gap assessment is a really good idea. What are the requirements that are expected from the general capital markets?  What are the questions you're getting from impact investors and customers, where you're getting that pull and you're expected to provide something? Well, what is it you have? Companies may have a little more information than they think they have. Because much of this information is already being collected to achieve regulatory compliance obligations, with let's say the EPA, or with OSHA, or the Department of Labor. Is that data and information fit for purpose or can it be modified a little bit, to meet the expectations of the stakeholders who want this kind of reporting and disclosures? Another point I would say, we've touched upon the cross-functional team. This cannot be the responsibility of any one person. This is a team effort because this non-financial information touches every part of your business internally, and it touches many parts of your business externally. With your providers of capital, your banks, your insurance companies, your customers. So all the people who engage in external relations with folks outside the company, it has to include those.  One tip I would say is climate change is the single biggest issue of our time and climate change and climate change reporting, greenhouse gas emissions reporting, is expected of everybody. So climate change has got to be on your agenda. There is some specialized expertise that comes with that.  I would suggest that climate change has even its own team and its own work streams. I think supporting that when the ISSB put out their two exposure drafts. They had one for all sustainability reporting disclosures and one for climate change risk and exposures. So you've got to address climate change. And, finally, I would say I put in a shameless plug for using the COSO Framework, that if the data is going to be complete. If it's going to be accurate, if it's going to be verifiable if you're going to have the right people with access to it and only the right people with access to this data. There's nowhere better to start than that COSO Internal Controls Framework. And even backing up that COSO Enterprise Risk Management Framework to lead into materiality. And to lead into what are the issues where we should be reporting on and focus our efforts.  To use an extreme example, if you're a Chevron you're not going to bet the company on recycling paper. So what are the issues that matter to you as a company? Where you invest your time, your resources, your people, and your initiatives on improving performance.  Catie:              And, Doug, you brought up a great point when it comes to materiality, and I want to make sure that for our listeners, they know that when it comes to ESG and sustainability, materiality is separate and distinct from the concept of materiality under federal state securities law, as well as GAAP. And that's because items that are material to ESG they're not, necessarily, the same as those that are material under securities law or GAAP.  So one of the ways that we help clients and, especially, our year zero clients who are trying to uncover what is material to their company. We always recommend starting with a materiality assessment, and ESG strategy and policy development. This is going to help you set your own guardrails so that you don't overextend or overcommit on ESG. Doug mentioned that climate change is becoming one of those topics, that companies absolutely need to have resources and teams dedicated to. And I'm seeing that with most of my clients, climate, even if it's not on the horizon immediately, it's coming.  And, so, it's something that you will need to consider and continue to refresh what's material to you. So having those assessments, we recommend every two to three years because material topics for ESG are not stagnant. You don't select them, and then that's what you have for the entirety of your company's lifespan. They change because society changes, the political environment changes, and the actual environment changes. So you want to make sure that you're staying on top of and looking ahead to what those risks are.  So that you've got the data, mechanisms, and the internal control processes in place, to be able to have that data, have those baselines that you need. And then as you're planning out your ESG programming, set realistic goals and targets. So that you're not overextending yourself and that you are setting commitments that you know that you can achieve, and you're not falling victim to the fraud triangle in an attempt to achieve those commitments that you set for yourself. Dan:                Doug, I know you talked a bit about the great importance of climate change and emissions reporting. I did want to give our listeners some food for thought around emissions reporting. If you think about how some of that emissions reporting takes place, it's a calculation. So, for example, I've been in touch with a large organization. They calculate some of their emissions, taking their rented square footage of office space and applying the relevant coefficient to it, to come up with an estimate of their emissions.  I asked the question, well, "You have a number of offices across the country. What would happen if you, accidentally, forgot the Dallas office? Would someone catch it?" And the answer was, "Not necessarily." And, so, the care and the completeness, and the extra effort to make sure you have that completeness, it can be challenging, but I think it's completely necessary. Because if something could be forgotten accidentally, it could be forgotten on purpose, and if it's forgotten on purpose that's contributing to fraud.  Catie:              And to add to that point, Dan, some of the frameworks, specific to climate, already have built-in mechanisms to help you guard against that fraud. So, for instance, The Greenhouse Gas Protocols Corporate Standard sets guidelines for when to recalculate your corporate base year emissions. Because companies are setting their targets and their reduction strategies based upon that base year calculation. And, so, there are some particularities in terms of, for instance, if your company goes through an acquisition and your footprint goes by X percent, that is what triggers a base year recalculation for your emissions metrics specifically. And, so, that's a policy example. That's an example of a policy that you would want to have in place for some of these metrics.  So that as your company continues to grow, and circumstances change, and your footprint either shrinks or increases, based upon your operational size. You'll want to have policies in place so that you know when to recalculate your base year, so that you're continuing to report complete and accurate data.  Doug:              I think carbon emissions reporting, encapsulates everything we've discussed on this podcast and everything that's in both of our reports, the COSO Report and ACFE Report. And I think we could probably do a separate podcast on that. I'd encourage our listeners, many of whom are accountants, to read the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and become familiar with it.  There are operational and technical people doing it, but at its heart it really is an accounting protocol. We've discussed how you put together data and information to meet different purposes. I've worked with clients who get called upon to publish a greenhouse gas report, greenhouse gas emissions, using an operational control basis. Using the equity share basis, using the financial… So there's the same data that needs to be sliced and diced three different ways and for different reporting periods. Catie brings up the good point that there are protocols to restate or to correct errors when identified, or to account for forgotten facilities. There are uncertainties documented in it because many of these emissions that are reported involve estimates. What if you get better estimates? Do you apply that to this reporting period or do you retroactively do that and report it? Much of this involves judgment. What is a material change? So maybe you apply materiality in ways that you would apply it elsewhere or differently. All this has to be documented and the possibility of fraud starts to creep in, when there is the pressure to say, "We are on target for getting carbon neutral by 2030, in accordance with senior management's directives." So they can get their compensation bonus, and we can stay in that ESG-preferred trading fund, and we can get our low-interest rate from the bank or decline from that. If you understand, if accountants, and business folks, and operations, and environmental people take a good look at the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and you overlay that with the COSO Internal Control Framework, and you overlay that with that terrific publication on ESG fraud, from the ACFE. A lot of what we're saying will start to make sense and you will understand where you can contribute to more effective and more efficient reporting, and prevention, and detection, of fraud.  Catie:              So we know that, especially, because ESG is still an emerging discipline and there's different interpretations of data, and some of the data points themselves are evolving. So what do you say to those who are concerned about, unintentionally, misreporting data. And realizing two to three years down the road, "Oops, we made a mistake." How should they approach that in the future?  Doug:              Well, that's a great question, Catie, and we see that all the time. And I predict we will see it a lot more as this field matures, and as companies mature their processes and controls, and as more people take a look at it, both, assurance providers, investors, and the like, we're going to see more of that. And it's understandable that everybody will be handwringing and so afraid of making a mistake. And I go back to what we said 20 years ago, at the beginning of Sarbanes-Oxley. I was on many financial audit teams supporting them as ESG specialist for asset retirement obligations, environmental liabilities. And, well, we don't know the right number. We don't know if it's going to happen, and my advice, at the time, as a non-CPA, just an engineer and auditor is to say, "Well, in good faith, read, interpret what is required, develop a process, document the process, and then follow the process and document that you followed the process and the output from that process." That's what goes on the line item in your financial reporting.  If somebody determines that that was not correct or it can be improved. Maybe it's an internal suggestion, maybe it's from an auditor, maybe it's from an enforcement authority. It doesn't really matter how you discover something that needs to be changed. At least you can produce what it was you did and show that you were consistent with the design. The operation was consistent with the design. If you need to change it later, then change it later. Then comes the question, do we change it from this point going forward or do we have to do an adjustment for prior reporting periods? So that can be part of your process and your criteria. Set a threshold, a materiality threshold for that. Develop a process for how teams consider that and who decides yes or no. It's really using processes that you already have, and apply those for non-financial reporting.  Catie:              And just to jump in there from the ESG perspective, Doug, I think, not every year will be one marked by progress towards your targets. There's a million different circumstances that can affect progression on your commitments. And, so, again, going back to being transparent and communicating challenges and setbacks to your stakeholders, goes a long way in the ESG space. In terms of them continuing to have faith that you are reporting these disclosures, as they go along, and highlighting where you are experiencing those challenges and setbacks. Doug:              That's right.  Dan:                One part of the ACFE's Fraud Triangle is rationalization, and I think that this longer time horizon that Catie was just pointing to, actually, causes some rationalization to happen. Because there's a longer time horizon, someone might say to themselves, "Well, I can catch up next year.Let me fudge the number a little bit this year, and show some progress, and I will make it all better next year." And, so, there is something particular to ESG with that longer time horizon for those commitments being made around, "I'm going to be net zero by such and such a date. Well, that's a long time from now, let me just show that I have progression every year and hope that I can catch up in reality." Dan:                I maintain that non-financial reporting has a couple of attributes that are a little different from financial reporting, or at least they occur in greater proportion. Two of those attributes are much more narrative in non-financial disclosures, descriptions of processes, and also some forward-looking statements. Companies are encouraged to announce goals and targets, which sets the stage for reporting in future reporting periods on their progress to the goals and targets.  One of the things that is starting to look a little different, companies will say, "We are committed to meeting our climate goals for 2040." Where they make some grand, forward-looking narrative statements, and talking to some folks who are reviewing that, and even some of the external auditors, they're comparing those forward-looking narrative statements to where the companies are spending their money.  So if you're making statements and disclosures that are these grand, forward-looking projections, and the auditors see you're spending $7, a year, towards meeting that goal. Well, is that statement itself? Is that disclosure? Is that negligent?  Is that sloppy, or is that in order to get into an ESG fund, or to attract Helen, in ways? Is that tiptoeing into fraud?  I think the dust is yet to settle on that, but the topic is coming up. Dan:                I think it's a great point, Doug, and I'm sure that there are a host of attorneys out there who will, gladly, be spending time to figure out when the line has crossed into fraud. Catie:              And I will add to that, we're seeing a lot of companies set 2040 goals. And just for context, that comes out of the Paris Agreement, saying that the global target for net zero needs to be… Hang on, Adam, let me pause and make sure that I don't misstate this. So part of that Paris Agreement was this global recognition that net zero needs to happen by 2040.  And, so, that's why you're seeing that number come up in a lot of different corporate targets, when it comes to their net zero goals. That said, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, at the company level, in order to achieve that. And there are things that are beyond your control.  So the different breakthrough technologies that are needed in order to accelerate transitioning to a decarbonized economy. There's still a lot of research being done in terms of the electrical grid and the different green technologies that can generate energy, to help reduce that carbon footprint. So I urge caution in terms of setting your goals because it needs to be, again, coming back to the point, it needs to be realistic and something that you think you can achieve. So one thing that we encourage our companies to do is it's great to have a moonshot goal, and if 2040 is your moonshot goal, then that's awesome. But setting those intermediary milestones to hold yourself accountable, to that moonshot goal, is something we really encourage our clients to do.  So that could be as simple as setting your baseline year for Scope 1 and 2 emissions. So that you have a complete understanding of your carbon footprint. And then from there you can understand what are those emission sources that we have? What can we do, that's in our power, to reduce those emissions? Are there simple process changes that can reduce our footprint?  So it's important, again, just go back to what you have already, what you know, and work from there. And there's no shame in having a really great moonshot goal if it's 2040 or if it's not 2040. But I think that setting those intermediary goals is going to be what really helps you to not fall susceptible to the fraud triangle.  Dan:                I think, we've had a really good conversation here and we've covered a lot of ground. Everything from visibility into your supply chain and the challenges raised by that. All of the complexities around data quality for emissions reporting and other sorts of reporting. I really have enjoyed this conversation immensely.  Doug:              As have I, it was a privilege. I hope our listeners enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having the conversation. Catie:              Yes, thank you to Dan and Doug for this discussion. I really enjoyed chatting with you and, hopefully, the listeners will get some useful information out of this that they can take back to their organizations, and start to implement some of those tools and mechanisms to help them guard against fraud. [00:29:20]       < Outro > Announcer:    This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast. Providing you with the latest perspectives of thought leaders from the accounting and finance profession. If you like what you heard and you'd like to be counted in, for more relevant accounting and finance education, visit IMA's website at www.imanet.org.

