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• eBook-Kapitel aus dem Buch Accounting Fraud

  Case 7: Waste Management (1997)

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 55 Case 7: Waste Management (1997) The Waste Management case provides an anatomy of an accounting… …management to falsify the financial statements by plugging in the additional income needed to achieve the desired earnings for each Accounting Fraud in… …Management stock while the fraud was ongoing, they avoided losses. For example, in one instance, just ten days before certain of the accounting irregularities… …spree, and WMI’s results began to turn around. References: Albrecht, W. Steve: Fraud at Waste Management, www.aicpa.org/antifraud Mulford… …Executives Are Named in SEC Accusation, The New York Times, March 27, 2002 Former Waste Management officials face fraud lawsuit, St… …scandal that is far more than just a financial history lesson. It portrays a multiyear effort to inflate reported profits at Waste Management, Inc. (WMI)… …portrays an accounting fraud perpetrated by the highest-ranking officers at WMI. As the scheme unravelled in 1997, the news sent WMI’s stock value tumbling… …investments. Waste Management, Inc. was a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Oak Brook, Illinois. Through its subsidiaries, WMI… …services. During the early years of the 1990s, WMI began to dominate the field of waste management and trash hauling. By 1995, its sales exceeded USD 10… …that the auditors played a central role in allowing the fraud to continue. Year after year, Arthur Andersen complained about the efforts to inflate…

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  Case 9: Cendant/CUC (1998)

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …president and COO. Commenting on the fraud, one FBI agent said: “Some people have referred to this as a case of earnings management. But this is an attempt… …Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 66 Case 9: Cendant/CUC (1998) The Cendant Corporation was formed in December 1997 by a merger of two com-… …creation of Cendant, a significant accounting fraud came to light at the CUC division. Before Enron, the case was considered the biggest accounting fraud… …ever. From its beginnings in 1983, the fraud was directed by Walter A. Forbes, CUC’s chairman and CEO, and his top lieutenant, E. Kirk Shelton, CUC’s… …Street analysts expected. In the earlier years, however, an important part of the fraud was improper revenue and expense recognition. CUC stated that its… …totally fictitious, including, for exam- ple, USD 500 million over the three-year period from fiscal 1995 to 1997. One fraud investigator commented: “It… …appears to have been simple. People just made things up.” In another scheme, CUC’s senior management imposed moratoriums on recognizing expenses at the… …extended amortization periods. By shifting current expenses to a later period, the company further inflated its reported earnings. Accounting Fraud in… …U.S. Companies 67 In later years, the fraud extended well beyond improper revenue and expense rec- ognition practices. As time went on and… …improperly charged asset write-offs and other operating expenses against these acquisition reserves. By far, the largest part of the CUC fraud came from…

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  Case 19: Adelphia Communications (2002)

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 126 Case 19: Adelphia Communications (2002) The Adelphia case ranks among the biggest corporate fraud… …of all the cases. It should become a show-and-tell in all busi- ness schools as the antithesis of public company management and stewardship.” In… …resigned from management positions and the Adelphia board of directors, after a series of questionable transactions between the family and the company had… …, Adelphia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 127 On July 24, 2002, federal prosecutors arrested… …the Rigas entities participated jointly in a cash management system operated by Adelphia (the “CMS”). This resulted in the commingling of funds… …. Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 128 Adelphia deliberately shifted liabilities onto the books of unconsolidated Rigas en- tities. The company created a… …capable” a greater percentage of its cable plant that in fact had been upgraded. Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 129 Third, Adelphia… …While most of the fraud took its form in hidden debt and misrepresentations con- cerning operational performance, the Adelphia case is especially notable… …: Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 130 – The Rigases created a special accounting system to mask their personal transactions, using the company’s… …centralized cash management system (which pooled cash from Adelphia and the Rigas entities) to their personal advantage. – Many Rigas entities were so…

