Top 20 Internal Controls to Detect and Prevent Fraud

Would your organization benefit from a best-in-class internal controls program that prevents fraud and avoids compliance fines? Internal controls should be an integral part of an organization and are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving: effective and efficient operations; reliability of financial reporting; and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Internal controls also serve as the first line of defense in safeguarding assets, preventing and detecting fraud, and ensuring compliance.

A decade ago, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) , which bars American companies from bribing officials overseas, was rarely enforced or discussed. Today, it strikes fear throughout the executive offices of companies with overseas operations, generating huge fees for law firms and large fines for the federal government. The collapse of Enron a decade ago also led to tougher financial laws — including requiring top executives at publicly traded companies to certify that their companies’ books were accurate, forcing them to keep track of overseas money flows — and greater energy in enforcing them.

Attend this webinar to learn how to implement better internal controls to detect and prevent fraud. We will also conduct a review of recent case study examples to help you understand what can go wrong.

Why Should You Attend:

• To avoid compliance fines
• To prevent fraud
• To implement a best in class internal control system

While Wal-Mart may be the most prominent company yet to get into trouble under the act, several specialists voiced doubt that any eventual fine would be nearly as large as some of the figures in other recent cases, which tended to involve huge procurement or oil deals. Such fines are generally calculated based on the amount of the bribes — the Wal-Mart case involves about $24 million — as well as the amount of ill-gained profit. That could turn on an analysis of whether the bribes merely sped up the opening of particular stores, or if they would never have been built if not for the graft.

Areas Covered in the Seminar:

• From FCPA to OFAC: What does compliance mean to your organization?
• What is a Best in Class Internal Controls Model?
  • Standards of Internal Controls
  • The COSO Framework
  • The Controls Self Assessment Process (CSA)
  • Continuous Controls Monitoring (CCM)
• Fraud Detection and Prevention 101
  • Symptoms and Red Flags of Fraud
  • Fraud Detection and Prevention Models
• Issues and Questions:
  • What are the 20 Top Internal Controls That Focus on Compliance and Detecting and Preventing Fraud?
  • Monitoring: Is your internal controls program strong enough to prevent fraud and avoid compliance fines?
  • Case Studies:  What really happened at Wal-Mart, Chiquita, and Avon?

Who Will Benefit:

• CFOs
• Controllers
• CAEs
• Internal Auditor Staff Members
• Internal Control Staff Members
• Business Process Owners

Instructor Profile:

Chris Doxey, CAPP, CCSA, CICA is an independent consultant providing Internal Controls and Business Process Best Practice Solutions. She has held senior management positions in accounts payable, procurement, internal auditing, internal controls, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, payroll, logistics, financial systems strategy, and financial integration at Digital, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, MCI, APEX Analytix, and Business Strategy, Inc. She was recruited to assist MCI (formally WorldCom) recover from their internal control challenges. She has a bachelor's degree in English, a bachelor's in accounting, a master's in business administration, and a graduate certificate in project management. Chris has written numerous articles and published two handbooks: AP Leadership Skills and Implementing a Controls Self Assessment Program for Your Account Payable Process. Chris presents at several conferences and provides a multitude of webinars each year.

Topic Background:

Internal control is a system that is communicated and implemented across the organization and is usually the responsibility of the Controller. Controllers and financial management and their staffs are in a unique position to see across all aspects of the operations they support. As such, they are responsible for monitoring the internal control environment and for providing guidance and consultation on internal control issues. Additionally, they have the responsibility to ensure all financial accounts are reviewed for reasonableness, and reconciled to supporting transactions, and that asset verification is performed.

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