ACFE and Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia to Hold Virtual 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Middle East this April

ACFE and Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia to Hold Virtual 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Middle East this April

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), in collaboration with the Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia, will host the 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Middle East in a virtual format, 7-8 April. This conference will bring together professionals from the Middle Eastern region working in both public and private sectors, and will provide a platform to exchange ideas, expertise and discuss the latest trends and tools in fraud detection, response and prevention.

Attendees will hear from His Excellency Mr. Mohammed El Kuwaiz, Chairman of the Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia; Preet Bharara, senior CNN legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York; and Pamela Barnum, a trust strategist and body language expert. They will be joined by other expert speakers who will help attendees explore important cases and trends that have emerged in technological development, risk management and fraud prevention.

Read More

Developing a Culture of Compliance: How Ethics and Risk Management Intersect

Developing a Culture of Compliance: How Ethics and Risk Management Intersect

Despite the oft-invoked title of “ethics and risk management” for anti-fraud initiatives and professional roles, it’s occasionally difficult to put modes of compliance into practice that explicitly draw links between ethics and risk as symbiotic symptoms of each other. While it may be easy to identify potential risks within an organization, it’s harder to trace those risk opportunities back to an ethical aspect of the company’s culture that may be the foundational cause for a risk.

As part of the virtual 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Europe, Dr. Attracta Lagan, co-principle of Managing Values, spoke with Dr. Klaus Moosmayer, the executive committee manager and chief ethics, risk, and compliance officer for Novartis, to discuss techniques for promoting an office culture that enhances ethical accountability as a means of reducing risk.

Read More

What Fraud Examiners Can Learn About Report Writing from a Journalist’s Plagiarism Case

What Fraud Examiners Can Learn About Report Writing from a Journalist’s Plagiarism Case

When investigating a financial fraud case, anti-fraud professionals know the importance of following established steps and best practices. From beginning an investigation, through collecting evidence and conducting interviews, they follow generally accepted guidance and document each stage in their final report. This diligence is important not just for financial fraud cases, but for other types of fraud — such as academic and journalistic fraud.

Read More

Theranos Whistleblower Is Building a Better Way Forward

Theranos Whistleblower Is Building a Better Way Forward

During the 2021 ACFE Women’s Summit, in the first keynote of the day, the ACFE’s Director of Research, Andi McNeal, CFE, CPA, introduced two women who have been championing the work of whistleblowers, sharing their stories and working to erase the stigma behind whistleblowing.

Erika Cheung and Cynthia Cooper engaged the virtual audience in an enthralling conversation about the ethical underpinnings that drive people to speak up when they see wrongdoing within a company. Cheung was one of the first whistleblowers who reported the medical malpractice at Theranos, which ultimately led to the shutdown of their medical lab. Cooper played a pivotal role in uncovering fraud at WorldCom and is now an influential speaker, consultant and author.

Read More

Upping Your Tech Game in Times of Extraordinary Change

Upping Your Tech Game in Times of Extraordinary Change

In the session titled “Upping Your Tech Game in Times of Extraordinary Change” at the 2021 ACFE Women’s Summit, attendees heard from four tech experts in the anti-fraud field. As the conversation began, a few of the panelists commented on how rare (and delightful) it was to be on a tech panel with all women. However, it didn’t take long for them to dig in and demonstrate why they are each considered experts in their respective fields.

Read More

Turning Your Bad Habits Into Superpowers

Turning Your Bad Habits Into Superpowers

In an inspiring and humor-filled session at the first-ever ACFE Women’s Summit, the ACFE’s Director of Research, Andi McNeal, CFE, CPA, and Communications Manager, Mandy Moody, CFE, invited attendees to hold a mirror up to ourselves and examine some habits that we may consider to be professional defects, in order for us to reframe these habits as sources of power.

Read More

Cybersecurity Journalist says SolarWinds Hack is a “Harbinger” of Threats to Come

Cybersecurity Journalist says SolarWinds Hack is a “Harbinger” of Threats to Come

Award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author Misha Glenny says that ransomware should be the top concern of European organizations — and that they’re not prepared. “Over the past year, we have seen a ramping up of the strategy among some of the top Russian ransomware groups. Instead of just locking up your data, leaving you to bang your head against a brick wall, some groups are now carrying out their threat to exfiltrate your data and post it for all your competitors to peruse,” he told the ACFE. “The darkest moment in cybersecurity over the last year was the discovery of the SolarWinds hack … This is a harbinger of the security issues in the era of the Internet of Things and machine-to-machine learning.” Glenny, who’s groundbreaking exposé, McMafia, has been adapted into a major BBC television series, will be speaking at the virtual 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Europe, 11-12 March.

Read More