As highlighted in the recent COSO publication on Internal Controls over Sustainability Reporting, good governance and systems for sustainable business activities and ESG reporting require attention to potential risks around fraud and greenwashing.  Reflecting Grant Thornton's recent report on control activities related to these risks, join us as we take a dive deep into the world of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in business with our latest episode of the 'Count Me In' podcast. Hosted by a panel of experts, which includes Catie Serex, Douglas Hileman and Dan Mosher, our podcast uncovers the truth behind ESG, its importance in today's business world, the challenges it presents, and importantly, its potential role in fraudulent activities. Tune in for a fascinating conversation on ESG reporting, corporate purpose, sustainability, and the latest trends affecting investors, employees, and stakeholders alike. Don't miss this chance to stay informed and ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of business.Connect with our speakers:Catie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctserex/ Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-mosher-8552519/Doug: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-hileman-fsa-crma-cpea-p-e-6abbb71/Download the reports mentioned into today's podcast:Achieving Effective Internal Control Over Sustainability ReportingManaging Fraud Risks in an Evolving ESG EnvironmentFull Episode Transcript:Adam:            Hello, and welcome back to another enlightening episode of Count Me In. I'm your host, Adam Larson, and today we're diving deep into the complexities of Environmental, Social, and Governance, ESG, with a distinguished panel of experts. We're joined by Douglas Hileman, an experienced sustainability consultant, with over three decades of experience in environmental management systems, and internal controls.  Alongside him, we have Dan Mosher, a seasoned professional who excels in helping businesses navigate the complexities of sustainability and environmental risks. Last but not least, we welcome Catie Serex. A leader in environmental, health, and safety, auditing and management who assists businesses in integrating sustainable and socially responsible practices.  Today's discussion will delve into the importance of ESG, the challenges businesses face in managing ESG data, and the potential risk of fraud in ESG reporting. Here we go, let's listen in together. [00:01:00]       < Music > Doug:              And one of the things that we might kick off is with a very basic question of what is ESG? Dan, when people ask you this, how do you answer? Dan:                Well, it really is a big umbrella, and I'll ask for some help from Catie in this regard. But ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. And, so, lots of things under that environmental area. Everything from waste management and air quality, climate change. From a social perspective, it could be your human capital management, health and safety matters. Governance, I think of anticorruption, data risks, and the like. So it really is a broad title when we say ESG. Catie, do you have some things you'd like to add to that comment? Catie:              Yes, Dan, you definitely covered the gamut as far as some of the phrasings and the terminology, and really the topics that fall under that ESG umbrella. What I would want to add is that ESG is certainly one of the buzziest words in business today. But you might not know that ESG is, very simply, the newest iteration of concepts you've likely known for a long time. It's been previously known as corporate purpose, sustainability, even philanthropy.  But what differentiates ESG from these previous versions is that it now represents the closest alignment, to date, of business operations, so think about your tangible assets. To those intangible elements of business that drive value. And, in this case, I'm referring to things like customer loyalty, labor environments, community engagement support. And because of this connection, ESG is moving from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have for companies, but also their investors, their customers, and other key stakeholders like their employees. Doug:              I also think of ESG as a convenient taxonomy for all things non-financial. Many people have published those pillars or the word clouds that's in the ACFE report, and what topic goes where. For financial reporting, we know where sales goes and we know where EBITDA goes. We know where those are in a format and how to put the data and information together for clarity and reporting. For all things non-financial, it's just such a sprawling array of topics that ESG serves for one reason, in one way, as just simply a taxonomy. And there are some issues, such as climate change, like Dan mentioned, that really transcend more than one category, if you will. But for purposes of just where do you find it, and how do you manage it, and it can just serve as a taxonomy. Catie, to your point, on how to organize some processes, some controls, some recordings to understand what the organization is doing. Dan:                And I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the various channels in which this information is being put out there in the public. Catie, maybe you have some thoughts around the wide scope of that. Catie:              Yes, so in terms of the reporting side of things and getting to the nuts and bolts of what, I'm sure our listeners are interested in, in terms of, what am I on the hook for? There are a lot of reporting frameworks out there that are guiding folks. And I know that that's been a point of confusion for people is understanding, there are all these different acronyms out there. That I can report to like SASB, or the Global Reporting Initiative, GRI, Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures or TCFD. There are a lot of frameworks out there, but the field is narrowing.  So some of the communication that we've been seeing from these wider umbrella frameworks, are that they are working together to consolidate. To make things a little bit more straightforward, and to make things a little bit more uniform across the reporting landscape. But that's currently in progress, and this is just a result of this being not in nascent stages, but still in its growth period, and really honing down what are the things that shareholders, regulators, and such need to see when it comes to these ESG disclosures. Dan:                And I know that Doug has been on the front line when things are misreported or omitted, and I'd love to hear some of his worst stories. Doug:              Thank you, Dan. The question about reporting channels is a very good one, and Catie brought up several things that are happening in reporting to general capital markets. I also observe that there are other channels for reporting, including impact investors who may be interested in one particular topic. The general purpose capital reporting takes in one tranche, if you will, of topics that need to come external from an organization, a company.  There are other investors who are interested, let's say, in human rights, or in product conformity, or in diversity, or in commitment to climate, and they want more information about those topics. So you may get information from investor groups or analyst groups, and that's a type of report.  Another channel of reporting that I see is B2B reporting. The customers, and business partners, and banks, joint venture participants, are looking more into non-financial risk management. Non-financial performance and alignment, which is ESG. So before entering business relationships, and even during business relationships up and down the value chain, there's also ESG reporting that happens there.  It is starting to align in some ways that they're asking questions about the same topics, but the questions themselves can be different. And, in many cases, the reporting, the demand for reporting has outpaced companies' abilities to report on the data and information. So that pull has created a bit of a vacuum. And many companies are scrambling to come up with processes, systems, and controls so they can generate the data and information that these stakeholders are expecting in terms of reporting. Catie:              Doug, just to jump in there, from a client perspective, we are seeing that a lot of our clients are getting, especially, those B2B requests from either their suppliers or their downstream supply chain vendors. And the way that we're seeing that manifest is a lot of these larger companies are looking at their supply chain. If you think about greenhouse gas emissions, they're looking at their Scope 3 emissions, which is all value chain.  And, so, they're sending requests to clients like ours that are asking, "What are your Scope 1 and 2 emissions? Because we need to report that." We are seeing clients feeling the pressure to respond to that, to continue to be part of those wider supply chains.  And, so, they're coming to us asking for assistance in figuring out what those ESG metrics are and being able to respond in complete and accurate ways. So that they can continue to have those key customers that are asking for that information. Dan:                Yes, and I'd like to pick up on that point, too, and Catie was just touching on it. I think some of the key challenges are, for businesses today, what is the providence of their ESG data?  What is the confidence they have over the accuracy and completeness of it?  And what is the integrity and quality of that data as it travels along its life cycle, from where it started to where it was reported? And has it maintained that integrity all along? Because bringing this back to our main topic of fraud, there are many pressures and incentives that might have someone misstate or omit information in their ESG reporting. Doug:              I'd like to pick up on a topic that Catie discussed on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. It does, inherently, involve a complex web of data from different sources, including suppliers. And companies may be asked to produce or report the greenhouse gas emissions for themselves, as a company, on Scope 1 and Scope 2. I hope our listeners know what that means. Or on a part of Scope 3, or their carbon emissions as a company, or their carbon emissions in a particular country or state, or their carbon emissions for the products they manufacture for a certain customer.  So those are different ways to slice and dice much of the same data. And it all goes back, I'll put in a plug here for the COSO report mapping the internal control framework to ESG. That can be applied to anything, any topic, any company, including, for example, greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of fraud, there can be a difference between just sloppy, or just unavailability of data and willful reporting of incorrect or misleading data.  For example, to get preferred treatment at a customer, or to get preferred inclusion in an ESG index fund, or to get a reduction on interest rate from a line of credit, from a financial institution that's looking for green investments. So we're still seeing an increase in awareness of the fact where, "Well, we can just report this because nobody cares." Or, "Well, it's not regulatory, so we'll just let it go." And willful deceit in order to get a benefit at the expense of other competitors in these areas, which goes into the fraud bucket. That ACFE and Grant Thornton touched upon in that report. Dan:                Yes, thank you, Doug. The report that Doug is referring to is a joint publication of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and Grant Thornton called Managing Fraud Risks in an Evolving ESG Environment. You can get it from our website and from the ACFE, and within that, we did develop an ESG fraud taxonomy.  It encompasses both some of the traditional areas of fraud that have always been there. Corruption, asset misappropriation, and financial statement fraud. And there are certainly ways in which ESG fraud manifests itself under each of those headings.  To that traditional fraud tree we have added an additional area of non-financial reporting fraud, which Doug was alluding to. And the things that might happen under there, there could be false labeling or advertising. Think of things like declarations of saying that it's "Dolphin-free tuna" that has certainly been an area of litigation in the past. I'm thinking about false disclosures or representations, and that might be along the B2B relationships. Where you are omitting information or misstating information to a company that you are a supplier to. Lots of ways that things can be contorted, and misrepresented, and misstated, omitted, and if it is done intentionally, then we're going to consider it fraud. Doug:              Dan, I can't say enough good things about the report that came out and, certainly, my hat is off to you, and Catie, and everybody who contributed to that. I know that was a massive effort. What I think is so elegant about that report is that many of our listeners struggle with how to get their arms around ESG, this sprawling issue is so new, it's so different.  The report begins with a construct that's familiar to everybody who deals with fraud, that famous ACFE fraud tree. And the report adds a leaf, if you will, if you look at that tree at the bottom row, that provides an ESG example for the fraud tree as everybody knows it. And then it was very elegant how you added that branch, if you will, for the ESG, the non-financial reporting with nine different twigs to describe a taxonomy there, and then the leaves with the examples, it was really well done.  So anybody familiar with fraud and the fraud tree. Anybody who has been involved in developing procedures to prevent fraud or to detect fraud on the audit side, you can just use that reference document and get pretty close to how you think about ESG fraud to prevent it and detect it.  Another thing I would observe that the human rights, no product was made with child labor. Non-financial reporting and compliance exists in a lot of places out there, and it can be possible, it can be easy for stakeholders to compare information that arises from different reporting channels for consistency. For example, Dan mentioned one of the claims could be, "None of our products use forced labor".  In the U.S. there's a law called the The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. That has the rebuttable presumption that products made from a certain area, in China, if you cannot prove that those products were made absent forced labor, the assumption is that they were made with forced labor. And the Customs and Border Protection is seizing products at the docks before they come into the country, and waiting on companies to provide evidence that the products are forced-labor-free.  So if you have claims on your website, or on products, or in contract documents that they're forced labor free, and the Customs and Border Protection is reporting that your goods are being held and not allowed into the country. There is an inconsistency there that can be embarrassing, at a minimum, to companies. And it can cost the company sales, customers, and reputational damage if it turns out that those claims cannot be supported. Dan:                Yes, so just picking up on what Doug was talking with The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, this is a big stick for the government in they have a presumption of guilt, so to say. That if they suspect that a good has any raw material or input within it because it is in whole or in part of your good that's being imported, is suspected of having forced labor in it, and that means every tier of your supply chain down to the raw material or seed, if it's an agricultural product. If there is a suspicion that it is tainted by forced labor, it will not be allowed into the country unless you can prove otherwise. And, I think, it's going to become, increasingly, challenging for companies to know their supply chain inside and out. And from a fraud perspective, whether any part of that supply chain is deceiving the rest of the supply chain on whether or not it's tainted by forced labor.  I was just reading over the holidays, there is a tremendous report that came out from Sheffield Hallam University, in the UK, around the various risks in the auto industry for being tainted by forced labor in the production of raw materials. it's really a very difficult area, and it is something that our clients are coming to us, asking for help around.  