Course Information
Forensic Accounting and Financial Statement Fraud Analysis
Parking for SAO, Professional Development courses is in Garage B (1511 San Jacinto Blvd.). The Garage signage may read 1511 San Jacinto or Garage B. The elevator in Garage B is not reliable. If you are unable to walk the stairs, please contact the professionaldevelopment@sao.texas.gov for alternate parking arrangements. Handicapped parking is free at the meters around the downtown area.
A course coordinator will Email you a parking permit prior to the course start date. A permit must be displayed or you will be ticketed.
Course Description
This course is designed to provide an overview of financial statement and accounting fraud including how it is committed and the motivation behind it. The course will provide participants with the fraud knowledge and forensic accounting techniques necessary to identify accounting and financial statement fraud within their organizations. Real-life comprehensive fraud case studies and the forensic accounting and fraud examination techniques used to identify and quantify the frauds will be used throughout the course to further the learning process. Participants will work through fraud case study examples and exercises.
This interactive course will be taught through a combination of lecture, group exercises and class participation.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
· Recognize the most common financial statement fraud schemes
· Identify the red flags of financial statement fraud
· Detect fraud using forensic accounting and audit procedures
· Understand the fraud implications of emerging issues in financial reporting
· Understanding fraud fundamentals used to identify fraud within your organization.
· Knowing and understanding the fraud tree schemes and identifying how they may manifest as fraud scenarios in your organization.
· Understanding the characteristics of fraudsters to identify potential high risk departments or individuals.
Fraud Basics
· The Fraud Triangle
· ACFE 2014 Report to the Nation – Fraud & Corruption Statistics
· Fraudsters – characteristics and behaviors
The Fraud Tree Schemes and Scenarios: Analysis and auditing techniques for identifying Red Flags and potential fraud in the following areas:
· Corruption
· Financial Statement Fraud
o Improper Revenue Recognition
o Concealed Liabilities and Expenses
· Asset Misappropriation
· Fraudulent Disbursements
Techniques for Financial Statement Analysis
· Comparative Techniques
· Ratios
· Financial Relationships
· Cash Flow
Understanding Trends and Patterns in Data
· How to spot them
· Understanding what the data is telling you
· Red Flags versus changes in the business
Analytics and Forensic Accounting Techniques
· Regression Analysis
· Ratios
· Benford’s Law
· Benish M-Score Indicies
· Reasonableness Testing
· Damerau-Levenshtein - Fuzzy Logic
Example Data Analytics Techniques for:
· Accounts Payable
· Payroll
· Inventory & Fixed Assets
· Financial Statements
Investigations – Basics for conducting a fraud investigation
· Planning and conducting an investigation
· Analyzing Documents
· Covert investigations
· Sources of Information
· Forensics
· Useful resources for investigations
Instructors
Mary Breslin, CIA, CFE specializes in Internal Audit transformations, Operational and Financial Auditing, Fraud Auditing & Investigations, and Corporate Accounting.
Her career spans over 20 years in Internal Auditing, Management and Accounting for companies such as ConocoPhillips, Barclays Capital, Costco Wholesale, Jefferson Wells and Boart Longyear. With significant International experience, she has managed audit programs in more than 50 countries. Most recently, Ms. Breslin held the titles of Vice President and Chief Audit Executive where she transformed a checklist audit functions into a value add audit departments which regularly delivered measurable business results through the use of risk based auditing, data analytics, continuous education and skill development for her leadership team and staff. Through her senior audit leadership roles, Ms. Breslin has implemented numerous baseline internal audit functions and year-one Sarbanes-Oxley programs, both domestically and abroad.
Additionally Ms. Breslin has extensive Fraud Audit and Investigation experience and has conducted major fraud investigations on multiple continents including large scale federal cases domestically. She has developed and implemented fraud auditing programs in various industries focused on both accounting and operations.
Ms. Breslin attended Rutgers University and received her BS in accounting, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix while living and working overseas. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She maintains memberships in the IIA, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is currently a conference speaker for the IIA.
Additional Information
If you are making travel plans to come to Austin, we recommend making "refundable" air and hotel reservations or waiting until 14 days before the class to actually book your reservations. Courses are occasionally canceled or rescheduled due to low enrollment. We determine whether a course has enough participants 16 days prior to the course date. If we cancel or reschedule, we will email the participant and his or her billing contact no later than 14 days before the original class date.
The course coordinator will contact you with parking information. Handicapped parking is free at the meters around the downtown area.
Vending machines with Coca-Cola products and various snack items are available. There is also a refrigerator and microwave in our coffee bar area. Feel free to bring in your own drinks and food if you prefer.
You might want to bring a light sweater or jacket, as room temperatures vary.
To see answers to our Frequently Asked Questions, visit http://www.sao.texas.gov/training/faq.html.