March 17, 2022

Psychology of Fraud

March 17, 2022/ Kate Pospisil

The 2022 ACFE Women’s Summit opened with a group of panelists well-versed in the first topic — the psychology of fraud. As fraud examiners, one of the biggest questions we ask ourselves is why people commit fraud. Andi McNeal, CFE, CPA, director of research at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) framed that question with more direction at the start of the session: “What ultimately leads someone to cross that ethical line, and how do they keep motivating themselves to continue their crimes?”

March 14, 2022

Emotional Intelligence: The Secret Tool in the Fraud Examiner's Toolbox

March 14, 2022/ Rihonna Scoggins

The 2022 ACFE Women's Summit explored many different industry topics in sessions led by experienced professionals to arm attendees with the latest tools to fight fraud — one of which was the importance of emotional intelligence. Mary Breslin, CFE, founder and managing partner of Verracy, led the panel of women consisting of Kathy Lavinder, executive director of Security and Investigative Placement Consultants, LLC, and Nicole Babnick, J.D., HR manager at Consolidated Metco. Together, Breslin, Lavinder and Babnick covered how emotional intelligence can be the next great tool in a fraud examiners tool kit.

November 18, 2021

Professional Ethics: Improving Psychological Safety in the Workplace

November 18, 2021/ Hallie Ayres

As a keynote speaker at the 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Canada, Garth Sheriff, CPA ,CA, CIA, and founder of Sheriff Consulting, turned the audience’s attention to the topic of psychological safety. Acknowledging that many audience members may not have heard that term before, Sheriff chose to define it through a number of examples that painted clear images of how psychological safety impacts a workplace.

November 18, 2021

Tech Expert Takara Small Encourages Proactive Thinking Towards Fraud and Risk

November 18, 2021/ Liza Ayres

Takara Small, a technology expert, journalist, podcaster and media personality, took the virtual stage during the ACFE’s 2021 Fraud Conference Canada to discuss the importance of a proactive approach toward minimizing fraud risk. Her presentation engaged virtual attendees and emphasized due diligence and education.

November 17, 2021

What an FBI Section Chief Has Learned Investigating Virtual Currencies

November 17, 2021/ Rihonna Scoggins

At this year’s virtual 2021 ACFE Government Anti-Fraud Summit, attendees walked away with a wealth of knowledge on fighting fraud in law enforcement and government agencies. The opening keynote address was given by Aaron Tapp, section chief of the financial crimes section of the FBI. Tapp’s position grants him the unique ability to oversee all of the FBI’s financial crimes programs — and his past experience as a special agent connected him with agents around the globe to detect, disrupt and prosecute those who fund terrorism.

November 05, 2021

Experts to Discuss Emerging Technology, Ethical Decision Making, Burnout and More at Canadian Anti-Fraud Conference

November 05, 2021/ Sarah Thompson

Hundreds of anti-fraud professionals will hear from director and CEO of FINTRAC Sarah Paquet, tech journalist Takara Small, Gold AE whistleblower Andre Gauthier and more at the virtual 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Canada, November 7-10.

One of the speakers, Garth Sheriff, CPA, CA, CIA, will discuss the pivotal role psychological safety plays in preventing fraud in organizations. Sheriff, the founder of Sheriff Consulting, told the ACFE that employees need to have psychological safety in order to maintain an ethical culture. “Psychological safety is a shared belief that a team and organization are safe for interpersonal risk-taking,” Sheriff said. “There are numerous examples … in which pervasive low psychological safety within an organization can cause an individual's ethical decision-making system, or that provided by their profession, to retreat in fear.”

October 07, 2021

What We Can Learn From the Wirecard Whistleblower

October 07, 2021/ Liza Ayres

The Wirecard scandal was one of Germany’s biggest accounting frauds, and many anti-fraud professionals followed the saga of its crash with baited breath. It makes sense, then, that virtual attendees of the ACFE Fraud Conference Asia-Pacific eagerly attended the conversation between Pav Gill, a lawyer best known as the Wirecard whistleblower, and Stefania Palma, a Financial Times Singapore correspondent who helped Gill break the story.

Wirecard, a German payment processor and financial services provider, crashed in 2020 after admitting to a €1.9 billion misrepresentation of funds. While the fraud rocked the fintech world at large, it also forever altered the life of Gill and his former colleagues. Given his significant role in the company’s downfall, Gill offered valuable insight during his conversation with Palma, which offered a platform for him to share his story and to address the lessons learned.

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