Employers generally are savvy about the more common types of fraud that plague businesses and may have enacted fraud controls and fraud deterrence programs to prevent them.  But fraud investigations have shown that equally savvy fraudsters know their employers often overlook lesser-known fraud schemes — an oversight that leaves them free to pursue fraudulent activity.

“Fraudsters usually are very smart people,” said David Anderson, principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation and fraud deterrence programs in the Delaware  Valley.  “They have to be smart to hide their fraudulent activity for long periods of time and also to identity those lesser-known fraud schemes that are unlikely to be on their employer’s radar.”

Anderson, a forensic accountant who also is a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia, said one type of lesser-known — but still lucrative — fraud schemes involves the fraudulent manipulation of checks by employees.

One of these check schemes involves the diversion of customer checks, Anderson said.  Typically, this type of scheme is carried out by a fraudster who has the ability to intercept a customer’s check before it is recorded or entered into the company’s accounting system.

The employee sets up a bank account with the same or similar name in order to deposit the check in his/her bank account, said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who recommends that every company enact a comprehensive fraud deterrence program developed by an experienced firm that provides forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

To cover the amount of the customer’s check, Anderson said the employee enters a credit adjustment to the customer’s accounts receivable account for the amount of the check, effectively reducing the amount owed by the customer and eliminating any possible notice that the check was diverted.  The employee usually hides his/her action by charging the credit adjustment against returns and allowances or some other revenue adjustment account, Anderson explained.

Yet another type of scheme involves tampering with checks paid to the employee, according to Anderson, a forensic accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.  Under this scheme, the employee changes the payment amount on the check.  To successfully pull off this scheme, Anderson said the fraudster must be in charge of bank account reconciliation so that he/she can manipulate the reconciliation to hide the difference between what was recorded on the books and what was paid by the bank.

A third type of these lesser-known check schemes involves the use of out-of-sequence checks, said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia.  The perpetrator of this fraud generally is an employee who has access to a company’s checks and is in charge of the bank account reconciliation.

Anderson said the fraudster takes one or more checks from near the bottom of the company’s stock of checks.  For example, if the company is using checks with check numbers in the 3300 range, the employee takes checks in the 9400 range to use for the scheme, Anderson said.  The employee than makes payments to himself/herself with the out-of-sequence checks, and as with the previous scheme, hides this by manipulating the bank account reconciliation, according to Anderson, a forensic accountant whose firm provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

Anderson said companies can fight these check schemes by following these effective fraud deterrence measures:

• First, separate the duties of the employees who open the mail, record the receipt of the customer checks, enter the checks into the accounting system, deposit the checks and perform the bank reconciliations;
• Assign a higher level manager (other than the person who performs the bank reconciliation) to review bank reconciliations and copies of cancelled checks;
• Ensure that the stock of blank checks is secured and can be released only by a higher level manager; and
• Periodically inspect the check stock to ensure that no checks are missing.

In some companies, Anderson noted, there are not enough employees to allow for the separation of duties or to follow all of the recommended fraud deterrence steps.  In these cases, he said, the company should consider engaging an outside fraud deterrence specialist to conduct periodic reviews that will ensure employees are not engaging in fraudulent check schemes.

If you require the services of a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia or any other forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at  david@davidandersonassociates.com.

About David Anderson & Associates

David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services.  Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Valuation Analyst and a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.

Petty cash fraud may seem, well, petty.  After all, your company keeps only a few dollars in the petty cash fund at any given time and it’s always secured in the company safe or otherwise locked up.  It’s hardly worth the effort of enacting fraud deterrence measures to protect petty cash, right?  You might be surprised to learn that fraud investigations have uncovered cases of petty cash fraud that resulted in significant losses.  It is not the amount of money that is available in petty cash at any one time, but the amount that is at risk over an extended period of time.

“Nearly every business keeps an amount of cash on hand to pay unexpected cash expenses, reimburse employees for small expenditures or provide cash advances to employees who will be traveling,” said David Anderson, a forensic accountant and principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation and fraud deterrence programs in the Delaware  Valley.

