Overview

In this new century, financial statement fraud has increasingly become a serious problem for business, government, and investors.  Auditors, in particular, have been hit hard for their seeming inability to find fraud on a massive scale. This text illustrates:

• Examinations of real-world frauds and practical tools and techniques for carrying out their antifraud responsibilities

• Recommendations from the SEC Advisory Committee to reduce the complexity of the financial reporting process and improve the quality of financial reports

• Emerging financial reporting and auditing initiatives, including movement toward IFRS and IAAS and the use of the XBRL reporting platform and

• Corporate governance reforms in the post-SOX era

Its uncomplicated language illustrates theoretical and practical concepts to aid comprehension of complex financial reporting processes and exposure to a variety of fraudulent activities.

Learning objectives

To arm you with the investigative tools you need to detect–

• Corporate cultures that incentivize dishonest practices,
• Tricks companies use to exaggerate revenue and earnings,
• Techniques devised by management to manipulate cash flow and
• How acquisitions can be used to hide deterioration in the underlying business.