Dan:                Catie, do you have some other thoughts around the regulatory environment in which this is probably just one small piece? Catie:              Yes, Dan and Doug, you both brought up a great point of there are current existing regulations that apply to certain areas of ESG. But what we're seeing is a global movement towards more overarching regulations across different jurisdictions. So, for instance, last year, the European Union approved the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive Regulation, also called CSRD, and that sets reporting standards for entities that meet certain EU reporting thresholds.  In the UK, there IS BEIS, which is focused on climate-related disclosures for entities that operate in the UK. And then, of course, for our U.S. listeners, I'm sure you all have heard about the coming SEC final rule when it comes to climate disclosures. We anticipate that being finalized as early as April of this year. But all that to say that the regulatory environment, itself, from an ESG perspective, there is a growing recognition that there needs to be standards that companies adhere to. So that there is comparability across the landscape when it comes to ESG data. Because it is hard for whoever is looking at this data to discern what certain data points may mean because they may be defined differently.  So these standards are helping to create an environment that is more accountable and more comparable which, hopefully, will help clarify some things and clarify the way that you go about reporting. That said, even though some of those regulations are very early stage or haven't been released, yet, there are already consequences for misreporting.  So we saw last year, or in the past couple of years, that Goldman Sachs was fined $4 million and BNY Mellon was fined $1.5 million for what were considering material misstatements. And in the future, we see that more frequent consequences could be around the corner. But I can't speak to what that looks like just, yet. Dan, do you have any experience, or Doug, in terms of any additional consequences that you're seeing for misreporting of ESG data? Dan:                Yes, well, for me, as you said, there are consequences from misstating, publicly, the information. There are just a ton of business consequences of misstating the information. So, for example, I myself was involved in an investigation in which there was a licensor of images for the front of T-shirts and the like. There was a requirement that none of the production would take place in Bangladesh after the tragedy in 2013, in which a building collapsed, killing more than 1000 apparel workers.  And, so, there was a requirement that no production take place in Bangladesh, and there was wide-scale deception on that point. Such that there was a lot of production going on in Bangladesh, but it was being misreported to the licensor as being produced in India or in other jurisdictions throughout Asia. That finding, in the investigation that we carried out, was the subject of whether or not a billion-dollar license would go forward or not. Doug:              I can see several potential risks or consequences for misreporting or misleading content and reporting, and they vary according to the reporting channel. For example, there is ESG content in financial statements, in income statements and balance sheets. There are reserve estimates for contingent environmental liabilities.  Something that's a little newer is asset values for Emission Reduction Credits or expected costs in the future for Emission Reduction Credits, if that's part of a company's strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Those have a vintage and the value depends on the vintage. If those are, knowingly, misstated, you're subject to all the things that come with that in financial reporting, disclosure controls, and procedures, and the like. For misrepresentation and misreporting in the Form 10-K, the analysts and the investors are using this to make investment decisions. There are shareholders who are quite happy to file proxy filings or to file suit by claiming to be misled for the content in there. Some of those are starting to see the light of day or to get quietly settled. There was an instance of a major European bank, an employee blowing a whistle, publicly, saying that their screening process for companies to include in an ESG index fund was just not very good or, maybe, a sham.  So there's the reputational damage that can be a hit to a company and the market cap for many companies, the reputation, the intangible value, exceeds the value of PP and E - Plant Property and Equipment. So intangible value and brand value is something to watch out for too and that can take a hit, with misrepresentation or loss of reputation in ESG and non-financial matters. Catie:              And, Doug, just to piggyback on that point, there's the financial disclosure side of that, but there's also, as we talked about, the intangible side of that. So customers are increasingly wanting to purchase sustainably made goods, and engage with companies that align with their own personal moral values and beliefs.  And, so, when they learn that whether it's a good that's claiming to be sustainably made is actually unsustainable, you could lose members of your customer base. At times it inspires boycotts and protests and, especially, in the age of digital media, just imagine someone telling their community about their experience, and that going on Twitter, or TikTok, or something of that nature.  Those are some of the risks that we're seeing from not a regulatory penalty approach. But also there are consequences when it comes to your customer base, the value of your brand, and your brand reputation. Doug:              We've discussed a lot of different data, a lot of different stakeholders, a lot of different needs. So how do companies manage this kind of reporting. When everybody wants something different. There are different ways to slice and dice. How does a company get their arms around this and make sure that it's right? Catie:              Yes, that's a great question, Doug. So as I said before, there are a lot of different frameworks out there. But they are working to consolidate the frameworks and to consolidate the data expectations of those frameworks.  From what I'm seeing, it appears that SASB, GRI, and TCFD, all of which I previously mentioned, are emerging as the big three of ESG data disclosure frameworks. And it's important that our listeners understand that while these frameworks are not required for disclosure, they can help guide your reporting. And, ultimately, they can help your company be more aware of any potential fraud risks and avoid being susceptible to associated fraud with those activities and reporting.  Of course, the frameworks, themselves, are not mandatory for disclosure. They are, as I said, guidelines and we talked, previously, about the different regulations that are emerging. I think the thing that's important to know here is that some of these frameworks are being utilized to inform those regulations. So we know that the SEC climate disclosure draws heavily from TCFD reporting framework.  And, so, some of our clients are asking us to conduct TCFD reporting gap analysis to help them prepare for those upcoming SEC-required disclosures. We have clients who are asking us to do assurance readiness services because they know that they will fall in that year one reporting group, the large accelerated filers for the SEC.  And, so, having us test their existing processes, internal controls, things of that nature, and validate that their data is complete and accurate is something that they're doing to prepare for the upcoming regulatory framework. So the way to think about those frameworks is that it's a helpful way for you to organize your disclosures in anticipation of future reporting requirements.  Dan, do you have any thoughts from the fraud risk perspective of how those frameworks can usually help you. In terms of guarding against any potential misreporting or intentional or unintentional? Dan:                Yes, so when I think about this, I usually do go back to the ACFE's Fraud Triangle, thinking about incentives and pressures, the opportunities for fraud, and the rationalizations one might apply to committing those frauds. So when I think about reporting what is the role of that report?  Is it going to a regulator?  Is it going into a corporate social responsibility or a marketing publication? All of those bear different kinds of risks. So in terms of on this reporting topic, that people and companies should be thinking about taking an inventory of all the ways in which that ESG information is going out to the public, across those different channels. And ensuring that as they're building up their capabilities and infrastructure to maintain good data quality, that it is also ensuring consistency across all of those reporting channels.  What I anticipate, and I think we're starting to see it, is that there will be cases where the same information is reported in one channel, but is inconsistent with how it was reported in another channel, and that will be held against the company. You should not be finding yourself saying one thing to the government and something else in a publication. Doug:              Dan, I absolutely agree with that. I would say to this question, it comes back to a familiar trilogy that we hear as the answer to so many questions, and that is people, process, and technology. And I'll start at the end and work my way back, there are many vendors offering technology fixes and even companies, in-house, building technology fixes to gather and report data.  But the data and the information is only as good as the process it took to come up with the data. You can automate the wrong process and just get the wrong answer faster. So you back up to the process and say, "Well, since this non-financial information originates in so many parts of the company, and even from other companies, suppliers, customers, business partners, and the like. What is the process to get them?" There are also challenges I see on reporting periods. Governments, like EPA, may have an annual reporting process. There are companies with a non-calendar fiscal year, who need to report some of this on a fiscal year basis. So where are the reporting periods? What is the process to collect information and report to a state agency, to a stakeholder, to a customer? So those processes need to be nailed down, and that's where that wonderful COSO internal controls framework comes in. Just follow that and apply it as it's appropriate. And because that data and information comes from so many different sources, I encourage people to have the right people involved.  If companies establish a cross-functional team and get folks from all the places who provide this information. Real estate, operations, safety, procurement, R&D if they understand their roles and responsibilities in collecting this information to enable the kind of reporting that Catie has mentioned and others, then that goes a long way to making the process more effective and more efficient. Dan:                Yes, and I would like to add on to what Doug was saying. That in terms of the fact that this information is coming from different parts of organizations, that haven't necessarily undergone third-party assurance procedures. That this is a transition period here where, I think, a broader spectrum of people, within an organization, are going to be changing their mindset around the accuracy and completeness of the data because they know that they are subject to that third-party assurance. Catie:              And, Doug, you had mentioned, I think, very rightly, that having the right team in place is critical to being able to have the right processes and technology also in place, to ensure that your reporting is complete and accurate. And we're seeing on the client side that a lot of our clients don't, necessarily, have the resources in place to start to organize that.  So I wanted to ask, in your opinion, and Dan, feel free to jump in. How important is it to not just assign one person to do all of your ESG reporting? But how important is it to have that cross-functional team approach to these non-financial disclosures? Doug:              I think it is absolutely essential. One structure that I see work a lot is to have a steering committee. To set strategy and to be plugged into those reporting frameworks that you've mentioned, Catie, and some of the customer demands and organizational strategy and where things are going. And a more tactical working group that's closer to operations, and the systems, and controls to really modify those systems and controls and talk to each other.  A couple of things I've seen work really well. I've seen those committees be assembled, and people show up, and they don't know why they're in the room. And it really helps to have a coach or an external resource to help facilitate all that. To make sure that people are talking the right language and not talking past each other. So you get everybody on the same page to take actions in ways that are aligned with the company objectives, that helps a lot.  A couple of functions that I don't see on those teams but, I think, should be there a lot more than they are IT, for sure. And many of our listeners are from accounting, I would say accounting. I don't see on those cross-functional teams as much as I think they should be. Much of what is required for the sustainability reporting, it comes from accounting. You get utility bills from accounting. Get a list of assets from accounting. Get a list of our ten largest customers from accounting. Accounting has the master key to a lot of this information. But the information that's in company systems, in my experience, was not designed for the way the information needs to be reclaimed and used now. So there are some changes that need to be made in accounting to enable this reporting and to enable the systems and controls. To, then, ensure accurate reporting, verifiable reporting, and the fact that we tighten down the controls so that we can prevent the possibility of fraud. Dan:                Yes, great points, Doug. I really appreciate you bringing up the steering committee. Someone at the top of an organization that is there to set strategy. And I think that it is common, and it will become more commonplace, to have that steering committee require that any fraud risk assessments, that are being done within an organization, include ESG fraud as part of what they're doing.  And in conducting a fraud risk assessment that is a stress test, that's looking for ways in which various kinds of scenarios. Such as the scenarios we brought up in our report with the ACFE, of ways in which ESG fraud could be committed. And then looking at whether the controls in place within the organization, are sufficient to prevent and detect or detect those occurrences.  So, Doug, I know that you've been contributing to an exciting report, that's been recently released from the IMA. Could you give us a few highlights in that regard? Doug:              Sure, I'd be happy to. I was one of the primary authors of this document, the only non-CPA on the team. I provided the ESG specialist input for this very important report. It's a COSO report and IMA is, of course, a member of COSO and their leadership had a terrific role in pulling this together. And it will resemble a lot kind of the report you've had major involvement with from the ACFE, on fraud, ESG fraud. In that it begins with a framework that everybody knows and is very familiar with, the COSO Internal Controls Framework, and there's something old and something new.  There is a summary of some of the key points of the COSO Internal Controls Framework, the components, and the points of focus. And on each of the components there's some information demonstrating how the internal controls framework can be applied to ESG.  So that in terms of non-financial management of information, and of reporting, and of communications, and of control environment. It can be applied and it points you in the right direction on how it can be adopted to improve the effectiveness, and the efficiency of company organization, management, and reporting. I encourage everyone to read it and use it. [00:36:50]       < Outro > Announcer:    This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast. Providing you with the latest perspectives of thought leaders from the accounting and finance profession. If you like what you heard and you'd like to be counted in for more relevant accounting and finance education, visit IMA's website at www.imanet.org.

