Low-Level Fraud vs. Executive Fraud
Low-Level Fraud
Fraud committed by staff or line employees most often consist of theft of property or embezzlement of cash. The incentive might be relief of economic hardship, the desire for material gain, or a drug or gambling habit.
1) Stealing petty cash or merchandise, lapping accounts receivable, and creating nonexistent vendors are common forms of low-level fraud.
Executive Fraud
Fraud at the executive level is very different. The incentive is usually either maintaining or increasing the stock price, receiving a large bonus, or both
1) This type of fraud consists most often of producing false or misleading financial statements.
Terminology of fraud Indicator
A. A document symptom is any kind of tampering with the accounting records to conceal a fraud. Keeping two set of books to reconcile are examples.
B. Situational pressure can be personal (e.g. , financial difficulties in an employee’s personal life) or organizational (e.g. , the desire to release positive news to the financial media)
C. Opportunity to commit is especially a factor in low-level employee fraud. Poor controls over cash, merchandise, and other organization property, as well as lack of compensating accounting controls, are enabling factors.
D. A lifestyle symptom is an unexplained rise in an employee’s social status or level of material consumption.
E. Rationalization occurs when a person attributes his/her actions to rational and creditable motives without analysis of the true and especially unconscious motives. Felling underpaid is a common rationalization for low-level fraud.
F. A behavioral symptom (i.e. , a drastic change in an employee’s behavior) may indicate the presence of fraud. The guilt and the other forms of stress associated with perpetrating and concealing the fraud may cause noticeable changes in behavior.
Procedure for Detection
The nature and extent of the procedures per formed to detect fraud depend on the circumstances of the engagement, including the features of the organization and the internal auditor’s risk assessment.
1) Accordingly, no text can feasibly present lists of all procedures relative to fraud. However, analytical procedures are routinely performed in many engagements. They may provide an early indication of fraud.
a) Analytical procedures are performed to assess information collected in an engagement. The assessment compares information with expectations identified or developed by internal auditor.
Some Indicators of Possible Fraud
1) Lack of employee rotation in sensitive positions such as cash handling
2) Inappropriate combination of job duties
3) Unclear lines of responsibility and accountability
4) Unrealistic sales or production goals
5) An employee who refuse to take vocations or refuses promotion
6) Established controls not applied consistently
7) High report profits when competitors are suffering from an economic downtown
8) High turnover among supervisory positions in finance and accounting areas
9) Excessive or unjustifiable use sole-source procurement
10) An increase in sales far out of proportion to increase in cost of goods sold