Detecting Accounting Fraud Before It's Too Late

Detecting Accounting Fraud Before It's Too Late

by Oriol Amat
Released April 2019
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119566847

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Book description

Detect accounting fraud before it’s too late

Accounting fraud is the deliberate manipulation of accounting records in order to make a company's financial performance seem better or worse than it actually is. Accounting scandals often have catastrophic consequences for shareholders and employees. Thus, analysts and auditors must be equipped to detect accounting fraud.

This book is a comprehensive guide to detecting accounting fraud for auditors investigating accounting fraud and analysts/managers seeking to prevent it. A wide variety of warning signs are described, as are several techniques for detecting and addressing fraud.

  • Understand the motivations and warning signs behind accounting fraud
  • Get to know how accounting fraud is done and how to detect it
  • Avoid the losses that often come from accounting fraud
  • Benefit from case studies throughout to that help illustrate the author's points

It’s unfortunate that managers, auditors, and analysts must be wary of accounting fraud—but this book equips you with the know-how to detect it before it’s too late.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Prologue
  3. Introduction
    1. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. CHAPTER 1: Fraud and Accounting Manipulations
    1. 1.1 FRAUD AND ITS EFFECTS
    2. 1.2 MODIFYING COMPANIES' FINANCIAL INFORMATION
    3. 1.3 CALLING THINGS BY THEIR NAME: FROM CREATIVE ACCOUNTING TO BIG BATHS
    4. REFERENCES
  5. CHAPTER 2: Accounting Fraud: An Ancient Practice
    1. 2.1 THE FIRST ACCOUNTING FRAUDS
    2. 2.2 ACCOUNTING FRAUDS CONTINUE WITH THE DOUBLE ENTRY
    3. 2.3 THE CRASH OF 1929 AND THE OBLIGATION TO AUDIT ACCOUNTS
    4. 2.4 REINFORCEMENT OF THE COMMERCIAL LAW AND AUDITING AFTER THE STRING OF SCANDALS OF 2000
    5. 2.5 WITH THE CRISIS OF 2008, HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
    6. REFERENCES
  6. CHAPTER 3: Problems with Legislation and Those Involved in the Financial Information
    1. 3.1 HOW FINANCIAL INFORMATION IS GENERATED
    2. 3.2 AUDITING OF ACCOUNTS: ESSENTIAL, BUT NOT INFALLIBLE
    3. 3.3 ANALYSTS AND RATING AGENCIES
    4. 3.4 REGULATORS AND THE LIMITATIONS OF ACCOUNTING REGULATIONS
    5. 3.5 ROLE OF THE MEDIA
    6. REFERENCES
  7. CHAPTER 4: Why Are Accounts Manipulated?
    1. 4.1 MOTIVATION, OPPORTUNITY, AND RATIONALIZATION
    2. 4.2 THE DOOR TO FRAUD
    3. REFERENCES
  8. CHAPTER 5: Legal Accounting Manipulations
    1. 5.1 ALTERNATIVES, ESTIMATIONS, AND LEGAL GAPS
    2. 5.2 MAIN LEGAL MANIPULATIONS
    3. 5.3 IMPACT OF LEGAL MANIPULATIONS IN THE ACCOUNTS
    4. REFERENCES
  9. CHAPTER 6: Illegal Accounting Manipulations
    1. 6.1 ACCOUNTING CRIME
    2. 6.2 HOW ILLEGAL MANIPULATIONS ARE DONE
    3. 6.3 OPERATIONS THROUGH TAX HAVENS
    4. 6.4 MAIN ILLEGAL MANIPULATIONS
    5. 6.5 MAIN ITEMS AFFECTED BY ACCOUNTING FRAUDS
    6. REFERENCES
  10. CHAPTER 7: Ethical Considerations and Economic Consequences of Manipulations
    1. 7.1 THE ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF ACCOUNTING FRAUD
    2. 7.2 ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF ACCOUNTING FRAUD
    3. 7.3 CONSEQUENCES TO MANAGERS AND COMPANIES THAT MANIPULATE ACCOUNTS
    4. 7.4 WHAT TO DO WHEN A COMPANY DETERIORATES
    5. REFERENCES
  11. CHAPTER 8: Personal Warning Signs
    1. 8.1 MOMENTS THE WARNING SIGNS OCCUR
    2. 8.2 WARNING SIGNS BEFORE FRAUD OCCURS
    3. 8.3 WARNING SIGNS AFTER THE FRAUD OCCURS
    4. 8.4 LANGUAGE OF FRAUDSTERS
    5. 8.5 SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMEN WHO END UP IN JAIL
    6. REFERENCES
  12. CHAPTER 9: Organizational Warning Signs and Nonfinancial Indicators
    1. 9.1 WARNING SIGNS BEFORE A FRAUD OCCURS
    2. 9.2 WARNING SIGNS AFTER A FRAUD OCCURS
    3. 9.3 WARNING SIGNS BASED ON NONFINANCIAL INDICATORS
    4. REFERENCES
  13. CHAPTER 10: Warning Signs in the Accounts
    1. 10.1 AUDITING OF ACCOUNTS
    2. 10.2 BALANCE SHEET
    3. 10.3 INCOME STATEMENT
    4. 10.4 CASH FLOW STATEMENT
    5. 10.5 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
    6. 10.6 NOTES
    7. 10.7 RATIOS THAT ANTICIPATE FRAUDS
    8. 10.8 VARIATIONS IN ACCOUNTS THAT WARN OF FRAUDS ALREADY PRODUCED
    9. 10.9 RATIOS THAT WARN OF FRAUDS ALREADY PRODUCED
    10. 10.10 SYNTHETIC INDEX TO DETECT MANIPULATING COMPANIES
    11. REFERENCES
  14. CHAPTER 11: Some Suggestions to Improve the Current Situation
    1. 11.1 REINFORCE VALUES AND INSTITUTE ETHICAL CODES
    2. 11.2 IMPROVE CONTROL SYSTEMS IN ORGANIZATIONS
    3. 11.3 IMPROVE REGULATION
    4. 11.4 REINFORCE SUPERVISION
    5. 11.5 REINFORCE THE SANCTIONING REGIME
    6. 11.6 THE CHALLENGE OF PROVIDING RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR DECISION-MAKING
    7. REFERENCES
    8. NOTE
  15. EPILOGUE
  16. APPENDIX 1: Criminal Responsibility of Legal Entities and Regulatory Compliance
    1. A1.1 INTRODUCTION
    2. A1.2 TYPIFIED CONDUCTS
    3. A1.3 CRIMES ATTRIBUTABLE TO LEGAL ENTITIES
    4. A1.4 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT MODELS
    5. A1.5 MODELS OF PREVENTION AND CONTROL
    6. REFERENCES
    7. NOTE
  17. APPENDIX 2: Audit Program for the Identification of Fraud Risks
    1. A2.1 OBJECTIVE
    2. A2.2 CONCLUSION
  18. List of Companies Mentioned in the Book and Section in which They Appear
  19. Index
  20. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Detecting Accounting Fraud Before It's Too Late
  • Author(s): Oriol Amat
  • Release date: April 2019
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119566847