Fraud: Focus on Financial Statement Fraud – Part One

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) fraud tree categorizes types of fraud schemes into three areas:

• Corruption

• Asset Misappropriation

• Financial Statement (FS) Fraud

Previous courses have addressed corruption and asset misappropriation. This course focuses on the areas of financial statement fraud related to revenue. Revenue processes can be complicated and provide an inherent opportunity for inappropriate activity.

Financial Statement Fraud is the deliberate misrepresentation of the financial condition of an enterprise. It is accomplished through intentional misstatement or omission of amounts or disclosures in the FS to deceive financial statement users.  According to the ACFE’s Report to the Nation, in 2016, financial statement fraud comprised 9.6% of cases with a median dollar loss of $975,000.  The typical duration of financial statement fraud prior to detection is 24 months.

There are numerous methods under which revenue should be recognized.  Accordingly, there are numerous ways perpetrators try to side-step the process and override the proper revenue recognition requirements.  Financial personnel must remain vigilant and understand the types of financial frauds that can be perpetrated in their company.

This course is brought to you by Illumeo. Illumeo, incorporated in 2009, is revolutionizing the hide-bound world of corporate learning. Illumeo works with corporate professionals and organizations of all sizes to build the skills and capabilities that help everyone be an expert at their job. Based in Silicon Valley, CA, Illumeo serves thousands of corporations and corporate professionals across Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, Sales, and Marketing. The platform offers assessments, industry-benchmarked competency analyses, hundreds of expert-developed courses, collaborative tools, and the ability for companies to self-publish internal courses that promote institutional knowledge retention and dissemination. Illumeo is the place for expertise management and we are dedicated to the proposition that everyone can be an expert at their job.