Frank is Back! This update episode is loaded with new allegations and never-before-told capers. Like the time Frank Abagnale: Impersonated a cop with a paper badge and a toy gun. Posed as a pilot to work at a preschool Took a group of teachers on an "all-expense paid" trip to Puerto Rico Ababnale's true life story is featured in the New York Post. Frank Abagnale is getting national attention. Just this month, the New York Post published an article citing an 87-page file of old newspaper clippings, court documents, and letters — from airlines, university officials, government sources, and others. Here's a link to the article written by Abby Ellin. ACFE - Emerging Trends in Fraud Investigation and Prevention Conference | event link Plus, there's a huge announcement at the end. Abagnale was featured as the keynote speaker at an upcoming fraud ACFE conference in Ohio. The ACFE organizers contacted me and asked if I could speak after Abagnale. So, of course, I said yes! Stick around till the end of the episode to get an update on the event. Abagnale featured in STR8DADVIBES We end the episode with a song inspired by my 'Real Catch Me If You Can' Series. STR8 DAD VIBES by KENDONTCRY Follow Pretend on social media: Twitter TikTok YouTube PRETEND is consistently in the top True Crime Podcasts about con artists in U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia. It has been featured in the New York Times, the BBC, & Netflix. To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/Pretend  and https://www.advertisecast.com/CriminalConduct Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, the ACFE's Chief Training Officer John Gill sat down with Charles Antonucci, the former president of The Park Avenue Bank, who was convicted in 2015 of trying to defraud the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Antonucci also pleaded guilty to other charges including self-dealing, bribery, embezzlement of bank funds, and a multi-million fraud scheme involving an insurance company. *The ACFE does not compensate convicted fraudsters.