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  Fraud Theories

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …effective risk management policies) is decisive for any fraud prevention program. Moreover, opportunity often represents the only element an organization… …bosses and will say: “Management is dis- honest, so I can be dishonest, too.” Fraud Case Analysis: Lessons Learned 282 – The “Low-Hanging… …Fraud Case Analysis: Lessons Learned 276 3.3 Fraud Theories 3.3.1 The Fraud Triangle Although it is common knowledge today that people… …may commit fraud, it is often not understood why they do it. Donald R. Cressey, one of the pioneers in fraud re- search, came to the conclusion that… …fraud is most likely to occur when three critical elements come together: incentive/pressure, opportunity, and attitude/rationaliz- ation. In the case of… …accounting fraud, for example, the incentive/pressure might be the need to make earnings look better in order to meet debt covenants. The oppor- tunity might… …financial hump”. Cressey developed a three-pronged framework, commonly known as the fraud triangle, which is a very useful tool for fraud-fighters seeking to… …under- stand and manage fraud risks. The fraud triangle is shown in Exhibit 6 (see, e.g., Montgomery/Beasley/Menelaides/Palmrose 2002, p. 63; Wells 2007… …, p. 7). Fraud Opportunity Attitude/Rationalization � Financial stability or profitability threatened by economic, industry or entity operating… …conditions � Excessive pressure for management to meet the requirements or expectations of third parties � Management‘s personal financial situation…

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  Chapter 4: Conclusion and Outlook

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …guidelines for “best practice” in fraud risk management. For a summary of basic anti-fraud strategies, see Exhibit 9 (the definitions are extracted from… …and hiring and promotion standards. – A comprehensive fraud risk assessment helps senior management to under- stand their fraud risks, identify gaps… …elements of any integ- rity management approach. Integrity management does not only prevent major fraud risks and save significant costs. In the long run… …Exit Plan?), www.theconglomerate.org, January 2010 KPMG: Fraud Risk Management: Developing a Strategy for Prevention, Detection, and Response… …to frequent events, and that there is no scandal arising from infrequent but morally acceptable events. The cases of accounting fraud described in… …led away in handcuffs under indictment for fraud was shocking indeed, and society was outraged at the criminal acts. Most of the scandals occurred… …characterized the scenario in Europe and in Asia, showing that probably no corporate governance system in the world is able to prevent accounting fraud… …. Unfortunately, fraud will continue to hit the headlines of newspapers as well as the bottom lines of companies. Despite the best efforts of those who are respon-… …sible for fighting fraud, one inevitable reality remains: “fraud happens”. It is a given that economic crime will always be with us. Eliminating fraud is… …probability, the malfeasance is detected. Other factors contributing to accounting fraud may include unrealistic performance standards that fail to take into…

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  A Practice Aid for Auditors: Fraud Interviews – An Inquiry Guide

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …to mitigate fraud risks or help to prevent and detect fraud? If so, what are these programs and controls? How does management monitor these programs… …report to? – Has management reported to the audit committee on the process for identify- ing and responding to the risk of fraud? Has management reported… …to the risks of fraud? – Does the audit committee oversee management’s monitoring of operating locations? – Has management reported to the audit… …committee on the company’s internal control? Has management discussed any specific concerns about fraud or significant control weaknesses with you? What… …procedures has internal audit performed to detect fraud? What specific procedures has internal audit performed to address the risk of management override of… …management is often in the best position to perpetrate fraud. Therefore, he has to use professional judgment in deciding whether it is necessary to… …Appendix: Practice Aids 297 Appendix II A Practice Aid for Auditors: Fraud Interviews – An Inquiry Guide Of… …course, some cases of accounting fraud described in this book were so complex and well-concealed that no auditor would have been able to uncover them… …. These cases were well beyond the scope of a traditional audit. Nevertheless, auditors have to be more aggressive in order to detect fraud. They have to… …team have to be motivated to think about how and where fraud might occur. They have to conduct the audit with a mindset that recognizes the possibility…

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  Introduction

  Professor Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …indicating that the occurrence of white-collar crime (management fraud) and related aberrational behaviour of em- ployees (employee fraud) has been reduced… …risk of fraud in the current environment. 16% stated explicitly that their company management was not committed to fighting fraud. The findings… …17 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Fraud: A Constant Threat to Companies around the World Fraud is nothing new. History has shown that it has… …long been part of our society. In 1941, a well-known American judge said: “Fraud is as old as falsehood and as ver- satile as human ingenuity.” Several… …years later, in 1949, a criminologist from Indi- ana University named Edwin H. Sutherland coined the term white-collar crime, referring to fraud… …committed by the elite upper-world business executive, against either shareholders or the public. Sutherland, one of the pioneers in fraud research, defined… …. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “Global Economic Crime Survey 2007”, fraud remains one of the most problematic issues for companies worldwide. In the… …respondents who suf- fered fraud also stated that this had caused significant damage to their businesses. The survey found that the level of damage was… …decreased. Although different sectors are impacted by different types of fraud, no industry is immune from the threat posed by economic crime. The key… …findings of KPMG’s “Fraud Survey 2009” are quite similar: fraud is a ma- jor threat to companies regardless of their size, location, or industry. About three…