“I have seen petty cash funds as low as $50 and as high as $10,000,” he said.  “While this might not seem like a lot, consider that companies with multiple locations usually have petty cash at each location.  In addition, the petty cash fund can be replenished as often as several times a week.  This means a company with a single petty cash fund of $1,000 that is replenished twice a week could have petty cash expenditures of as much as $100,000 per year.”

Anderson, a forensic accountant who also is a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia, notes that management usually looks at only the petty cash available at a given time (for example, $1,000) and not the amount of cash passing through the petty cash fund over time.  As a result, he said, the amount of cash at risk is considered insignificant and the petty cash fund is usually maintained by a single “trusted” employee who is responsible for disbursing the funds, obtaining receipts for expenditures and requesting that the petty cash fund be replenished when needed.

“There seldom is any oversight or controls over the employee’s management of the petty cash fund, and therein lies the potential for fraud,” said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who recommends that every company enact a comprehensive fraud deterrence program developed by an experienced firm that provides forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

The petty cash fund can be the starting point for an employee to commit fraud, Anderson said.  It often starts off small as the employee simply “borrows” a few dollars for the weekend or until the next pay date.  Initially, the employee may even leave an “IOU” note in the petty cash box or a check made payable to the company, and the employee usually returns the “borrowed” money as soon as possible, he explained.

But as time goes on and the employee realizes no one is watching, the dollar amounts “borrowed” get larger and the time it takes to return the money gets longer until the employee eventually stops returning the money at all, according to Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia with experience in  conducting fraud investigations.  When the amount of “borrowed” money approaches the petty cash fund limit, he said, the employee will manufacture reimbursable expenses so that the petty cash fund can be replenished.

“I recall one fraud investigation in which I discovered that the perpetrator had submitted multiple photocopies of the same receipt in the petty cash replenishment requests,” said Anderson, a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.  “In another case, I found handwritten “receipts” from service vendors for cash payments.  Handwriting analysis showed that the signatures of the individuals who signed each receipt call came from the same person – the perpetrator.”

So, how do you combat petty cash fraud?  There are several fraud deterrence measures that companies can implement to lessen the chance that petty cash fraud will occur in their business, explained Anderson, a forensic accountant whose firm provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

First, he said, management should conduct irregular “surprise” checks of the petty cash fund at least once a month during the course of the year.  These mini audits should occur at different times and different intervals.  The day before pay day, late on a Friday and the day before a holiday are all times when the trusted employee might not expect anyone to be looking, Anderson said.  In addition, check should be conducted two weeks apart, four weeks apart, or perhaps two checks close together.  It is important that checks be conducted randomly to prevent the trusted employee from anticipating when they will occur, he said.

Next, someone at a higher level than the trusted employee should randomly and irregularly scrutinize petty cash replenishment requests, including comparing the latest request with several earlier requests, said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia.

These two measures will go a long way toward ensuring that petty cash fraud is not occurring at your company, and that the petty cash employee knows that you are watching even this seemingly insignificant fund.

If you require the services of a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia or any other forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at  david@davidandersonassociates.com.

About David Anderson & Associates

David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services.  Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Valuation Analyst and a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.

Despite heightened awareness about hackers and increased expenditures for cyber security, major businesses and financial institutions continue to fall victim to hackers.  Businesses can bolster their fraud deterrence measures in this area by being aware of the non-computer system exploits that allow hackers to successfully attack computer systems and taking steps to prevent them.

“Most companies refuse to explain how they were hacked, so no one can say with any certainty that a particular exploit was used in any one instance of hacking,” said David Anderson, principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation and fraud deterrence programs in the Delaware  Valley.  “But because of the risk these exploits present, it’s important for businesses to understand how hackers can circumvent their computer system security and what steps can be taken to help stop them.”

