Saints or Sinners: Whistleblowers' Difficult Position in the Asia-Pacific Region

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Sarah Hofmann
ACFE Public Information Officer

Whistleblowers can be divisive characters. Celebrated by some as heroes and denounced by others as snitches, few other elements that come up during a fraud investigation can spark such polarizing labels. During her session at the 2016 ACFE Fraud Conference Asia-Pacific, Jessica Sidhu, CFE, Llb, explored the precarious position whistleblowers are in. “Is a whistleblower a good person or a bad person? Is he a traitor or is he a patriot?” she asked the audience. “Only when you’ve answered this question will you be able to take a whistleblower seriously.”

The topic was especially pertinent to discuss during the conference in Singapore, as the government of neighboring Malaysia has been involved for a few years with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal. Global investigators believe that millions of dollars from the state investment fund 1MDB entered Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal bank accounts.

Sidhu herself was formerly head of administration and finance at the Malaysian Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) and was involved with a special task force investigating various financial cases, including a probe into 1MDB. She was reportedly fired “suddenly” in late 2015 and had her permanent residency revoked by the Immigration Department of Malaysia.

During her remarks at the conference, Sidhu discussed Andre Xavier Justo, a former PetroSaudi International executive who is believed to be the main whistleblower in the 1MDB case. He allegedly leaked documents to independent media site Sarawak Report, which established a link between Prime Minister Najib and the missing funds from 1MDB. Justo is currently in jail but is expected to be pardoned at the end of 2016.

Sidhu explored the challenges that whistleblowers face from the very first decision they make: whether to tell someone what they know or suspect. She said, “Sixty-five percent of whistleblowers are insiders and eighty percent of them have approached [their bosses or oversight bodies] internally, but were rejected or turned back.”

It is common for even the most well-intentioned investigators to ignore or discount the reports of whistleblowers for a variety of reasons. Sidhu described a situation her team experienced where one male employee made multiple reports against a female coworker for suspected fraud. Each report was investigated; however they were unable to find any evidence to back up his claims until the tenth report.

Read the full article in The Fraud Examiner, the ACFE's monthly newsletter, archives on ACFE.com.

CFE Ferrets Out Governmental Fraud in Sierra Leone

MEMBER PROFILE

Adama Renner, CFE, FCA
Deputy Audit General  
Audit Service Sierra Leone

Adama Renner, CFE, FCA, is no stranger to fraud, having been involved in fraud detection and prevention since the early 2000s. She serves as the Deputy Audit General of Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) and has played an instrumental role in exposing high-level governmental corruption that led to multiple public servants suspended without pay. Renner recently attended her first ACFE Global Fraud Conference and found the experience to be inspiring and enlightening. “Listening to the presentations and interacting with fraud examiners from other fields helped me to appreciate how I can better undertake my audits in order to increase the chances of a successful prosecution in a court of law,” she said.

How did you become passionate about fighting fraud? 
After obtaining my bachelor’s degree in accounting, I started my career as a trainee auditor with KPMG in 1998 prior to obtaining my ACCA. As a young professional, I was trained to ensure full compliance with rules and procedures. I became concerned when during the course of my work, I began to be confronted with “false reporting” — that is, reports being falsified to present activities which were never undertaken, overstatement of work actually undertaken as against actual work carried out, or poor quality of work charged at high costs. This was my first exposure to fraud, and since then I have been committed to exposing misappropriations at every turn.

Through the lens of your work as the Deputy Audit General of the ASSL, do you believe there are any types of fraud issues unique to Sierra Leone?
I would not say any fraud issue is unique to Sierra Leone but rather, the reaction to fraud is what appears unique. Whereas in other jurisdictions, fraud is greatly frowned at, in Sierra Leone, the repercussions of being caught in fraud are virtually nonexistent.

What trends do you see on the horizon for fraud prevention and detection in your government or the world as a whole?
As fraud fighters, establishments like the ASSL and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) have been coming up with strategies aimed at sensitizing the general public to the negative impact of fraud on the national economy. This awareness is gradually gaining ground, although not fast enough. Public servants are now required to submit updated asset declaration forms annually. The advent of social media has also increased public scrutiny and public awareness over issues of transparency and accountability.

You recently attended your first ACFE Global Fraud Conference. How did that impact you?
The networking opportunities, the availability of resources and the dedication of fraud fighters like [VA whistleblower] Dr. Sam Foote were truly motivating.

Over the years, teaming up with the ACC and attorney general’s office to investigate and charge cases of fraud detected during our audits have been met with challenges over the issue of admissible evidence. The presentations linking audit and investigations gave me a clearer understanding of the relationship between the roles of the auditor and the investigator in a fraud examination.

Finally, watching videos of convicted fraudsters is inspiring in a way, but having a live testimony was overwhelming. It brought the issue of fraudulent conduct closer to home and not as some far-fetched idea. I could see first hand how fraud has the potential to not just take all you ever gained but even leave your reputation and legacy in total ruin. That for me was mind-blowing and a proper climax to my first conference.

What activities or hobbies do you like to do outside of work?
Reading is my hobby. Meeting the authors of some of the books in the bookstore inspired me to get their books, and my target over the next few weeks is to read the books purchased from the bookstore during the conference.

Read Adama's full interview in the ACFE's online Career Center.

8 Ways to Raise Fraud Awareness During Fraud Week, November 12-18

GUEST BLOGGER

Sarah Hofmann
ACFE Public Information Officer

Each year, fraud fighters around the world use International Fraud Awareness Week as an opportunity to come together to raise fraud awareness in their communities. Fraud Week, November 12-18, 2017, is the perfect time to go a step further in your role as an anti-fraud professional and start discussions among peers, coworkers, executives and stakeholders
in your community about how important fraud prevention is to society as a whole.

