This course will review the top internal controls organizations can use to prevent and detect fraud.
White-collar fraud is in epidemic proportion. No organization is immune to its potential impact. Although legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley requires organizations to evaluate for fraud, as we all know there is no absolute cure for fraud. Survey’s and studies have proven that the best action to prevent or mitigate for fraud is fraud awareness and solid approach to fraud controls.
Internal controls are a critical element to allow organizations to prevent and detect fraud. Without proper internal controls, the “opportunity” portion of the fraud triangle is exposed. It becomes an area where employees and other professionals can take advantage and perpetrate.
Don’t underestimate importance of internal controls. What if management indicates” nothing has been identified so what are we worried about?” What you don’t know WILL hurt you. Do NOT assume fraud won’t occur or individuals won’t take advantage of control gaps. This can be a dangerous. Consider any identified fraud - at some level a control gap has occurred.
This course will review the top internal controls organizations can use to prevent and detect fraud. A great deal of information and statistics is taken from the ACFE 2016 Report to the Nations. Other good resources include the Kroll Fraud Report and COSO.org fraud guidance.
Field of Study: Auditing
Lynn Fountain has over 45 years of experience spanning public accounting, corporate accounting and consulting. 24 years of her experience has been working in the areas of internal and external auditing. She is a subject matter expert in multiple fields including internal audit, ethics, fraud evaluations, Sarbanes-Oxley, enterprise risk management, governance, financial management and compliance. Ms. Fountain has held two Chief Audit Executive positions for international companies. In 2011, as the Chief Audit Executive for an international construction/ engineering firm, she was involved in the active investigation of a joint venture fraud. The investigation included work with the FBI and ultimately led to indictment of the perpetrators and recovery of $13M. Ms. Fountain is currently engaged in her own training and consulting business and is a regular trainer for the AICPA. Ms. Fountain is the author of three separate technical books. “Raise the Red Flag – The Internal Auditors Guide to Fraud Evaluations” was published by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation. -“Leading The Internal Audit Function” and -“Ethics and The Internal Auditor Political Dilemma” were published by Taylor & Francis In addition Ms. Fountain was a contributing author to the certification program exam for the National Association of Accountants. She also has certificate programs on various on-line platforms. Ms. Fountain has performed as an adjunct instructor for the School of Business for Grantham University and developed the first internal audit curriculum for the School of Business at the University of Kansas. Ms. Fountain obtained her BSBA from Pittsburg State University and her MBA from Washburn University in Kansas. She has her CGMA, CRMA credentials and CPA certificate (non-active).
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