Anderson, a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia who recommends that every organization enact a comprehensive fraud deterrence program created by an experienced firm that provides forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, said business should be on the lookout for three key exploits as outlined below:

Social Engineering

A social engineering “hack attack” relies on the willingness of company employees to share their user IDs and passwords with someone they don’t know, Anderson said, a forensic accountant with extensive experience in fraud investigation and fraud deterrence initiatives.

In this type of attack, he said, the hacker identifies a target employee who has high level access to financial systems and/or confidential information.  The hacker also uncovers the names of several IT employees, usually by calling into the IT Department and posing as an executive recruiter.  Next, the hacker calls the company (usually the sales or purchasing department) and asks for the target employee, who the hacker knows works in a different department.  The employee who answers the phone transfers the hacker to the target employee, who sees a call coming from what appears to an inside line and assumes the caller is another company employee.  The hacker then identifies himself as an IT employee by using one of the previously obtained IT employee names, and informs the target employee that they are having systems problems.  He asks the employee to log out of the computer system and then log back in.  He tells the employee to inform him of what he is entering as the user ID and password, which he then tells the target employee matches what the IT Department has on file.  After the employee successfully logs back in to the system, the hacker indicates that there does not appear to be a problem with the employee’s access, advises the employee to contact IT if there are any future access problems, and thanks the employee for his assistance.

“It doesn’t take much effort to obtain the confidential user ID and password of an employee with high level access,” explained Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia whose Philadelphia forensic accounting firm provides a full range of fraud investigation and fraud deterrence services.  “Most companies experience occasional computer problems so users are accustomed to being contacted by the IT Department to resolve the problem.  As a result, it is unfortunately not uncommon for an employee to unwittingly provide key information that allows the hacker to penetrate the company’s systems.”

Forensic accountants such as Anderson recommend that companies defend against this type of hack attack by establishing a set of written procedures specifically related to dealing with computer access problems and by training employees not to give out user IDs and passwords unless they know the IT employee personally or unless they call back the IT employee at that person’s internal system phone number.

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Another easy way hackers or their associates obtain employee passwords is simply to walk through an employee’s work space, Anderson said.  Fearing they will forget their passwords, many employees write the password down and post it in plain sight on their monitor, a cork board, or on their desk near the monitor.  Anderson recommends that employers perform occasional spot checks to make sure that their employees are not displaying their passwords for all to see.

Employees also sometimes willingly share user IDs and passwords with others, Anderson said, a forensic accountant in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  For example, if an employee is out of the office and unable to access information in their computer, the employee may provide his/her user ID and password to a colleague to access the needed information.  Companies should always prohibit the sharing of user IDs and passwords, advises Anderson, forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia.

Similarly, companies often provide a temporary employee with the regular employee’s user ID and password to avoid having to set up the temporary employee in the computer system.  Others provide a guest user ID and password, but fail to change the access information after the temporary employee leaves.  In both cases, the temporary employee has a valid user ID and password that can be passed on to a hacker.  Companies should establish unique user IDs and passwords for temporary employees, and immediately disable them once the temporary employee has left, Anderson notes.

Click on This Link

Another common exploit occurs when hackers send employees of a targeted company an email that encourages them to click on a link.  For example, click on this link to see a nude picture of a certain well-known actress/singer/athlete, or an unbelievable athletic feat/kitten playing the piano/skier in an avalanche, etc.  When the employee clicks on the link, a malicious program is inserted into the user’s computer, thereby allowing user information to be transmitted to a hacker, Anderson said.

A company’s fraud deterrence measures for this type of exploitation should include the use of special software or third-party services to screen e-mail from unknown senders, Anderson said, adding that employers also must educate employees about the dangers of clicking on links in emails from unknown senders or in unusual emails from known senders.  For example, he said, if your sister doesn’t normally send you emails about body part enhancement, receiving such an email from her should raise a red flag.

“Enhancing computer system security to prevent access by hackers requires more than just hardware and software,” said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia whose company provides forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  “It also requires being aware of the non-computer system exploits that hackers use and taking steps to prevent these exploits.”

