Statistical Techniques for Forensic Accounting: Understanding the Theory and Application of Data Analysis

4. Detection of Fraud: Shared Responsibility

Like a torrent of cold water the wave of publicity raised by the . . . case has shocked the accountancy profession into breathlessness. Accustomed to relative obscurity in the public prints, accountants have been startled to find their procedures, their principles, and their professional standards the subject of sensational and generally unsympathetic headlines.

—Editorial, Journal of Accountancy

4.1. Introduction

Although the editorial you just read could be applicable in many recent occasions—the financial crisis of 2008, the corporate scandals of Enron, WorldCom in 2002, or Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s, this editorial is actually from 1939 in the aftermath of corporate scandals of the time, ...