In Episode One of Inside Scoop with a Fraudster, Stefanie Hoover, CFI chats with Alexander Hall, a former fraudster and now consultant.  Listen in to their candid conversation about life as a fraudster and specifically, in this episode, self-checkout fraud.  What makes a fraudster tick?  You're about to learn firsthand! Over this series, Stefanie will dig into the myriad of ways fraudsters operate their schemes, and techniques retailers should consider to strengthen their defenses.  Don't miss out on some myth busting and surprising revelations that will make you rethink your current loss prevention strategies.Have a burning question you want to ask Stefanie or Alexander?  As part of Episode 3, we will answer questions submitted to editor@lpportal.com.About the fraudster:  Alexander Hall spent the first ten years of his career involved in nefarious activities, until 2017, after the birth of his daughter, when he decided to take another path.  Alexander is currently a Manager of Chargeback Operations with Apruvd and founder of Dispute Defense Consulting.  He has worked with ACFE, Card Not Present, and Merchant Fraud Journal among many others as a subject matter expert. He conducts a Fraud Prevention Roundtable series on LinkedIn and can be reached at alexander@disputedefenseconsulting.com 

International Fraud Awareness Week provides space to highlight fraud prevention and detection initiatives at companies around the world. Thousands of groups have pledged as Supporting Organizations over the past 22 years, with more doing their part ahead of Fraud Week 2022, held on November 13-19. Bruce Dorris, President and CEO at the ACFE, sits down with John Duffley, the ACFE's Communications Manager, to discuss how you can participate in Fraud Week, the annual ACFE Board of Regents voting cycle, and what lies ahead as the ACFE enters its 35th year. 

