Michael Lewis: Complexity, Fraud and Listening to Contrarians

Michael Lewis: Complexity, Fraud and Listening to Contrarians

Michael Lewis isn’t a fraud examiner. But as a journalist and author who has written multiple books about financial shenanigans on Wall Street, he has important insights into the nasty underbelly of markets and how fraudsters can thrive there. The latest market selloff could be a good case in point as investors look for guidance amid concerns over rising inflation and the potential for a recession.

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Cash Isn’t King: Alternative Payment Systems Are Shaking up the Banking Industry

Cash Isn’t King: Alternative Payment Systems Are Shaking up the Banking Industry

For years, we’ve operated off and relied on the traditional finance system our parents used — a complex web connecting a central bank system through multiple sources to finally get to the end party (being you or whoever you are paying). Inside that network, the U.S. banking and payment system is even more complex, with bureaus inside of departments, and oversight from the federal and state governments.

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Keynote Speaker: Lisa Osofsky

Keynote Speaker: Lisa Osofsky

"Our lodestar must be the truth. At every stage and in crafting each investigative step, we must be guided by facts rather than theories or biases. Justice is done not only when we convict the guilty but when we exonerate the innocent," said Lisa Osofsky, Director of the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, in her acceptance speech for the Cressey Award at the 30th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference.

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Hall of Fame Award Winner Dr. Joseph T. Wells, ACFE Founder and Chairman

Hall of Fame Award Winner Dr. Joseph T. Wells, ACFE Founder and Chairman

“The moral here is that we get to where we are by doing all we can. Not in a straight line and not by finishing exactly where we started ... I had a flair for fraud examination and that’s where I found my calling. Not only was the work interesting and challenging, but I was doing something to help make the world a better place,” said Dr. Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, ACFE founder and Chairman, during the Monday Opening Session as he accepted the ACFE Hall of Fame Award.

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Work with Human Behavior to Avoid Breaches and Cybercrime, Says Cybersecurity Expert

Work with Human Behavior to Avoid Breaches and Cybercrime, Says Cybersecurity Expert

Organizations continue to operate under a cybercrime misconception about their customers, and it’s costing them a lot of money, said cybersecurity expert Theresa Payton, the Monday luncheon keynote speaker. “The conventional wisdom [in cybercrime and fraud] is that ‘humans are the weakest link … That’s why we have security problems.’ I want to change that conversation now.

“I used to feel that way when I was in the financial services industry,” she said. “I’d say, ‘I wish we could just train our customers on the little bit of what I know. My job would be safer and easier to do, and we’d all be happier.’ We’ve been talking this way for decades. We keep asking ourselves, ‘Why do people click on links? Why do people open attachments? … Why do people make these mistakes?’

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Ethical Leadership: It’s Not As Easy As You Think

Ethical Leadership: It’s Not As Easy As You Think

When you think of leadership, what springs to mind? Is it authority? Confidence? Having a vision? Do you think leadership is something assigned to people? Or does it occur naturally? If you’re the leader of a team or department, you might want to stop thinking about your own thoughts and look outward.

“Everybody has their own definition of leadership,” said Bret Hood, retired FBI Special Agent and the director of 21st Century Learning & Consulting, in his Monday-morning session at the 30th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference. “Who’s definition most important? … The people you’re serving.”

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