If you aren’t sure that your fraud deterrence measures adequately protect you and your company, it may be time to contact a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia to conduct a computer security analysis and create a comprehensive fraud deterrence program that will keep hackers at bay.

If you require the services of a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia or any other forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at  david@davidandersonassociates.com.

About David Anderson & Associates

David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services.  Company principal David Anderson has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Valuation Analyst and a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.

Do you have a purchasing department employee who suddenly started taking expensive vacations, wearing expensive jewelry or driving an expensive new car?  There are lots of reasons why an employee might appear to be living beyond their means.  Perhaps the employee or their spouse came into an inheritance, won the lottery, received a sizeable insurance settlement, or had other legitimate sources of money to spend.  But countless fraud investigations also point to those same behaviors as red flags that your purchasing department employee is engaged in fraud.

“The typical purchasing department can provide lots of opportunities for employees to carry out illicit activities,” said David Anderson, principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation and fraud deterrence programs in the Delaware  Valley.  “Employees who deal with outside vendors and who either have the authority to make purchasing decisions or who exert great influence over purchasing decisions are the most likely candidates to become involved in fraudulent activities.”

This posting will examine three of the most widespread types of purchasing fraud that employees perpetrate and provide recommendations for fraud deterrence measures that can help prevent it.

One of the most blatant forms of purchasing fraud involves employees who receive outright bribes or kickbacks from one or more vendors, said Anderson, a forensic accountant who also is a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.  Typically, Anderson said, the vendor will charge an inflated price for their products or services or they will provide poor quality products or services as a way of maintaining profitability in light of the bribes or kickbacks.

“One indication that this type of fraud is occurring is the sudden switch from a long-time vendor to a new vendor without there being a good reason for the switch, while the purchasing employee vehemently defends the switch but is not able to sufficiently support the basis for it,” said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has conducted numerous fraud investigations.  “It’s an even greater indication if it is happening with multiple vendors.”

Sometimes, Anderson said, the thought of committing fraud may never have even crossed an employee’s mind, but may have come to his or her attention by a vendor looking to win a percentage of the company’s purchasing dollar or to increase the existing percentage of business they have.

A more subtle form of this kind of purchasing fraud can occur when vendors sponsor sales contests in which a customer — your purchasing employee — can win increasingly valuable prizes (such as vacations, electronics, jewelry, gift certificates, etc.) based on the amount of purchases or the amount of the increase over the prior year’s purchases, according to Anderson, a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.

“The vendor has to recoup the money spent on the expensive prizes somewhere,” said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who recommends that every company enact a comprehensive fraud deterrence program developed by an experienced firm that provides forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  “The employee may be accepting higher prices or poorer quality goods or services, or the employee may purchase larger amounts of products or services than are needed in order to ‘win’ more prizes.”

A third scheme that is similar to the first two occurs when the employee receives expensive gifts at Christmastime and/or for his/her birthday from one or more vendors as a “reward” for purchases during the year, Anderson said.

There are several anti-fraud controls and fraud deterrence measures that businesses can embrace to fight fraud in the purchasing department, explained Anderson, whose firm provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  They are:

• Regularly analyze the cost of products and services to detect increases in costs and identify the reasons for those increases;
• Regularly analyze inventory levels to prevent the excessive purchase of products;
• Validate decisions to switch vendors or to significantly change the level of purchases (up or down) from existing vendors;
• Install a tip line to provide employees with a reliable, anonymous way of reporting suspected fraud;
• Publish company policies that inform employees that the company does not condone fraud and that it is taking active measures to prevent fraud;
• Sponsor regular anti-fraud training programs for managers and employees.

“Of course, the analyses discussed above should be undertaken outside the sphere of influence of the purchasers,” said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia.  “That means relying on people from outside the purchasing department to conduct the analyses.”

Your internal audit department or possibly the finance/accounting department might be able to perform the analyses, Anderson said.  But if the expertise to perform these analyses is not available in-house or there is no department outside of the sphere of influence of the purchasers, then a third party such as a forensic accountant should be engaged.