The first step to getting involved is for you, or your organization, to sign up as a supporter at FraudWeek.com. Once signed up, you can use any free resources provided on the Fraud Week website to help spread fraud awareness. This year, we have added an interactive fraud knowledge quiz, animated videos that explain why fraudsters commit fraud and new
infographics. Whether you use this week to spearhead new anti-fraud initiatives within your organization, or turn your message outward to the community as a whole, any work you do will help to reduce and mitigate fraud risk.

Sharing your support for Fraud Week with the public establishes your organization as a trustworthy body within your industry. In addition to signing up, there are many other ways you can show your dedication to fraud prevention and awareness. Here are some ideas of ways you can help educate those around you:

• Host a fraud knowledge contest and challenge your coworkers to a game of who knows the most about infamous fraud cases by using our interactive quiz.
• Share our animated videos that explain why people commit fraud, what characteristics are common among fraudsters and how fraudsters launder money. They’re ideal for posting on social media.
• Put a Fraud Week supporter badge in your email signature.
• Share badges and infographics on social media with the tag #fraudweek.
• Print and post our free downloadable posters and infographics in your office, community center or anywhere you think people would benefit from learning more about fraud.
• Host an informal event for your coworkers or community to disseminate fraud prevention best practices.
• Encourage your elected officials or law enforcement to spread tips on consumer fraud prevention.
• Perform a fraud check-up for your organization and present your findings to executives, as well as a proactive plan for how to remedy weak spots in your current controls.

Don’t let this week’s events and resources pass you by! Sign up as a supporter today at FraudWeek.com.

Mastering Applicant Tracking Systems, the Gatekeepers to Landing a Job Interview

GUEST BLOGGER

Kathy Lavinder
Owner and Executive Director of Security & Investigative Placement Consultants

Technology has upended the job application process. If you are looking for a new fraud-related role, you will likely need to submit a résumé online. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are the new gatekeepers and will have first crack at your information. 

An ATS is a parsing software that reads résumés, ranking them on specific criteria. Human Resources (HR) no longer weeds through hundreds, if not thousands, of applications. Unlike a human who seeks reasons to eliminate a résumé, an ATS seeks specific keywords to rank résumés. The higher ranking a résumé receives, the better chance it will have of being viewed by a decision maker. Simply put, if your résumé includes the keywords an employer wants, your résumé is ranked higher. This means any fraud fighter looking for a new role must tailor a résumé to rank higher and improve the odds of advancing through the application process.

Here are some tips to improve your odds:

• Read the description carefully. Consider the company’s lingo for titles, roles and responsibilities.
• Research employees at the company to compare your profile. Once you have a feel for what makes a good candidate and résumé, tailor your résumé to demonstrate that you are a good candidate.
• Use keywords from the job description throughout your work history and skills.
• It’s also acceptable when applying online to use longer résumés. Length doesn’t matter to an ATS, and it allows for more keywords in the right places. Have an abbreviated résumé ready if you land an interview. 

Websites like Jobscan.co. and Worldle.com will compare your résumeé with a job description to help increase your ranking in the keyword search game. It’s important not to use too many keywords as an ATS will eliminate an overly keyword packed résumé. Use two or three throughout your Work Experience and Skills sections.

An ATS searches for similar job titles as a criterion in the ranking process. That said, it is never a good idea to give yourself a misleading title or promotion. Use both acronyms and the full spelling of titles and credentials to ensure your terms match those the ATS is seeking. 

Here are a few dos and don’ts to ensure your résumé isn’t eliminated:

• Don’t use headers and footers, special characters, fancy bullets, fields or tables. These jam an ATS.
• Don’t put contact information in the header; include it in the body.
• Do use basic sections: Work Experience, Skills, Education, etc. Too much formatting and the résumé will be ranked lower.
• Don’t put dates of work experience first. An ATS searches for the company name first. The format should be company name, title and date.  
• Don’t PDF the résumé as most systems don’t have the ability to convert the PDF to accurately parse the data.
• Do answer all questions fully in complete sentences. Empty boxes lower rankings.

There are great fraud jobs out there once you get past an ATS. Good luck!

What Are You Worth as a Certified Fraud Examiner?

FROM THE RESOURCE GUIDE

ACFE Staff

Most likely, at one point or another you’ve found yourself in a position where you had to either request a raise or negotiate your salary at the start of a new job. These conversations can sometimes be uncomfortable or, for some people, downright terrifying.

With your experience and expertise, you know what you are worth, but if you don’t have the proof to back it up, your employer or future employer might not be quite as aware as you are. Ultimately, it may prove difficult to convince them of your worth.

In the 2017/2018 Compensation Guide for Anti-Fraud Professionals, we wanted to measure the value of a CFE and found that on average CFEs earn 31% more than their non-CFE colleagues. If you’re a CFE in Asia, you could experience an even bigger difference with a 44% average premium.

Just like in our last Compensation Guide for Anti-Fraud Professionals, we break down the data into several categories — industry, years of experience, gender, age, location and many more. However, this year, we took this a step further and created individual reports for five top industries represented in the responses. Since anti-fraud professionals cover a wide range of industries, we understand the need to explore the data even further.

We hope the customized industry guides and the main guide provide you with the confidence and information necessary to reach your full professional potential. If you’d like to know more about your specific industry and job function, we’ve developed an interactive salary calculator, which is only available for ACFE members.

As a member, you have access to the salary calculator, as well as industry guides and the full 2017/2018 Compensation Guide for Anti-Fraud Professionals at ACFE.com/compguide. Simply log in when prompted. If there are guide metrics or questions you’d like to see addressed in future guides, send your thoughts and ideas to MemberServices@ACFE.com.

You can find even more resources, products and events in the latest ACFE Resource Guide.