best practices in conducting financial investigations
TRANSCRIPT
Best Practices in Conducting Financial Investigations in
a Cashed-Based Economy
Compiled and Presented
BY
Chief Godwin Emmanuel OYEDOKUN(HND, BSc.Ed, MBA, MTP (SA), ACA, ACIB, AMNIM, ACTI, CFA, CFE, CPFA, FCFIP, CCFS, CNA, ACAMS, ACCA-CertIFR)
Asst. Director (Head) – Education, Research & Technical
The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN)
DL: +2348033737184, +2348095491026
Being a paper presented at the
C5’s Third Forum on Anti-Corruption – West Africa
Held at Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra, Ghana on June 10 - 11, 2014
This presentation will cover the following major sub topics as follows:
• Introduction
• Corruption and its Challenges
• Cashed-Based Economy
• Black Economy & Underground Economy
• Investigation without accurate, incomplete or unreliable data
• Best Practices in conducting Financial Investigations
• Fraud, fraud triangle and the triangle of fraud action
• Forensic accounting techniques and forensic accountants in court
• Conclusion
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Contents
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• Conducting investigation in cashed-based economy could be so tasking to
the extent that if care is not taking, it may amount to wasted effort, both in
term of fund and human resources employed in the cause of the
investigation.
• World economy is in stimulating, though in challenging times, effort must be
made and proper foundations must be laid to check the effect of the
challenges that comes with it.
• Fraud and corruption risks are not going away, in the word of Amato (2014),
the threats facing companies doing business anywhere, but especially in
emerging markets, are growing in number and complexity.
• It has been proven that traditional investigative skill can no longer resolve the
challenges posed by the fraudster in this century.
• This presentation will explore the Best Practices in conducting financial
investigations in a cashed-based Economy by exposing the reads to the
concepts that closely related to the understanding of the key words in this
article.
Introduction
Corruption is the violation of the obligations of probity, fidelity andimpartiality in the exercise of a public service, to the detriment of theuser.
Corruption is said to have taken place when an individual is paid toperform or refrain from performing his duty either with gifts, promisesor presents; corruption is also deemed to have occurred when anindividual pays a compliant professional to do his work or to refrainfrom doing so (Gerddes-Cameroon 1999).
So many lives have been lost in the bid to tracing, investigating,exposing, prosecuting and serving as expert witness in financialinvestigation of these nature.
This then leaves the professional forensic investigators to no otheroption than to explore the best practices in conduction investigation ofthis nature.
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Corruption and its Challenges
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• According to collinsdictionary.com, cashed-based economy is an
economic system, or part of one, in which financial transactions are
carried out in cash rather than via direct debit, standing order, bank
transfer, or credit card.
• In this type of economy, it will be very difficult to trace the flow of fund
and the possibility of government losing tax income is very high.
• It is an unofficial or illegal part of the economy, where goods and
services are paid for in cash, and therefore not declared for tax
(qfinance.com)
• Cashed-based economy is not the same with cash basis of accounting
which is a major accounting method that recognizes revenues and
expenses at the time physical cash is actually received or paid out.
• Cashed-based Economy is similar to black economy or underground
economy.
Cashed-Based Economy
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• A black economy, is an economy where goods and services are paid for in
cash, and therefore not declared for tax (Investopodia).
• Activities in Black Economy are usually untraceable, and hence untaxable,
business dealings that are not reflected in a country's gross domestic product
(GDP) computations.
• To Business Dictionary.com, black or cash economy is an integral part of most
third-world and many first-world economies, it is a cash based system in which
transaction records are kept in secret account books (called 'number two'
accounts).
• Though it employs illegal (and even criminal) methods, it is a survival practice in
repressive tax regimens or where legitimate expression of entrepreneurial
activity is made unnecessarily difficult by a maze of regulations.
• Black economy and black money go hand in hand. Also called parallel
economy, shadow economy, or underground economy. (Business
Dictionary.com).
Black Economy
The underground economy, also known as the shadow economy, has beenin existence as long as its legitimate counterpart.
The difference is that the government has any number of methods fortracking the exchange of goods, services and currency in an above-boardeconomy, but very few ways of tracking the activities of a shadow economy.
Prostitutes, gamblers and others earning illicit incomes are not likely toprovide the government with accurate income information on their taxforms, for instance, and cash-based transactions often work best withoutgovernmental interference.
In the statement of Wisegeek.org “when government agencies calculateeconomic figures such as the gross national product (GNP), they rely oninformation gathered from legitimate income reports generated bycompanies, non-profit organizations, and individual taxpayers.
What these agencies cannot use in their economic forecasts, however, arethe estimated billions of dollars in cash circulating through what is knownas the "underground economy."