A forensic accountant can perform the necessary analyses and design stronger fraud deterrence measures to better protect your business or organization from purchasing department fraud.

If you require the services of a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia or any other forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at  david@davidandersonassociates.com.

About David Anderson & Associates

David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services.  Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Valuation Analyst and a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.

Despite increasingly stringent fraud deterrence measures, fraudulent activity in retail operations such as stores and restaurants continues to pose a significant problem, with the retail industry estimating a loss of nearly $3.2 billion to fraud in 2014.

“Technological improvements and greater oversight have made it more challenging for fraudsters to steal cash and inventory from retail establishments,” said David Anderson, principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation and fraud deterrence programs in the Delaware  Valley.  “But the incidence of fraud persists in the retail world because of the sheer number of opportunities to commit fraud and the never-ending determination and creativity of fraudsters to circumvent anti-fraud controls.”

This post will examine some of the most common retail fraud schemes carried out by employees and offer recommendations that can reduce the success of those schemes.

Cash Register Schemes:

The simplest of the cash register schemes is the outright theft of cash from the till, said Anderson, a forensic accountant who also is a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.  This fraud is easily combated by reconciling the cash in the register to recorded sales.  Anderson said some retailers — fast food restaurants, for example — perform reconciliations several times a day.

Other cash register schemes include those in which an employee “short-rings” or “no rings” a sale — records a lower amount than the actual sale or records a $0 sale to open the register.  The employee then pockets the difference between the actual sale and what was rung up either at the time of the sale or later when no one is looking, explained Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who recommends that every organization adhere to a comprehensive fraud deterrence program developed by an experienced firm that provides forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

Dishonest bartenders run a similar scheme in which they serve a number of drinks to a customer, but ring up only one or two of them, Anderson said.  What usually happens in these cases is that the bartender receives an inflated tip from the customer in return for undercharging the number of drinks.

Retailers have been fighting cash register schemes in a variety of ways, said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has conducted numerous fraud investigations.  The first is the use of an electronic cash register and the requirement that each purchase be scanned into the register.  Similarly, Anderson said, restaurants require the wait staff to enter every customer order into the system to facilitate meal preparation.  These measures prevent employees from ringing up purchases for less than the actual sale amount.

Many bars have installed electronic systems that measure the amount of alcohol poured from each bottle.  At the end of the shift, management can reconcile the number of pours with sales to verify that the pours are being properly rung, Anderson explained.

Inventory Schemes

Inventory schemes involve the outright theft of inventory, as well as tag switching, according to Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia.  Anderson said tag switching occurs when an employee works with an accomplice who switches the price tag on an item with that of a less expensive item, or the employee pretends to scan the more expensive item but instead scans an inexpensive item twice.  The more expensive item is either sold to a third party (with the co-conspirators pocketing the profit) or is returned to the store by the accomplice for a refund, explained Anderson, who also is a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.

Retailers have been using security tags on inventory for years to prevent outright theft by both employees and customers, said Anderson, a forensic accountant whose fraud investigations have uncovered fraudulent activity in many different types of businesses.  Retailers also employ several other methods to combat outright theft and tag switching.

Anderson said these include requiring a person who is returning an item to produce the original sales receipt; granting only store credit for those without sales receipts (making it harder for the fraudsters to convert the return into cash); and daily inventory tracking for expensive items (for example, tracking 50-inch televisions so that any discrepancy between inventory and sales is identified in the same day).  Retailers have also installed surveillance cameras to combat employee and customer fraud.

“The belief that ‘Big Brother is watching’ often is enough to significantly reduce the incidence of retail fraud, even if security personal doesn’t have time to actively review the tape recordings or if the cameras aren’t really recording anything,” said Anderson, whose firm provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

To stem the loss of cash or inventory from your store or restaurant, it may be time to engage a forensic accountant to analyze your fraud controls and enact stronger fraud deterrence measures that will adequately protect your retail establishment and lessen the chances of theft.

If you require the services of a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia or any other forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at  david@davidandersonassociates.com.

About David Anderson & Associates

David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services.  Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Valuation Analyst and a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.

As fraudulent activity goes, it was a seemingly miniscule theft — a mere $2,000 pilfered decades ago.  Hardly worth raising an eyebrow.  But the case of Mark Jenkins is a prime example of how a seemingly innocuous case of fraud can mushroom into a major theft, requiring a forensic accountant to conduct a fraud investigation and calculate the loss.

“Like so many fraud cases, the story of Mark Jenkins is a cautionary tale,”  said David Anderson, principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation and fraud deterrence programs in the Delaware Valley.  “Companies need to have comprehensive fraud deterrence measures that cover employees at every level.  No employee should ever be able to manipulate documents to his or her personal advantage.  The opportunity simply should not be there.”

The story of Mark Jenkins, whose name has been changed to protect both his confidentiality and that of his former employer, begins in 1989 when Mark was named Controller of a small West Coast subsidiary of MegaGiantInternational Corporation, according to Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia. It was a dream job but for one thing — the starting salary was $2,000 less than Mark had asked for. He accepted the position anyway.

On his first day on the job, Mark learned that one of his responsibilities was to provide wage and salary changes to the payroll department in New York City.  There was no approval process, no signature required, no checks and balances, explained Anderson, who also is a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.  Mark was simply to report the changes.  And so he did, reporting his own salary at $2,000 more than it really was.  Now, it really was his dream job.

Anderson, whose firm provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, said the $2,000 salary bump was the only fraud Mark Jenkins ever committed at his company.  In fact, he went on to have a stellar career at MegaGiantInternational Corporation.  He rose steadily through the ranks, being promoted to Controller of a larger subsidiary in the same division; to Division Controller; to Group Controller; and finally to Group Chief Financial Officer, Anderson said.

Over his 25-year career, Mark received an average of 8% per year in salary increases and an average of 10% in annual bonuses, said Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia.  Additionally, the company provided a 3% 401-K match each year and also made an average 8% contribution each year for Mark to its profit-sharing plan.  In December 2014, at age 66, Mark retired.

The discrepancy in Mark’s starting salary was discovered when the company conducted a payroll reconciliation to assure Mark’s pension records were accurate, explained Anderson, a forensic accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.  A forensic accounting expert subsequently was engaged to determine the extent and impact of the fraud.

So, what did Mark’s little fraud end up costing the company?  As the accompanying spreadsheet* shows, the single largest windfall came from the excess salary the company paid as a result of wage and bonus increases compounded over 25 years — nearly $147,000.  In addition, the company paid more than $16,000 in retirement plan contributions, which, incidentally, would have grown even more as the contributions were invested.  Mark’s one-time little $2,000 fraud in 1989 had cost the company a whopping $163,000. (Click on the chart for a closer look.)

“Clearly, the fraud deterrence measures the company had in effect in 1989 were faulty,” said Anderson, whose firm provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  “No one should be able to set their own salary in the payroll system. The company should have required the written approval of the employee’s superior.  And the payroll department should have confirmed the starting salary with the Human Resources Department.  This was a fraud that never should have happened.  It was easy to prevent.”

Anderson, a forensic accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia, said that with Mark’s pension as leverage, MegaGiantInternational reached a settlement with their former employee regarding the overpayments, and his pension was adjusted to the lower numbers.

This Tale of Fraud is part of an ongoing series of articles that examine actual cases of fraud carried out in businesses, non-profits and government offices, how fraud investigations played a part in discovering the fraudulent activities, and the fraud deterrence measures that might have thwarted them.

If you require the services of a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia or any other forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at  david@davidandersonassociates.com.

About David Anderson & Associates

David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services.  Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Valuation Analyst.

*NOTE:  On the spreadsheet, all salary increases, bonuses and profit-sharing contributions have been averaged.  In actuality, the increases fluctuated with the greatest increases occurring with promotions and good operating years.