Greetings from Sunny Singapore

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Dewi Malik
Business Support Manager
ACFE Asia Pacific Regional Service Centre

Combatting fraud has no geographical boundaries. That is why the nature of fraud in global business today calls for an international presence. With the opening of the new Asia-Pacific office in Singapore we wish to strengthen our presence throughout this area and beyond. We also want to greatly improve support for our ACFE members in the region.

My colleagues and I are extremely excited to be a part of this huge step towards fulfilling ACFE's No. 3 New Year's Resolution-Expand International Growth Efforts to New Regions. This move to set up an ACFE office in the hub of Singapore truly represents the astounding membership growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

The ACFE Asia-Pacific office offers timely language-specific support to new, existing and potential members in this culturally diverse region. Whether you are from Korea, Japan, Australia or China, my colleagues and I are here to answer any queries or give feedback relating to the ACFE's membership, conferences, programmes and services. In addition to English, we have support staff members well-versed in Mandarin, Japanese and Korean.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to join the global ACFE family. I hope to be able to meet you and colleagues from around the world at the upcoming 2012 ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference in Hong Kong, 4-6 November 2012.

We welcome your queries and feedback. Please contact us at +65 6496 5503 or AsiaPacific@ACFE.com. I certainly hope to speak with you soon.

The Passion of a Fraud Fighter

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John Gill, J.D., CFE
ACFE Vice President of Education

Last week, Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA and ACFE Program Director, and I had the great pleasure of flying to Singapore to teach the first CFE Exam Review Course outside the U.S. Although Bruce and I have taught the U.S. version of the course many times, this was the first time we taught the international version for the public.

The reception we received could not have been warmer. Everyone in the class was so nice, and they were so excited that we held the first international class in the Asia-Pacific region. We met people from Singapore, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia and even Kenya! It was really exciting to have such an international crowd.

As I mentioned, I teach about a dozen classes in the U.S. each year, and I travel from Las Vegas to New York City to Los Angeles to teach the Review Course. What struck me the most last week was not how much the Singapore class was different from the courses I teach in the States, but how much it was exactly the same. It really hit home to me that ACFE members have a strong bond that knows no borders. It doesn’t matter where we are located, how much experience we have or even what industry we work in. We all share the same passion: to understand how fraud is committed and do everything we can to find those responsible. The dedication to fighting fraud I saw in each person was very inspiring.

I can’t tell you what a thrill it was to meet them (even though it took me 25 hours to get there!) and I am proud to be a part of such a truly global association.

Pictured: Krishnamah Sanmugam just after she found out she passed the first part of the CFE Exam. View more photos from the event on our Facebook page.

Many Cultures, One Purpose

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Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA
ACFE VP and Program Director

Culturally, we are all very different. But for those of us who wake up every morning determined to decrease fraud worldwide, we are all on the same page. At times, I get so caught up in my own surroundings here in Austin that I forget about the vibrant and complex rest of the world happening just a few plane rides away. Recently, though, I was fortunate enough to lead an ACFE training in Asia, and while I was there I couldn’t help but reflect on the phrase we often toss around here: “Fraud truly knows no boundaries.”

In one particular country I visited, I spoke to one of our members working in the banking industry. He told me of a substantial fraud that took place in one of his company’s branches. Apparently, it was common for fraudsters to bring in “authentic” signatures on lending paperwork and for those documents to be accepted by the branch director without question.

What was unnerving to me was the laissez faire attitude about fraud as it related to those involved in the scheme. It was seen as accepted and part of the daily routine of doing business. Despite the adoption and enforcement of anti-fraud legislation around the globe, it is sad that there are still areas in which fraud is an accepted form of behavior. But, at the same time, it made me proud to be part of a 60,000-member worldwide team dedicated to making a change. 

I will be traveling to Asia again next month to help teach our popular CFE Exam Review Course for the first time in Singapore. We are excited to bring this course to the Asia-Pacific area not only to provide training for those seeking to become CFEs, but in a much larger sense, to increase fraud awareness and continue the mission of bringing about a paradigm shift in attitudes towards anti-fraud programs to those who have yet to fully embrace them.

Until next time…