RECAP: 2015 ACFE Canadian Fraud Conference

GUEST BLOGGER

Allan Bachman, CFE
ACFE Education Manager

Upon arriving for the first time in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, I was enchanted by the friendly and walkable city, as well as the pleasant weather. The 2015 ACFE Canadian Fraud Conference kicked off Sunday, August 30, with a Pre-Conference session led by ACFE faculty member Bethmara Kessler, CFE, CISA. The well-received session on building a culture of fraud prevention and detection discussed how companies can imbed anti-fraud approaches into the very culture of their organization, including approaches as to how to achieve that goal.

ACFE President and CEO Jim Ratley played to his strengths in Monday’s opening General Session and discussed aspects of interviewing techniques backed by video examples of how to interview witnesses and suspects in a fraud examination. Lynn Danis from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre discussed her organization and how they work with their call center and law enforcement throughout Canada to assist those in need of help with suspected fraud.

Tuesday morning was kicked off by best-selling author and editor Diane Francis, who holds dual citizenship in both Canada and the U.S. Francis was outspoken about her journalistic fraud experiences in both countries and shared the clear and present dangers facing fraud examiners in the world today. Deloitte’s Philip Fodchuk spoke during lunch on the current cyberthreats facing organizations, where they are coming and what can be done to prepare for them. He focused on developing an internal mechanism whereby companies can react quickly when a breach occurs and respond. A large part of his message was that it was too late for prevention.

Wednesday’s half-day session kicked off with keynote Paul Garside, CFE,  former RCMP officer, who spoke on investigations and financial crimes and Michel Juneau-Katsuya. Juneau-Katsuya gave an engaging and lively analysis of the current state of corporate espionage, which was very enlightening.

Among the new group breakout speakers who stood out this year were Simon Padgett’s “Profiling the Fraudster,” Brigeeta Richdale’s presentation on ethics and Keith Elliott’s session on using social media for surveillance.