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About Board and Fraud

Board and Fraud is a blog that aims to bring a practical approach to issues facing the board of directors and the audit committee specifically in the area of governance, risk management, compliance, and internal audit, with a strong focus on fraud, ethics, and internal controls.

Combating Fraud Through Effective Internal Controls

“Fraud is not an accounting problem; it is a social phenomenon.” Joe Wells

Most companies will not readily admit that their organizations may be vulnerable to fraud.
According to the 2020 Report to the Nations published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (“ACFE”), which contains an analysis of approximately 2,500 cases of occupational fraud that were investigated between January 2018 and September 2019, organizations lose 5% of their annual revenues to fraud. While this number is only a general estimate based on the opinion, it represents the collective observations of anti-fraud experts who together have investigated hundreds of thousands of fraud cases. Based on the ACFE’s study, the median loss caused by frauds was $125,000, with 21.0% of the cases resulting in losses of at least $1 million.

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Compliance Thought Leaders You Should Be Following

Compiling a list of thought leaders in ethics and compliance is fun, but so challenging. There are simply too many thoughtful people in this field — which is itself enormous and wide-ranging — to call out everyone worth following. So below is a small slice of the thinkers in corporate ethics and compliance that I try to follow.

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DOJ Refines Monitorship Policies

Ultimately, a monitor should benefit the company, its employees, shareholders, and the public by effectively furthering the goal of preventing and detecting future misconduct.

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How Tight is Your Grip on Cash?

IIA you Awarded Winning Article

The treasurer of one of the largest oil companies in the United States recently learned the internal controls over the initiation of wire transfers were

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Internal Control Defined and Some Guidance

Compliance officers talk about controls constantly. Effective controls are the lifeblood of what makes a compliance program work. Most of us can rattle off examples of controls, or recognize a control when we see one.
So my fellow speaker asked the audience: What is a control?

Nobody dared answer. We all, me included, were suddenly uncertain that we could define a control correctly.

The speaker who posed this question is Jonathan T. Marks, partner at Baker Tilly and a prolific thinker on all things forensics, audit, and internal control. Lately Marks has been asking audit and compliance audiences to define a control — and to his dismay, most people can’t.

Read Marks’ definition of internal control.

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Fraud Risk Assessment – A Recipe for Greater Success!

In addition to establishing an ethical environment, board members and management must also take the lead in implementing and maintaining a formal fraud risk management program. One key element of such a program is a fraud risk assessment.

Risk assessments are part of the discipline of risk management, where enhanced frameworks and techniques have emerged. Risk management comprises the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by the coordinated and efficient use of resources to monitor, minimize, and otherwise control the impact of the risks on the organization.

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Jonathan T. Marks, CPA, CFF, CFE

Partner, Firm Practice Leader – Global Fraud & Forensic Investigations, Compliance, & Integrity Services

Jonathan T. Marks is the original author and producer of Board and Fraud. He specializes in global and complex corporate investigations (White Collar Crime) and other investigations. He has 30+ years of experience working closely with clients, their board, audit committees, senior management, internal audit, compliance, legal & outside law firms on global and domestic fraud, misconduct, cyber incidents, bribery, money laundering, whistleblowers, retaliation matters, and conducting investigations when appropriate (10A, books and records, cross-border, FCPA, regulatory etc.). Jonathan determines economic damages, performs root cause analysis, develops remedial procedures, and designs and enhances governance, global risk management and compliance systems along with internal controls and policies and procedures. He also monitors tactics to mitigate future potential issues and testifies in the court-of-law when called upon. 

To learn more about what Jonathan T. Marks, or the Global Fraud and Forensic Investigation team and their services, select the button below.

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Baker Tilly US, LLP, trading as Baker Tilly, is a member of the global network of Baker Tilly International Ltd., the members of which are separate and independent legal entities. ©2022 Baker Tilly US, LLP

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