During the normal course of business, it is important for management to keep in mind when and why fraud may occur within their organization. By gaining an understanding of what motivates employees to commit fraud, management can assess risks and apply procedures to their daily operations to reduce the opportunities available to commit fraud. The …
The United States Department of Homeland Security, as well as other cybersecurity organizations, have formally released an alert warning about the new COVID cyber threats and strategies cyber hackers are using to gain access to confidential information. Don’t miss: School district procurement due diligence and written determinations Titles containing key words involved in the pandemic …
We know the fraud triangle is made up of opportunity, pressure and rationalization. For many businesses, all three can occur. Dishonest employees learn the ins and outs of your organization and find ways to commit fraud without raising suspicion. Discussed below are the three biggest areas employee fraud can occur within your organization. Don’t miss: …
In recent years conflict of interest reporting has become a major topic of discussion during audits, but why? First a conflict of interest can be identified as this: “Any public officer or employee of a public agency who has, or whose relative has, a substantial interest in any contract, sale, purchase or service to such …
Perhaps one of the most crucial controls an entity can have is the segregation of duties. Basically, this requires multiple people within a process to complete an objective so that no one is in charge of the process from start to finish. As you begin to think of the different processes within your entity and …
I recently came across an article about a small town in Virginia, who allegedly had $21 million missing all due to the top tier of the County Government individuals. Front Royal, Virginia is in Warren County and had big plans for the growth of buildings, jobs, and other developments within the town. These big new plans …
Many of you are aware of the famous ransomware cyberattack on the City of Atlanta that occurred over a year ago, but you may not understand how it worked out. SamSam is a specific type of ransomware that is known for gaining entry by scanning the network for passwords or other entry data used by …
You hear accountants/auditors talk about segregation of duties but do owners, Board Members and Council Members understand what it means? Surely, these individuals understand leaving such a vital part of the operations to a single person would be disastrous to the organization whereas working as a team toward a common goal produces success. The financial …
Recently the Federal Trade Commission put out an alert on phone spear phishing and caller ID spoofing scams that are on the rise among consumers and companies. I imagine you experience the same relentless calls from phone numbers you don’t recognize as I do every day on my personal devices. Usually I just ignore and …
By now you are probably familiar with Rita Crundwell, the City Comptroller who embezzled more than $53 million over a 20-year period. If not, click here. That story seems to still get a lot of attention as it is shocking how she was able to get away with so much for so long; however, there …