Fraudology is presented by https://seon.io/ (SEON). In the second half of Karisse's conversation with Hailey Windham, Hailey shares one of her biggest passions: spreading fraud awareness information within her organization, as well as her community and beyond. While in some organizations, it can seem like no one would be interested in learning about fraud & scams targetting their customers and/or the financial institution that she works for, Hailey has witnessed just the opposite. In July 2021, Hailey launched an internal podcast for her credit union titled "The Tea" (Training, Education, and Awareness); this once-a-month audio file is uploaded to the company intranet for any employee to listen to. And the success stories of fraud scams avoided have been overwhelming! The Podcast also allows leadership & cross-functional departments to better understand the vastness of Hailey's role as the "Financial Crimes Investigator" as she provides informational tidbits and demonstrates how so many other departments intersect with fraud in one way or another. Hailey has also started working with the Governor of South Carolina & others in her state government to include spam & fraud prevention awareness in within new education curriculum, as well as to recognize International Fraud Awareness Week Hailey also shares advice for fraud-fighters who are worried their leadership will turn down requests to creatively share preventative information about fraud/scams, and encourages everyone to share what trhey can. To enroll your company to be a part of the International Fraud Awareness Week hosted by the ACFE, click on "Sign Up To Support" (it's free): https://www.fraudweek.com/supporting-organizations To connect with Hailey on LinkedIn (No solicitations please): https://www.linkedin.com/in/hailey-windham-cfcs-0603b01ba/ Fraudology is hosted by Karisse Hendrick, a fraud fighter with decades of experience advising hundreds of the biggest ecommerce companies in the world on fraud, chargebacks, and other forms of abuse impacting a company's bottom line. Connect with her on https://www.linkedin.com/in/karissehendrick/ (LinkedIn) She brings her experience, expertise, and extensive network of experts to this podcast semi weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Today on WRITE NOW Dr. Pamela has the honor of hosting Ignited to Serve and The Greatness in YOU, International Best-Selling Author – Carolyn Brooks-Collins Lives are often changed when ignited by esteemed voices, enthused to share the message of empowerment, inspiration, and hope, with the world. Emboldened with this exact synergy; is the compassionate professional, Carolyn Brooks-Collins. Carolyn Brooks-Collins is a #1 best-selling international author, organizational proponent, and CEO and Founder of M. Carolyn Brooks-Collins, LLC; a multi-dimensional coaching and consulting specialty fashioned to develop and educate professionals on how to eliminate personal and financial profligacy, to experience persistent victory, in their own lives. Her mantra is simple: Carolyn is passionate about empowering women to transform their lives, step into their purpose, and become financially independent. No stranger to personal excellence, Carolyn couples her proficiency with sincere regard for education, achievement, and communal involvement. She holds a B.A. in Accounting, an MBA in Project Management, and is a certified CPA (Certified Public Accountant), CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner), and CGMA (Chartered Global Management Accountant). Yielding an undeniable propensity for leadership, Carolyn holds memberships with several organizations, including the Black Speakers Network, Innovation Women, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, along with the GA Chapter of the ACFE. Displaying an uncanny ability for the stage, Carolyn Brooks-Collins is a Certified Speaker and has successfully completed programs with world-renowned influencers, such as The Power Voice with Les Brown and Lead the Field with Jon Talarico; along with her current enrollment in the Global Speakers University, with Dr. Cheryl Wood. Trailblazing a path for others, she developed her own program (women of purpose network) in hopes that women would find their own voice and begin their personal journey toward becoming the best version of themselves. Significantly inspired by empowered individuals dedicated to breaking barriers and reconstructing societal norms, Carolyn is committed to the call of drawing out this same excellence in others. In that spirit, she vows to remain a reputable resource to personal and corporate environments, teaching the world the importance of freedom in all areas of life. When Carolyn is not out showing the world how to win, she is an asset to her local community and a loving member of her family and friendship circles. Carolyn Brooks-Collins. Leader. Organizer. Innovator. Connect with Carolyn: Website: https://carolynbrookscollins.com/ Facebook PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/MCarolynBrooksCollins Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolynbrookscollins/ Email: carolyn.brookscollins@gmail.com For more from Dr. Pamela go to www.purposewithpamela.com If you are an author and would like to be on WRITE NOW go to https://purposewithpamela.as.me/WriteNow

In the fight against fraud, it can be hard to remember why we do it, especially when the fraudsters never seem to quit. Associate professor of accounting, taxation and business law at SUNY Old Westbury, Dr. David Glodstein, began the Justice for Fraud Victims Project to teach his students -- and remind fraud examiners -- who we're fighting for: the victims. In this episode, join Dr. Glodstein, CFE, and Kate Pospisil, CFE, the Communications Specialist at the ACFE, as they discuss the Justice for Fraud Victims Project, why programs like this matter and what we can do to further the fight for justice.

Ritesh Bhatia, founder of V4WEB Cybersecurity, is a well known Cybercrime Investigator and Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Consultant with an experience of 20 years in the cyberspace. He is a three time TEDx speaker and a Certified Fraud Examiner from ACFE, USA, and is popularly known for his cybercrime Investigations. He has been successful in solving many cases for large corporates, organisations, law enforcement agencies, celebrities, and individuals in India as well as abroad. One of his most successful cases on busting a WhatsApp group that was circulating child sexual abusive material was well appreciated not just by the Indian police but also by Interpol. Ritesh also played the role of his real-life self as a cybercrime investigator in MTV's award-winning show - MTV Troll Police. He is on the board of many companies, serving as a cybersecurity consultant and auditor. He has been instrumental in securing systems and critical business information from cyber attacks. His key areas of interest include Cybercrime Investigations, Infrastructure and Data Protection, Security Audits, Risk Assessment, Business Continuity, New Age Cybercrimes, Dark Web and Digital Forensics. His views on trending cybercrimes and cybersecurity have been published by many national publications including Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, DNA, Mumbai Mirror, Mid-day, The Week, Open Magazine, Business Standard, Dainik Bhaskar and many other regional newspapers . He frequently educates citizens of the latest in cybercrimes on national television channels such as NDTV, ET Now, Mirror Now, CNBC, Zee, Aaj Tak, NewsX, India Ahead, etc and radio channels such as Radio Mirchi, Radio City, Big Fm, Spotify, etc. He has also been interviewed by international media houses such as BBC and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Ritesh has been a very sought after speaker to discuss issues related to new age cyber crimes, the dark web, mobile security, data privacy, cybersecurity, and prevention. He has also been a distinguished speaker at over 100 national and international conferences. He is a well-known trainer and has trained employees of many small and large organisations including RBI, Anti Narcotics Cell, Economic Offences Wing, Indian Air Force, State Police, leading corporate houses, national and international banks, schools and colleges. Some of his well-known clients include SBI, TransUnion Cibil, Mashreq Bank, Larsen and Toubro, Future Group, Reliance Industries, Canara Robeco, ITC, Byjus, Asian Paints and many more. Along with his partner, Nirali Bhatia who is a cyberpsychologist, Ritesh has formed an anti cyberbullying organisation called Cyber B.A.A.P. which stands for Cyber Bullying Awareness, Action and Prevention.

