Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice charged eight Brooklyn, N.Y., men with fraudulently scamming more than $2 million out of COVID-19 relief programs. How did investigators track down the alleged scammers? Four of the accused men gave the...
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How Data Analytics can drive damages calculations
Big data can provide a strategic boost for counsel and experts when calculating damages. By presenting strong, evidence-based numbers, they can increase the likelihood that their theory and calculation of damages will be accepted by judges and arbitrators.
Financial Fraud Investigations: Why an Employee’s Vacation is a Great Time to Detect Fraud
Time off isn’t just a necessity to help employees recover and regroup, it’s also an opportunity for an organization to measure its efficiency and to uncover vulnerabilities it may face from fraud, waste, and abuse. Here are just a few of the ways an organization can...
In a Financial Fraud Investigation, It Pays to Follow the Digital Footprint
Fraudsters often believe they have covered their tracks so well that their activity is untraceable, but they are increasingly running into a significant obstacle when attempting to hide their crimes: Their digital footprint. During the last decade, people have...
What Beneficiaries Can Do to Help Spot Fraud in a Trust or Estate
It’s an all-too frequent concern for people who are no longer managing their own finances: Are they being taken advantage of by a trustee, executor, or attorney-in-fact—and what can they do to spot and prevent such activity? At Forensic Strategic Solutions, we are...
Eight Tips for Detecting Fraud in Accounts Payable
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners 2018 Report to the Nations, fraudulent disbursement schemes remain the costliest form of asset misappropriation fraud to threaten small businesses. Although this risk can seem overwhelming, it may be avoidable...
The Power (and Variety) of Data in Forensic Investigations
Time and time again, we trumpet the incredible value of advanced data analytics in forensic investigations – often, it is the key to finding the needle in the haystack. Fortunately, our firm remains at the forefront of utilizing data to identify unexpected patterns when investigating financial fraud – that red flag that tells us something isn’t as it should be – whether for a qui tam case involving kickback schemes or a case of underreported revenue.
Quickbooks Audit Trail: Fraudulent Behavior Detection
The QuickBooks Audit Trail (or Audit Log, depending on the version) provides a log of each accounting transaction and denotes any additions, deletions or modifications affecting the integrity of the transaction. The tool captures every transaction from the time it is initially entered into QuickBooks, and tracks changes to the original entry, including transaction type, date, account, vendor/customer name, transaction amount, quantity, and price. The Audit Trail also reveals the User ID under which the entry, deletion or modification was made. The Audit Trail is a report built in the QuickBooks ReportCenter– all you have to do is click a button to generate the report.
Social Media Evidence: Where to Look and Protocols to Follow
As a digital technology expert, it is fascinating to observe how today’s technology-centric world obsesses over anything and everything digital – especially social media. From sharing locations on Instagram and Facebook to live tweeting events, people constantly...
The Digital Footprint: Where to Look
The world of technology offers the opportunity for fraud experts to trace the “untraceable.” With technology becoming more popular and present in our lives by the day, people are conducting their lives more digitally, whether through email, texting, social media or Internet browsing. Collecting, analyzing and interpreting the electronic evidence of fraudulent activity is becoming more widespread in the fraud examination world, and will most likely soon become the standard.
Technology Talk: Active Data for Excel
We all recognize budget is a constant concern for auditors and investigators. Oftentimes our technology budgets are just too tight. We find ourselves looking for powerful tools to add to our toolbox that do not break the bank. One of these tools is Active Data for Excel.
Technology Talk: Excel Shortcuts
I was recently surprised to learn at a team meeting that my peers were not as familiar with the many Excel shortcuts that I apparently take for granted. Urged by our team to share more, I decided I should share a few of the more frequently used Excel shortcuts with you: