Three New Regents Elected

AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody
ACFE Social Media Specialist

The ACFE is proud to announce that Michelle Brown, CFE; Roger Darvall-Stevens, MBA, CFE; and James J. Oakes, CFE, CFCI, have been elected to the 2012-2013 ACFE Board of Regents. Fellow CFEs elected them from a list of nine candidates selected by the Board’s nomination committee. Brown, Darvall-Stevens and Oakes will take office at the Board’s meeting in February at ACFE headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Michelle Brown, CFE, Verizon Business

Brown, a pioneer in her field, has dedicated her career to working in the call-center industry. She has delivered a comprehensive suite of services to more than 60 global call-center clients and has received accolades from several Fortune 500 companies for her investigations and fraud controls. In one assignment, in which no fraud prevention team existed, she established, prepared and led an internal team of investigators in the discovery of a single fraud scheme with losses of more than $2 million.

Roger Darvall-Stevens, MBA, CFE, Ernst & Young, Fraud Investigation & Disputes Services

Darvall-Stevens has more than 25 years of anti-fraud and investigation forensics experience with Ernst & Young and in vehicle manufacturing insurance, and in law enforcement as a former policeman and detective. As a Certified Fraud Examiner since 2004, he said he wants to represent ACFE and its members, including those in the Asia-Pacific region, as part of the association’s sustained global efforts as the world’s largest anti-fraud organization.

James Oakes, CFE, CFCI, Financial Crime Risk Consultant

Oakes’ financial crime management experience spans the public, private and corporate sectors with an emphasis on financial services. He has worked on many complex cases, including those in corporate fraud, terrorism, ecrimes, corporate security, identity fraud, internal fraud, ethics violations, bribery and corruption. The Financial Services Authority, a U.K. regulator, has registered him as an “approved person” related to his money laundering reporting officer responsibilities. He has been vice president of the ACFE’s U.K. Chapter since 2005.

Find more information and read complete bios here.

Vote Today for the Next Three ACFE Board of Regents (con't)

AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody
ACFE Social Media Specialist

One of the most prestigious ways for CFEs to share their expertise and knowledge is by serving on the ACFE Board of Regents, an elected body of fraud-fighters responsible for setting membership standards that promote professionalism and ensure the future of the organization. This year, as highlighted in yesterday's and today’s blogs, we have nine worthy candidates running for three open places on the 2012-2013 Board. Take some time and read through each person’s qualifications and vote here by Dec. 31, 2011.

Ryan C. Hubbs, CFE, CIA, Matson Driscoll & Damico LLP

Hubbs has more than 10 years of experience in the fraud investigation and internal audit field and more than 13 years of full-time and volunteer law enforcement experience. With the help of the ACFE Headquarters, Hubbs founded the New Orleans ACFE Chapter in 2007 and was the chapter president for four years. He is now the vice president of the Houston ACFE Chapter. As a full-time ACFE faculty member, he co-presents the CFE Exam Review Course and presents other courses such as Interviewing Techniques for Auditors and Conducting Internal Investigations.

Ramón Machado, J.D., CFE, CPA, First American Title Insurance Company

Machado, at both KPMG and Deloitte, provided expert testimony and conducted numerous fraud investigations both domestically and abroad. He recently was the chairperson for the California Society of CPAs 2011 Conference on Financial Statement and Tax Fraud and has served on its planning committee for the past decade. Machado is also a past board member of the Association of Hispanic CPAs and was an adjunct law professor at Pepperdine University and Chapman University.

James Oakes, CFE, CFCI, Financial Crime Risk Consultant

Oakes’ financial crime management experience spans the public, private and corporate sectors with an emphasis on financial services. He has worked on many complex cases, including those in corporate fraud, terrorism, ecrimes, corporate security, identity fraud, internal fraud, ethics violations, bribery and corruption. The Financial Services Authority, a U.K. regulator, has registered him as an “approved person” related to his money laundering reporting officer responsibilities. He has been vice president of the ACFE’s U.K. Chapter since 2005.

Gary G. Weishaar, MBA, CFE, CIG, FCLS, National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Office of Inspector General

Weishaar has taught throughout the U.S. on such topics as basic and advanced fraud training, interviewing techniques, identity theft, ethics in the workplace and employee conflicts of interest. He is a trustee for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and a member of the Audit Committee for the Carroll County Public School System in Maryland. He received the Governor’s Citation for Anti-Fraud Initiatives.