Thank you to our sponsor, Dark Horse CPAs. Dark Horse CPAs has built a platform-style CPA firm that will transform your practice. It has the technology, resources, staffing, qualified inbound leads, and community that will enable you to spend your time growing your practice, serving clients and doing more of what you love. Learn more at abetterway.cpa________________________________HOW TO EARN FREE CPEIn less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.Download the app:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.appQuestions? Need help? Email support@earmarkcpe.com.Sources:  Wikipedia: Salad Oil Scandal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad_Oil_scandal Best Frauds in History: Tino De Angelis' salad-oil scam: https://moneyweek.com/investments/investment-strategy/601677/great-frauds-in-history-tino-de-angelis-salad-oil-scandal How Salad Oil Amost Crashed the U.S. Economy: https://medium.com/@madmedic11671/how-salad-oil-almost-crashed-the-u-s-economy-c3ed3c2cb797 The Vanishing Salad Oil: A $100 Million Mystery: https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/06/archives/the-vanishing-salad-oil-a-100-million-mystery.html The Great Vegetable-Oil Mystery; Scandal, Now One Year Old, Remains a Financial Maze: https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/15/archives/the-great-vegetableoil-mystery-scandal-now-one-year-old-remains-a.html Salad Oil Swindle! https://nymag.com/news/features/scandals/salad-oil-2012-4/ Investopedia: Salad Oil Scandal: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/saladoilscandal.asp How The Salad Oil Swindle Of 1963 Nearly Crippled the NYSE: https://www.businessinsider.com/the-great-salad-oil-scandal-of-1963-2013-11 TIME: The Man Who Fooled Everybody: https://web.archive.org/web/20071015042003/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,898315,00.html  ACFE 2022 Report to the Nations: https://legacy.acfe.com/report-to-the-nations/2022/  CONNECT WITH THE HOSTSGreg Kyte, CPATwitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyteLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/Caleb NewquistTwitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquistLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/EMAIL : ohmyfraud@earmarkcpe.com______________________________________Transcript available upon request 

It's estimated that companies will lose about 5% of annual revenue to fraud or $4.7 trillion globally.  While we dug into how the pandemic created opportunities for fraud in a previous episode, there is so much more business leaders and owners need to be aware of to prevent fraud before it's too late. In this episode of the But Who's Counting?  podcast, host David E. Hartley sits down with Anders Partner and Director + Forensic, Valuation and Litigation, Kevin Summers, to dig into what you need to know, including:One of the best ways to prevent fraud in your organizationHow fraudsters alter documents for false expense reportingReal-life fraud examples, including the "praying AP clerk" and the "penny-pinching office manager"Why your company should have a process for setting up vendorsTop 5 steps to take if you suspect fraud in your companyKey takeaways from ACFE's report, Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the NationsMake sure to never miss an episode by subscribing on Spotify, Pandora or Apple Podcasts and let us know what you think by rating and reviewing. Keep up with more Anders insights by visiting our website and following us on social media: Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter

The 2022 ACFE Global Fraud Conference was held in June of 2022 in Nashville, TN.  Your host, Robert Nordlander, attended the conference and gives a review of the conference, including the venue, speakers, and the event itself.  This was his first attendance of the conference so he did not know what to expect and overall gave it a thumbs up.  Although the sessions were good, most of value was not from the sessions itself but meeting fellow podcast guests and session speakers outside of the conference.BTW, this is the 50th episode.  The podcast has currently exceeded 30,000 downloads in over 130 countries and 3,000 cities.  Thank you for the listeners and podcast guests for making this achievement happen.https://www.fraudconference.com/33rd-home.aspxMary Breslin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marybreslin/Derek Ellington - https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekellington/Jo Erven - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-jo-erven-ace/Leah Wietholter - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-wietholter-cfe-pi-cpa-33557815/Ian Mitchell - https://www.linkedin.com/in/iantmitchell/Support the show

Kevin Hart (CFE) is the president of ACFE's Ireland Chapter and director of risk and advisory at the Fraud Prevention Training Center. In this episode, he argues that while crypto is far from being the money-laundering instrument of choice, investigators can and should learn how to investigate virtual currencies. He also points to a number of new developments which will make a significant impact in helping corporations and individuals who fall victim to crypto scams. Direct support for this podcast comes from Nemexis GmbH, a corporate crime investigations company based in Berlin, Germany (nemexis.de). Your host is Paul Milata, CFE, PhD. You can reach him at grandfraud@nemexis.de Views expressed by podcast guests are their own and not the view of The Grand Fraud Podcast, Paul Milata or Nemexis GmbH.

In the Episode, I am joined by John Warren Vice President and General Counsel at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. We discuss the 2022 ACFE Report to the Nations, which is the most comprehensive report on the global scourge of fraud. It is a fascinating look of how fraud occurs, where is occurs and the steps you can take to prevent it. Some of the highlights include:  What is the ACFE Report to the Nations? How often is it released? What are you trying to capture? What are some of the big picture findings of the Report? What is the annual cost of global fraud? Why are hotlines so critical to fraud detection? What is the fraud tree? What are the 5 critical areas of occupational fraud reviewed? What does the Report to the Nations tell us about corruption? What detection/prevention areas are the most effective for corruption? You can download a copy of the ACFE 2022 Report to the Nations by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every other year the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) publishes A Report to the Nations. This landmark report is the definitive guide to understanding occupational fraud in today's workplace. The ACFE report breaks down fraud by the type of perpetrator, types of crime, categories of victim organizations, and more. The report provides fascinating insight and helpful advice to help professionals understand fraud risks in today's world. Join us for an in-depth discussion and analysis of this report with K2 instructors Tommy Stephens and Stephen M. Yoss. They will discuss the significant findings of the 2022 edition of this report. Attendees will learn methods to spot fraud risks in their organizations and protect themselves. Are you a CPA?? Are you a Financial Professional?? Earn CPE Credits for Today's Podcast. Check out https://cpe.cx/acfe/. Take a quick 5 question quiz and get your certificate today. Super Easy!  Presented by Tommy Stephens CPA, CIOT & Stephen M. Yoss, CPA, MS (https://yoss.io) Produced by Alicia Yoss & Alanna Regalbuto Graphics By Flaticon.com and iStock Music by Bensound.com Education and Compliance By K2 Enterprises (https://k2e.com) Copyright. All product names, logos, and brands are the property of their respective owners. All company, product, and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. The use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement. Educational Use Only. The information presented in this presentation is for educational use only. The presenter will make specific recommendations, but the participant is highly recommended to do their own due diligence before making any investment decision.