This includes income generated through illegal means, such as prostitutionor gambling, as well as legitimate but cash-based activities such as onlineauctions or bartering services”. 7
Underground Economy
Investigations Investigation is a vital part of auditing process but only applied when the
event or transaction is beclouded.
It is carried out when lapse has been established to ascertain who isresponsible, the reason for the action including the extent of damage if any.
It could be referred to as a detailed verification and clarification of doubtabout a transaction or event.
The search and examination of the particulars of an event to determine thehidden, unique, or complex facts surrounding the event.
A deliberate search and review of records in accordance with the laid downand agreed policies in order to ascertain if and why the keeping of therecords resulted in a gap and the responsible person.
Investigation is a structured gathering of documentary evidence andtestimony to resolve an allegation of improper activity.
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Interview and Interrogation
Interview and interrogation as evidence-gathering techniques involveasking people questions.
The basic difference is that interrogation is confrontational whileinterviewing is not.
In either case, the interviewer records both the answers to the questionsand physical behaviors; these may include the interviewed person lookingat the floor rather than making eye contact.
Key information to gather centers on the suspect’s pressures: Being deep indebt; Perceived opportunities such as having access to the organization’sassets; and Rationalization due to being passed over for a promotion.
Effective interviewing is a skill that can be enhanced with continuouseducation and practice.
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• It is not impossible that most of the information needed to access
financial impropriety are not available.
• This may be due to a deliberate destruction of data by the fraudster in
order to cover their track.
• Investigation, when accurate data are missing, incomplete and or
unreliable requires that the Forensic investigators employ forensic
accounting techniques.
• As postulated by ACFE (2013:286), Information about the suspect
business should be obtained, including information about the
organization, personnel, money flow pattern (source of available funds,
related expenditures, etc), and location of bank accounts, financial
condition, and recordkeeping system.
• This information can be obtained through interview of employees,
customer, and competitors; business; and business public fillings.
Investigation without accurate, incomplete or
unreliable data
Best Practices in conducting Financial Investigations
The following among others are the methods ofproving (investigating) corrupt payment (ACFE2013):
Identify and trace them by audit steps
Turn an inside witness
Secretly infiltrate or record ongoing transaction
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Best Practices in conducting Financial Investigations
The following questions provides lead way into resolvingthe allegation of corruption and fraudulent activities (ACFE2013):
How is the business organize, legally and structurally
Who are the key personnel associated with the enterprise
What is the money flow pattern involved in the transaction
Where are the company’s bank accounts
What is the financial condition of the business
What is the company’s record-keeping system
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Sources of information
Principals, employees, and records of suspect business
Customers and competitors
Banks and lending institutions
Business reporting companies
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Best Practices in conducting Financial Investigations
Best Practices in conducting Financial Investigations
Best practices in financial forensic investigation of off-book andpayments in cash demand that the forensic investigators should havethe expertise in:
Identifying the indirect evidence of unrecorded sales on the suspectcompany’s Book and Records;
Identifying unbalanced ratio of cost to sales;
Conducting Investigation in the marketplace;
Matching evidence of cash withdrawers or disbursements;
Looking for the purchase of cashier’s cheques or wire transfers payableto the recipients at, or shortly after, cash withdrawer or disbursement;
Look for correlation between cash-generating transactions and ,moneywires or currier services which are sometimes use to send cash;
The use of Visual or surveillance if the scheme is ongoing;
Interviewing the payer if known;
Focusing investigation on the suspected recipients
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Definition of Fraud:intentional
(deliberate) deception resulting in injury to
another person
In a broad strokes definition, fraud is a deliberate
misrepresentation which causes another person to suffer damages, usually
monetary losses.
Most people consider the act of lying to be
fraudulent, but in a legal sense, lying is only one small element of actual
fraud.
Fraud usually involves lying for a specific gain that causes someone
loss while lying does not always include hurt.
Fraud and lying
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Lie is to bridge a gap???????????.
Strangers lies 10 times in 10mins when
they first meet.
In fact, Men lie 8 times to boost self up.
Godwin: Please give practical examples in
class
Fraud and lying
Fraud Triangle Fraud Examiners relies on the Fraud Triangle to find weak points in
business processes and identify possible suspects in cases of fraud.
It consists of three core concepts that together create a situation ripe forfraud; incentive, opportunity and rationalization.
People must have the incentive and opportunity to commit financialfraud as well as the ability to justify it.
Recent analysis has suggested adding a fourth concept to make adiamond: capability.
Just because someone has the opportunity or incentive to steal, it doesn'tmean that they have the capability to do so.
For example, if someone doesn't understand how to do journal or ledgerentries, they wouldn't know how to manipulate the numbers no matterwhat the incentive or opportunity.
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Triangle of Fraud Action Albrecht et al (2006) and Kranacher et al (2011) described the
action an individual must perform to perpetrate fraud asfollows (Dada 2013):
The Action - the execution of the fraud, embezzlement,cheque kiting or material fraudulent financial reporting.
