Forensics & fraud blog

Suspected rogue trader held at UBS – Business News, Business – The Independent

An unfortunate example of what could go wrong when risk management procedures are inadequate.  And not the first one either, like the article says:

• Jerome Kerviel at Soc Gen (£3.7 billion),
• Nick Leeson at Barings (£800 million),
• Yasuo Hamanaka as a copper trader (£2.4 billion).

Besides the financial cost to the organisations, reputations are at stake and they can take a long time to repair.

Let’s not forget, someone has to figure out exactly what happened here and how it was possible that it happened.

Not a week or a day passed by without a reference to fraud in the media. No matter the country, the size or the sector of the organisation, fraud unfortunately does not only happen to others.

The Forensic Auditor in the fight against economic crime, a full-time job!

A little-known job and often misunderstood by the public is the one of “Forensic Auditor”. Although this profession is much more developed in the Anglo-Saxon countries, it also exists in Belgium and requires combining legal, IT, financial and economic expertise.

There is no standardised approach; each project must be tailored to the needs of the organization and to its industry. When fraud is uncovered, the first concerns have a legal, social and financial character. The Forensic Auditor assists companies in managing their fraud risks (through prevention, detection or investigation).

“Zero risk” does not exist but it is key to prevent and detect potential fraud. The key behaviour is to anticipate and act proactively to fraud risks.