LibGuides: AC 460 Fraud Examination: Fraud 101

Selected Organizations and Code of Ethics in accounting

AICPA Online Code of Professional Conduct
IESBA Ethics
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants® (IESBA®) is an independent standard-setting body that serves the public interest by setting robust, internationally appropriate ethics standards, including auditor independence requirements, for professional accountants worldwide. These are compiled in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants™.
2020 ACFE Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
We are the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education.

Domestic and International agencies

Alabama Securities Commission Enforcement Division
The Enforcement Division coordinates its actions with the ASC Legal Division and local, state and federal authorities to thoroughly examine complaints, analyze financial transactions and help bring legal action against any person or entity that violates Alabama Securities Act.

Transparency International
The global coalition against corruption.

Crime Statistics, Investigations, and Law Enforcement

White-Collar Crime in the United States - Lying, Cheating and Stealing
FBI overview page on the bureau's white collar crime investigation activities. White collar crime page lists major programs and cases such as Bankruptcy Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Identity Theft, Piracy/Intellectual Property Theft, and Mortgage Fraud.

Other types of organizations, such as the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, identify and analyze fraud cases. Their 2020 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud & Abuse (and earlier editions) analyzes occupational fraud cases in 114 nations and addresses prevention and detection

Transparency International works with governments, businesses and citizens to stop the abuse of power, bribery and secret deals.

State and federal government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of the Treasury gather and report crime statistics. Here are examples of such reports.

Bureau of Justice Statistics
Provides statistics on crime types (cybercrime and identify theft, for example), law enforcement work such as forensic investigation, and related matters.

finCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network)
FinCEN is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The Director of FinCEN is appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury and reports to the Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. FinCEN’s mission is to safeguard the financial system from illicit use and combat money laundering and promote national security through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of financial intelligence and strategic use of financial authorities.

StopFraud.gov Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
Archived website. No longer updated.
Financial Crimes Report to the Public (FBI)
Archived website. No longer updated. Use finCEN.gov
Provides overview of the various types of financial crimes and the number of cases investigated over time.
Uniform Crime Reports
See Crime in the United States and National Incident-Based Reporting System sections.

Examples of Accounting Fraud

Merging short and long term debt into one amount to improve the perceived liquidity of the company
Failing to disclose risky investments or “creative” accounting practices
Over-recording sales revenue
Under-recording expenses (i.e. depreciation expense)
Misappropriation of funds

Sample List of Fraud Cases

Wikipedia: Accounting Scandals
Neutrality of some sections disputed
SEC Litigation

SEC.gov Financial Reporting and Audit (FRAud) Group
Provides links to Examples of Filed Actions

Selected Fraud Cases

Case: The SEC alleges that Martin Shkreli misappropriated money from two hedge funds he founded and made material misrepresentations to investors among other widespread misconduct. The SEC also charged Retrophin’s former outside counsel and corporate secretary Evan Greebel with aiding and abetting certain aspects of Shkreli’s alleged fraud.

Case: AIG - Accounting of structured financial deals. Securities Fraud.

Case: Chiquita Brands International - Illegal payments

Case: Peregrine Systems - Overstated sales

Case: Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Additional Cases from the SEC Enforcement Actions