Concealment- hiding of the fraud action by raising falsejournal, falsification of bank reconciliation and destroyingfiles
Conversion – this is the process of turning the gains fromfraud into something useable by the perpetrator for instance,money laundered, cars or house.
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Is your tool sophisticated enough to
Investigate or fight fraudsters?
Forensic Accounting
Forensic accounting has been defined as "accounting analysis that canuncover possible fraud that is suitable for presentation in court.
Such analysis will form the basis for discussion, debate, and disputeresolution."
Forensic accounting, sometimes referred to as investigative accounting, isa unique career field that combines accounting with informationtechnology.
A Forensic Accountant uses his knowledge of accounting, law,investigative auditing and criminology to uncover fraud, findevidence and present such evidence in court if required to.
According to Oyedokun (2013), Forensic Accounting is a ScientificAccounting method of uncovering, resolving, analyzing andpresenting fraud matters in a manner that is acceptable in thecourt of law
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Why is forensic accounting
Because of the struggling stock market and lack of investorconfidence which has forced many organizations to take a long, hardlook at their financial statements.
A sluggish economy with its attendant problems
The increase in white collar crime and the difficulties faced by lawenforcement agencies in uncovering
Many accounting firms believe that the market is sufficiently large tosupport an independent unit devoted strictly to forensic accounting.
The need to use investigative skills to seek out irregularities incompanies’ financial statements
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Uses sophisticated computer programs
Performs investigative accounting as well as litigation support.
Use both accounting and investigating skills to interpret financialevidence
Expert witnesses
Review financial records for mergers and acquisitions.
Serve as advisers to a corporation’s audit committee
Work to resolve shareholder disputes within a company.
Calculate economic damages
In a criminal case, a Forensic Accountant may be asked to presentevidence of insurance fraud, identity theft, money laundering, terroristfinancing, embezzlement, price fixing, stock market manipulation, orother related offences.
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Forensic Accountant
To be successful as a forensic accounting, forensic investigator/anti-fraud professional, you must be:
detail oriented,
persistent,
ambitious, and
highly organized.
a great deal of creativity,
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Forensic Accountant cont’
Qualities and Qualifications of Forensic Accountants
Characteristics
• Curiosity;
• Persistence;
• Creativity;
• Discretion;
• Organization;
• Confidence; and
• Sound professional judgment.
A capable Forensic Accountant should have the following characteristics (Zysman, 2011):
• A Forensic Accountant must be open to consider all alternatives, scrutinize the fine details and at the same time see the big picture. In addition, a Certified Fraud Examiner must be able to listen effectively and communicate clearly and concisely.
Forensic Accountant
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Forensic Accountants in Court
A key piece of evidence is the report of the Forensic Accountant.
The report should not be accusatory or conclusive as to guilt. It is
critical to ensure that the tone of the report is not inflammatory or
prejudicial.
•The fraud trial can be a civil or a criminal trial.
•In either case, the role of the Forensic Accountant is to study
relevant materials documents, and the authoritative literature
relating to the case on hand.
•Direct and cross examination questions will be asked, and the
Forensic Accountant has the responsibility to answer these
questions clearly and concisely.
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Forensic Accountant in Court
To Zysman, 2004, in court, the Forensic Accountant can
be:
• an expert witness,
•a consultant, or
•play other roles such as Trier of fact,
•special master,
•court-appointed expert,
•referee,
•arbitrator, or mediator
Godwin, explain types of witness and their roles
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• Cashed-based economy is an economic system, or part of one, in which
financial transactions are carried out in cash rather than via direct debit,
standing order, bank transfer, or credit card.
• It was noted that in this type of economy, it is difficult to trace the flow of fund
and the possibility of government losing tax income is very high.
• Government tax income is always badly affected if the most of the entities in
such country operate in black economy or underground economy.
• Government of each countries are to intensify effort in ensuring that the
Cashless policy in respective countries are working.
• In the word of the Central Bank of Nigeria through one of its deputy Governors
Kingsley Moghalu, “Nigeria is predominantly a cash-based society and this is
not good for us.
• This is why the CBN decided to launch the Cash-Lite Policy; so that Nigeria
can join other developed economies that adopted cashless society”.
• The nation (Nigeria) runs a cash-based economy and this informed the central
bank’s Cash-Lite Policy which aims to reduce the amount of cash in
circulation (Moghalu 2014) in Tarpel (2014).
Conclusion
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Albrecht W. S (2006), Fraud Examination, Thomson South-Western Publishing, 2006.
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (2013): 2013 International Fraud Examiners
Manual
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, www.acfe.com
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Anti-money laundry and Combating Terrorist Financing Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director of
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