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  Case 13: WorldCom (2002)

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …improve results when management felt this was needed. Governance failures at WorldCom The setting in which the fraud occurred was marked by serious… …senior management was final and not be challenged. Most of WorldCom’s people did not know that the fraud was occurring. Rather, it occurred as a result of… …fraud was not confined to Ebbers, Sullivan and Myers. Others at WorldCom either knew or suspected that senior management was engaged in improper… …Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 93 Case 13: WorldCom (2002) When Enron collapsed at the end of 2001, worried investors searched for who… …were managed. Former President George W. Bush condemned the fraud as “outrageous” and vowed to address the problems shaking Corporate America. The… …SEC said that WorldCom’s accounting improprieties were of “unprecedented magnitude”. But as enormous as the fraud was, it was accomplished in a… …relatively mundane way. The modus oper- andi of the fraud was rather simple, and it was carried out over a comparatively short period of time. Yet the… …reverberations of the fraud would echo around the world of business for years to come. Background: WorldCom from 1983–2002 The fraud was the consequence… …source of the culture that gave birth to this fraud. In 1983, he had discovered the telecom business and founded WorldCom. In the 1990s, the Clinton… …in this endeavour. Yet he continued to feed Wall Street’s expectations of double-digit Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 94 growth, and he…

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  The Warning Signs of Fraud

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …, projected, or forecasted results – Overly unstable organizational structure (e.g., high turnover of senior management or board members) Fraud Case… …functions Fraud Case Analysis: Lessons Learned 271 (4.) Top management – Ineffective implementation, communication, or enforcement of the… …other laws and regulations (criminal record) – Claims against the entity, its senior management, or board members alleging fraud or violations of… …Fraud Case Analysis: Lessons Learned 272 (5.) Relationship between management and auditor – Frequent disputes with the current or predecessor… …: Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, October 2002 AICPA: Management Override of Internal Controls: The Achilles’ Heel of Fraud Prevention… …Fraud Case Analysis: Lessons Learned 268 3.2 The Warning Signs of Fraud 3.2.1 A Schedule of Fraud Red Flags In almost all of the cases… …described in this book the signs of impending doom have been apparent for some time – for those who wished to see them. According to numerous fraud… …detected more quickly had the warning signs not been ignored. These warning signs are often being referred to as fraud risk factors, fraud risk indicators… …not necessarily indi- cate that fraud is occurring within the organization. Their presence, however, either individually or in combination, could… …indicate the occurrence of fraud or an in- creased likelihood thereof. Red flags should therefore, when encountered, trigger a higher level of…

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  Case 5: Phar-Mor (1992)

  Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann, Dr. Stefan Hofmann

  …collusive management fraud was almost inconceivable. The perpetrators made phony journal entries to increase inventory and decrease cost of sales… …Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 46 Case 5: Phar-Mor (1992) In 1982, Michael “Mickey” Monus and a friend, David Shapira, visited a “deep… …growing businesses in the U.S. had been committing massive accounting fraud. Investigators eventually determined that from at least 1987 through 1992… …un- covered the fraud. Phar-Mor’s board of directors insisted that it was plenty active, but fully deceived until it got a tip in late July 1992. Monus… …day, a travel agent who Accounting Fraud in U.S. Companies 47 booked flights for league players received a USD 75,000 check for WBL expenses… …activities and helped to expose an intricate accounting fraud. The fraud was carefully carried out over several years by persons at different organ-… …, recognized inventory pur- chases but failed to accrue a liability, and double-counted merchandise. Members of the fraud team later indicated that one reason… …the fraud was not detected by the auditors was because Phar-Mor executives knew exactly what the auditors would be looking for. They made sure that… …informed Phar-Mor in advance which stores they would visit. The Phar-Mor fraud team stocked the four selected stores correctly, and allocated the phony… …“Cookies”. The fraud team used these entries to inflate inventory and earnings. As it would not have been practical to carefully scan all the packets, the…

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