Advanced Financial Fraud Investigators Course

Advanced Financial Fraud Investigators Course
OBJECTIVES
• Understand common financial statement fraud schemes that are employed by management and/or others
• Become familiar with red flags which may indicate the presence of financial statement fraud
• Learn the investigative techniques and skills utilized in the investigation of financial statement fraud
• Gain a better understanding of major financial statement fraud schemes – what happened, how did it happen and how were such cases discovered and investigated?

CONTENT
Introduction
• Financial statement fraud versus asset misappropriation fraud
• Overview of financial statement fraud
• Recent studies and related materials regarding fraudulent accounting
• Prevention, detection, investigation, resolution

Recent studies regarding financial statement fraud
• Treadway Commission (historical context)
• ACFE Report to the Nations
• Large accounting firm studies

Who commits financial statement fraud and why?
• The face of fraud
• Personality and other traits
• The fraud triangle: incentives to commit fraud, opportunity, and rationalization
• Roles of the CEO and CFO in many financial statement frauds

Common financial statement fraud schemes
• Revenue recognition: fictitious revenues, round trip transactions, bill and hold, contract backdating and premature recognition (cutoffs), channel stuffing, topside journal entries, capitalizing associated expenses, side letter agreements
• Accounts receivable and billing
• Inventory frauds: purchasing, inventory counts, and raw materials schemes
• Frauds associated with estimates, fair values, and impairments
• PP&E frauds: misclassification and manipulation

Fraud risk assessments
• SAS 99 risk factors; PCAOB audit standards No. 8 through 15 on fraud risks
• Assessing the company and its environment
• Brainstorming sessions: internal and external auditors
• Significant accounts, transactions, and processes, including the financial statement closing process
• Preventive and detective controls
• Risks of management override and circumvention
• Testing and monitoring controls
• Internal responses to assessed fraud risks

Red flags for financial statement fraud
• Material deviations from past performance
• Deteriorating business conditions
• Unusual, complex and related party transactions
• Business structure complexity
• Other red flags

Preventive and detective controls and techniques
• Anti-fraud training
• Whistleblower hotlines and rewards
• Surprise audits
• Mandatory vacation policies
• Preventive controls
• Inquiries within the organization
• Analysis of the financial statements and significant accounts
• Trend analysis
• Analytics
• Tests of processes
• Document examination
• Auditing procedures
• Investigating background and educational claims
• Computer forensics

METHODOLOGY
The training methodology integrates lectures, interactive discussions, collaborative group exercises, and illustrative examples. Participants will acquire a blend of theoretical insights and hands-on practical experience, emphasizing the application of learned techniques. This approach ensures that attendees return to their professional environments equipped with both the competence and self-assurance to effectively implement the acquired skills in their responsibilities.
.

DATE:
1ST BATCH: 28th – 30th Apr, 2025
2ND BATCH: 11th – 14th Nov, 2025