Andi McNeal is Vice President of Research with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a membership association serving more than 90,000 anti-fraud professionals globally. As a CFE, she specializes in fraud prevention, detection and investigation, education and training, research and analysis, corporate culture and leadership, and association management. Andi discusses the ACFE's 2022 Report to the Nations and its insights on occupational fraud. Download the report here! The ACFE's study focuses on occupational fraud, Andi shares. They were not attempting to get a snapshot of every type of fraud that occurs - only cases perpetrated by employees against the organizations they worked for, specifically between 2020 and 2021. In the 2100 cases they observed, over $3.6 billion was calculated in losses, which is just a small portion of the fraud committed globally. Fraud isn't an accounting problem, it's a human problem.  Resources Andi McNeal on LinkedIn  To learn more, and contact Vincent Walden, please visit Alvarez and Marsal

Brian Willingham, Founder/President of Diligentia Group, just celebrated 20 years as a member of the ACFE.  He started Diligentia about 12 years ago.  He has been part of the Madoff case and works with attorneys and hedge funds on the regular.  Brian writes regularly on the Diligentia blog and has contributed to a number of industry magazines and publications like Pursuit Magazine, PINow.com and ACFE Insights for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Show Notes:https://diligentiagroup.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianawillingham/https://twitter.com/b_willinghamhttps://www.facebook.com/Diligentia.GroupSwag: https://cottonbureau.com/products/trust-but-verify#/5408001/tee-men-standard-tee-premium-heather-tri-blend-s

Michael “Bret” Hood spent 25 years as an FBI Special Agent investigating complex cases while specializing in financial crimes, corruption, and money laundering violations. Upon his retirement in 2016, Bret opened 21st Century Learning & Consulting, LLC, a training and consulting business designed to help prevent people from making the mistakes that first lead them down the slippery slope. Bret was recruited to become an Association of Certified Fraud Examiners faculty member and was awarded the ACFE's James R. Baker Speaker of the Year award in 2020. Bret was named the top-rated speaker at both the ACFE's Global Fraud Conference as well as the Institute of Internal Auditor's Global conference. In addition, Bret also serves as an adjunct professor of forensic accounting for Mt. St. Mary's University and an adjunct professor of corporate governance and ethics for the University of Virginia. Bret has previously served as an adjunct professor of forensic accounting for the University of Virginia and Florida Gulf Coast University. Bret is also part of the Forensic Accounting Advisory Council at Mt. St. Mary's University.Some of the top public and private entities in the world have sought out Bret to assist them in creating, adapting, and modifying anti-fraud, anti-corruption, and anti-money laundering programs in order to interweave the latest behavioral and neuroscience research into their prevention programs. Bret continues to publish articles on best practices in Fraud Magazine, Compliance and Ethics Professional magazine, ACAMS Today, National Mortgage Professional Magazine, and Law Enforcement Bulletin. 

Dr. Brody is a former regent for the ACFE and is also on the Fraud Magazine editorial panel.  His background in the behavioral side of fraud is aligned with my work in fraud.  I love the fact in his fraud class it is all about behavior and not so much numbers. That is a class I can definitely get an A in even though I love Pivot tables.  I look forward to to his new paper and will let you know when it is published.  Meanwhile take a look at his website and LinkedIn page to get even  more information.  

REFERENCESA WORD FROM OUR SPONSORThank you to our sponsor, Avalara. Avalara's award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners and businesses of all sizes simplify sales tax compliance and with real-time rates, automated returns filing, and more.In October 2021 IDC MarketScape named Avalara a Leader in tax automation in three categories (small and midsize business, enterprise, and VAT).  If you're considering tax automation, check out the independent IDC evaluations at http://OMF.show/avalaraLearn more about Avalara for Accountants and you'll get a free gift: meet with an expert to explore how Avalara can help your accounting practice grow, and you'll receive a $50 gift card. Contact Avalara at Accountants@Avalara.com, and mention the code  “Fraud”HOW TO EARN FREE CPEIn less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate. Download the app: Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.appQuestions? Need help? Email support@earmarkcpe.com.CONNECT WITH THE HOSTSGreg Kyte, CPATwitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyteLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/ Caleb NewquistTwitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquistLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

As a bonus feature, we are sharing an episode of the ACFE's Fraud Talk podcast entitled “Understanding the Art and “Science” of the Theranos Saga,” on which our very own Chris Ekimoff appeared as a special guest. On the episode, released during International Fraud Awareness Week, Chris and Mandy Moody, CFE, ACFE communications manager, discuss the latest from the trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes. https://www.pli.edu/insecurities

In this special episode released during International Fraud Awareness Week, Chris Ekimoff, CFE, CPA/CFF, director of financial investigations and dispute services at RSM and co-host of the inSecurities podcast, and Mandy Moody, CFE, ACFE communications manager, discuss the latest and greatest highlights from the trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes. Chris and Mandy provide background and analysis on the many facets of the Theranos tale, review the implications of the previously-settled matter with the SEC in 2017 and discuss common issues with the legal system regarding allegations of fraud. www.fraudweek.com

On this special dualcast with AGA, we speak with Dave Cotton about the upcoming update to the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission/Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Fraud Risk Management Guide (FRMG) originally published in 2016. Check out the following links mentioned in the podcast: Current FRMG Executive Summary: COSO-Fraud Risk Management Guide-E Summary_8 5x10 875_r1 (3).pdf (acfe.com) Fraud Tools at the ACFE website: Fraud Risk Tools (acfe.com) Email to provide comments and suggestions for the FRMG update: frmg@acfe.com

On today's episode I had an opportunity to chat with Mason Wilder about corporate fraud. We focus on some extreme examples like Luckin Coffee as well as red flags to look for in the due diligence process.

On this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt introduce you to a few of their favorite podcasts, including short interviews with Jeff Benjamin, co-host of The Investment News Podcast; Amber McKinney, co-host of the Law360's Pro Say; Mandy Moody, host of ACFE's Fraud Talk; and Andrew Jennings, host of the Business Scholarship Podcast. Tune in! Link to episode on pli.edu: https://www.pli.edu/insecurities/episode-28 ----more---- The InvestmentNews Podcast: https://www.investmentnews.com/podcasts/the-investmentnew-podcast Pro Say: https://www.law360.com/podcasts Fraud Talk: https://www.acfe.com/podcast Business Scholarship Podcast: https://andrewkjennings.com/podcast/  

We have been stating for years that it is time for accountants to elevate themselves: IRS Representation, Forensic Accounting, and Financial Planning being obvious specializations that dove-tail nicely with an existing tax practice. Well joining Eric on today's podcast is Janet McHard. Janet founded the McHard Firm in New Mexico where she is a certified forensic expert, working cases with the government, municipalities, Indian tribes and private businesses. Janet also teaches for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and discusses what accountants need to do to become CFEs and add this dynamic and lucrative area to their existing practice. Want to contact Janet? She can be found: Janet's email: Jmchard@themchardfirm.com Mchard firm site: https://themchardfirm.com/ Interested in the ACFE? Check them out here: www.ACFE.org Looking to build your Tax Rep Practice? Join us inside Tax Rep Network here: www.TaxRepLLC.com

In the words of Michael Scott: "It's HAPPENING! OH MY GOD, IT'S HAPPENING!" The NFL Preseason is here, and we we open tonight show with a discussion on training camp injuries, and Drew eats crow on an take that's not panning out for him. Then we host Joe Caporoso, owner of TurnOnTheJets.com & veteran of WFAN in NYC as we kick off our first installment of our AFC East Roundup: Preseason Edition! We discuss the front office & roster turnover our downstate enemies have gone through, as well as discuss strengths, weaknesses & predictions for the upcoming year. We close with the fact that preseason football is back, and there are some unorthodox things we'll be keeping an eye on as the action unfolds - don't miss it! Watch our first YouTube video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1oyH-bmuN0 @JCaporoso - Twitter www.TurnOnTheJets.com @Rockpilereport - Twitter www.WiseGuysBuffalo.com - The Official Pizzeria of the Rockpile Report Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices