"Small business owners and managers cannot afford losses due to fraud, yet many of these types of businesses are the most common victims. The ACFE's Small Business Fraud Prevention Manual provides information on the most common internal and external fraud schemes committed by customers, employees and vendors against small businesses as well as tips on how to prevent these schemes from happening to you." -- Back cover.
A how-to guide to small business anti-fraud protection and internal control Internal Control/Anti-Fraud Program Design for the Small Business is a practical guide to protection for businesses NOT subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Written by an expert with three decades of forensic investigation experience, this book is geared specifically toward private, non-public small businesses and their unique needs in the realm of fraud protection. Covering all elements of an internal control structure applicable to the small business community, this guide provides a step-by-step roadmap for designing and implementing an effective, efficient internal control structure/anti-fraud program tailored to your business's particular needs. Case studies are used throughout to illustrate internal control weaknesses and the fraud that can result, and follow-up analysis describes the controls that would have reduced the probability of fraud had they been in place. You'll learn how to analyze your company's internal control issues, and implement a robust system for fraud prevention. Guidance toward Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is readily available, but there is little information available for the many businesses not subject to the act —until now. This book is the step-by-step guide for instituting an internal control program tailored to your small business. Understand the five elements of internal control Avoid gaps in protection with relevant controls Design the ultimate anti-fraud program Implement internal control tailored to your needs The majority of small business owners simply do not know the elements of or implementation process involved in internal control, and Sarbanes-Oxley guidelines don't necessarily scale down. Internal Control/Anti-Fraud Program Design for the Small Business helps you design and install the internal control/anti-fraud protection your business needs.
In 2009, high-profile fraud cases like the Ponzi schemes of Bernard Madoff and Arthur Nadel vividly illustrated the harm done to investors who placed their trust in these apparently successful money managers and then discovered their money had never been invested at all. News stories featured 90-year-olds forced by necessity to work in supermarkets, elderly people losing their homes because their life savings were gone, and wealthy retirees suddenly unable to pay their electricity bills. Charities were forced to curtail their services, lay off staff, and even close their doors forever as their funds evaporated. Almost every day, there are stories in the media about dishonest employees who have robbed their organisations of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not so well-publicised are the countless smaller thefts occurring every day from cash registers, warehouses, and business bank accounts. Sadly, the organisations that have the most to lose small businesses, family-run companies, churches, and charities are often the most vulnerable because of their size and inexperience. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, accounting fraud cost over $994 billion in 2008, and the average organisation lost 7 percent of its total revenue to fraud. How can you prevent this from happening to you as an investor, business owner, or a person attempting to acquire or merge with another firm? Read this book and you will be able to understand, detect, and avoid accounting fraud. You will learn how to identify fraud, how to spot minor abnormalities that may hide fraud, how to spot forgeries, and how to prove your case, as well as what to immediately suspect and methods for uncovering scams. You will know what signs to look for, including excessive turnover of lawyers and auditors, changing professionals in the middle of a transaction, inconsistent information, and significant declines in stock prices. In addition, you will know how to recognise the common manoeuvres, earnings manipulation, premature and fictitious revenue, overvalued assets, undervalued liabilities, bogus revenue, expenses that have been shifted to another period, overstating revenues, understating expenses, and the misuse and misdirecting of funds. This new book is filled with studies and discussions of fraud cases and how they could have been avoided, checklists for detecting accounts misdeeds, and advice from analysts, CFOs, and CPAs. This manual will be an indispensable aid for serious investors, industry pros, acquisition and merger managers, and small business owners alike. After reading this book you will no longer have to worry about accounting fraud and you can increase your company's profits.
The Canadian edition of The Little Black Book of Scams is a compact and easy to use reference guide filled with information Canadians can use to protect themselves against a variety of common scams. It debunks common myths about scams, provides contact information for reporting a scam to the correct authority, and offers a step-by-step guide for scam victims to reduce their losses and avoid becoming repeat victims. Consumers and businesses can consult The Little Black Book of Scams to avoid falling victim to social media and mobile phone scams, fake charities and lotteries, dating and romance scams, and many other schemes used to defraud Canadians of their money and personal information.
Delve into the mind of a fraudster to beat them at their own game Corporate Fraud Handbook details the many forms of fraud to help you identify red flags and prevent fraud before it occurs. Written by the founder and chairman of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), this book provides indispensable guidance for auditors, examiners, managers, and criminal investigators: from asset misappropriation, to corruption, to financial statement fraud, the most common schemes are dissected to show you where to look and what to look for. This new fifth edition includes the all-new statistics from the ACFE 2016 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, providing a current look at the impact of and trends in fraud. Real-world case studies submitted to the ACFE by actual fraud examiners show how different scenarios play out in practice, to help you build an effective anti-fraud program within your own organization. This systematic examination into the mind of a fraudster is backed by practical guidance for before, during, and after fraud has been committed; you'll learn how to stop various schemes in their tracks, where to find evidence, and how to quantify financial losses after the fact. Fraud continues to be a serious problem for businesses and government agencies, and can manifest in myriad ways. This book walks you through detection, prevention, and aftermath to help you shore up your defenses and effectively manage fraud risk. Understand the most common fraud schemes and identify red flags Learn from illustrative case studies submitted by anti-fraud professionals Ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations Develop and implement effective anti-fraud measures at multiple levels Fraud can be committed by anyone at any level—employees, managers, owners, and executives—and no organization is immune. Anti-fraud regulations are continually evolving, but the magnitude of fraud's impact has yet to be fully realized. Corporate Fraud Handbook provides exceptional coverage of schemes and effective defense to help you keep your organization secure.
A reference for security professionals who work in or advise small businesses. It addresses the reality of shoplifting, fraud and embezzlement, showing how each incremental loss eats away at profit and success, and discusses how to develop and maintain a loss prevention strategy.
Accounting Principles, 15th Edition by Jerry Weygandt, Paul Kimmel, and Jill Mitchell provides a practical introduction to introductory accounting from the sole proprietor perspective with a hands-on, active learning experience to improve student understanding, retention, and engagement. Students work through integrated practice at the point of learning with real-world connections and high-quality assessment, ensuring they learn concepts more efficiently and understand the why and how of accounting application. In addition, Accounting Principles, 15th Edition includes a variety of hands-on activities and resources that enhance practical learning and key skills, including running cases, various data analytics assignments, and coverage of leading industry topics. These resources help develop critical thinking and business decision-making skills, preparing students for future job success no matter what path they take.
SmartStart Your Business Today! How to Start a Business in Colorado is your road map to avoiding operational, legal and financial pitfalls and breaking through the bureaucratic red tape that often entangles new entrepreneurs. This all-in-one resource goes a step beyond other business how-to books to give you a jump-start on planning for your business. It provides you with: Valuable state-specific sample forms and letters on CD-ROM Mailing addresses, telephone numbers and websites for the federal, state, local and private agencies that will help get your business up and running State population statistics, income and consumption rates, major industry trends and overall business incentives to give you a better picture of doing business in Colorado Checklists, sample forms and a complete sample business plan to assist you with numerous startup details State-specific information on issues like choosing a legal form, selecting a business name, obtaining licenses and permits, registering to pay taxes and knowing your employer responsibilities Federal and state options for financing your new venture Resources, cost information, statistics and regulations have all been updated. That, plus a new easier-to-use layout putting all the state-specific information in one block of chapters, make this your must-have guide to getting your business off the ground.
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.
