What Will Be on Your Monday Morning List?

PRESIDENT'S BLOG

James D. Ratley, CFE
ACFE President and CEO

One of the most important goals I have for ACFE conferences, seminars and events is for attendees to walk away with what I like to call a “Monday morning list.” Everybody knows that fraud is a problem and we work hard not to provide training that merely says, “Fraud is a problem.” We want attendees to leave with a variety of things that they can begin implementing the Monday morning following an event or course they have attended with the ACFE.

It is with this goal, as well as many others, that we continue to prepare for the 22^nd Annual ACFE Fraud Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, June 12-17. I’m mindful of how each year brings fresh challenges to our profession. In response, as soon as one year’s conference ends, the ACFE looks for ways to make the following year’s event even more useful to attendees. 2011 is no exception, thanks to the ongoing planning and organization of our Events department.

ACFE conference attendees never cease to impress me with their willingness to share the fruits of their professional experience. They — you — come from everywhere on earth, from dozens of industries and professions: internal and external auditors, fraud investigators and examiners, CPAs, CAs and other accounting professionals, risk managers, chief compliance officers and educators, among others. Many CFEs possess more than one professional credential; all have multifaceted fraud-fighting skills.

This wealth of individual knowledge is our collective strength.

While we are a diverse group, we also are united in our work against fraud. It’s difficult to overvalue such unity and collaboration.

As we know, occupational fraud seems to sprout new varieties every week. But CFEs realize that not all such frauds are new. Our best response to them is a prudent mixture of historical awareness, experience and innovation.

This year’s conference offers you more anti-fraud tips, tools, information and resources than has ever been assembled in one gathering. Nowhere else but at the ACFE Annual Fraud Conference will you find so many renowned national and global keynote speakers and session presenters, including hands-on anti-fraud and technical experts, regulators, and other government officials and corporate leaders.

The annual conference is also an outstanding opportunity to learn about career-advancing opportunities and to network with staff and recruiters from the industry’s top firms, as well as your fellow anti-fraud professionals.

You’ll see me chatting with many of our members in the hallways at the Pre-conference, main conference and the Post-conference. I hope to meet you there.

What do you hope to take away and add to your Monday morning list? Leave your comments below.

Education and Training Don't Stop After Earning the CFE Credential

MEMBER PROFILE

Joseph Agins, CFE
Director, Ethics & Compliance Investigations
Apollo Group

As the director of the Apollo Group's Ethics and Compliance Investigations department, Joseph Agins, CFE, has witnessed first-hand how the economy's decline has affected the instances of fraud in the workplace. He has seen the extreme measures to which some will go to commit fraud, only to end up with a little bit of extra money and a slew of problems. Although, as the number of fraudulent crimes rise, the education and training that Agins receives from the ACFE and other entities has helped him to remain ahead of the curve and move up in the anti-fraud field.

Describe your job function (a day in the life of):
I support and report directly to Apollo's Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. My primary role is the day-to-day management of the investigative staff and the investigative activities within the company. I provide oversight for the design and execution of all investigations that arise throughout Apollo and our subsidiaries such as the University of Phoenix. My team also manages our Apollo Ethics Helpline and we are also responsible for the overall trending and analysis of all internal investigations and the regular reporting of such information to Apollo Senior Management and/or the Board of Directors.

What made you decide to become a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)?
About eight years ago a former colleague of mine turned me on to the ACFE and the CFE credential. This person was someone I had a great deal of respect for due to her expertise and length of time in the field. She was also very passionate about the anti-fraud profession. I knew that joining the ACFE and obtaining the CFE credential was something I seriously needed to consider if I wanted to continue advancing in the anti-fraud field. I eventually joined the ACFE, became involved in the local chapter and ultimately earned the CFE credential (although it took me a while). I could not be more pleased with my decision to join this association and earn this credential. My only regret is that I did not do it sooner.

Read the full profile, here, in the ACFE's new Career Center.

Mitigating Compliance Risks

As the fraudsters continue to change modes of operation, so must the people who are trained to detect them.

Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA, CVA, ACFE program director, urges audit and compliance professionals to remain current on the legislative changes that pertain to compliance, risk and fraud.

Keeping up to date on cases like the 2010 case titled City of Ontario v. Quon can help companies steer clear from the problems that can arise from unenforced or inconsistent electronic-use policies.

According to Dorris, this case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court because of arguments Jeff Quon and his co-defendants made regarding a formal policy that they all signed, which eliminated any expectation of privacy. Despite signing the policy, they claimed to still have a reasonable expectation of privacy because management did not enforce the policy and, through statements, implemented an informal policy that defeated the formal written policy.

“The company had a firm policy stating specifically that employees should have no expectation of privacy,” said John Gill, ACFE vice president of education. “It came down to a problem in compliance from middle management. The same arguments Quon made about his policy being faulty and inconsistent are the same arguments your employees could make against you.”

Read the full article here.