Paul E. Zikmund, MBA, CFE, Tyco International

During his nearly 15 years of managing forensic teams at various Fortune 500 companies, Zikmund has designed and implemented programs and controls to deter, detect and investigate fraud and misconduct. His years of public law enforcement and private sector experience include the investigation of complex financial and accounting frauds, forensic audit engagements and litigation support for legal matters. He has also taught fraud courses for the ACFE. Zikmund is a former board member of the ACFE’s Philadelphia Chapter.

Check out yesterday's blog to read about the other four candidates. Find more information, read complete bios and vote here.

Vote Today for the Next Three ACFE Board of Regents

AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody
ACFE Social Media Specialist

One of the most prestigious ways for CFEs to share their expertise and knowledge is by serving on the ACFE Board of Regents, an elected body of fraud-fighters responsible for setting membership standards that promote professionalism and ensure the future of the organization. This year, as highlighted in today’s and tomorrow’s blogs, we have nine worthy candidates running for three open places on the 2012-2013 Board. Take some time and read through each person’s qualifications and vote here by Dec. 31, 2011.

Kimberly Baker Green, CFE, CISSP, J.P. Morgan Asset Management - Retirement Plan Services

Green has been at the forefront of identifying red flags, collection and scrutiny of control evidence and recommending both internal and third-party technology controls for fraud prevention. Green said she would provide new, collaborative input within the framework of her online-account fraud prevention expertise to strengthen the ACFE Board of Regents’ already high-quality standards and add value to the educational activity offerings for all members.

Michelle Brown, CFE, Verizon Business

Brown, a pioneer in her field, has dedicated her career to working in the call-center industry. She has delivered a comprehensive suite of services to more than 60 global call-center clients and has received accolades from several Fortune 500 companies for her investigations and fraud controls. In one assignment, in which no fraud prevention team existed, she established, prepared and led an internal team of investigators in the discovery of a single fraud scheme with losses of more than $2 million.

Roger Darvall-Stevens, MBA, CFE, Ernst & Young, Fraud Investigation & Disputes Services

Darvall-Stevens has more than 25 years of anti-fraud and investigation forensics experience with Ernst & Young and in vehicle manufacturing insurance, and in law enforcement as a former policeman and detective. As a Certified Fraud Examiner since 2004, he said he wants to represent ACFE and its members, including those in the Asia-Pacific region, as part of the association’s sustained global efforts as the world’s largest anti-fraud organization.

Jay Dawdy, CFE, CMA, Gryphon Investigations

Dawdy has more than 20 years of finance, accounting and investigative experience, concentrating internationally on complex financial investigations, litigation support, due diligence and fraud investigation cases. Previously, he was an instructor in investigating financial statement fraud at Baruch College. Earlier in his career, Dawdy gained valuable experience in the corporate accounting and investment banking fields working for IBM, JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers. He received the 2011 ACFE Outstanding Achievement in Community Service Award.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog to read about the remaining five candidates. Find more information, read complete bios and vote here.

ACFE President James D. Ratley Honored by Security Magazine

AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody, ACFE Social Media Specialist

While Hollywood tabloid correspondents and entertainment TV show hosts make their guesses on what A-list celebrity might be sideswiped by the next up-and-coming, wide-eyed adolescent at the next Golden Globes, we at the ACFE are celebrating an award of a different kind. Our president, James D. Ratley, CFE, has been selected as one of Security magazine's Most Influential Security Executives for 2010.

Every year, Security magazine honors top security executives who positively impact the security industry, their organizations, their colleagues and their peers. Mr. Ratley was chosen for his leadership qualities and the positive impact he has had on the nearly 55,000 member-strong ACFE.

His profile, along with other honorees, is featured in this month’s Security magazine. The article is available (free registration required) here. He was also recognized by the magazine at Security 500, a conference for security executives, in New York last month.

This designation is just another achievement to add to Mr. Ratley's long list of accomplishments. In 2005, he was awarded the Cressey Award, the ACFE's highest honor, for a lifetime of achievement in the detection and deterrence of fraud.

Since being named president of the ACFE in 2006, Mr. Ratley has overseen the continued growth of our organization, while assisting in the development of anti-fraud products and services to meet the needs of members. He also serves on our faculty, adding his years of insight and experience to courses we offer to fraud fighters around the world.

Congratulations, Mr. Ratley!

Read the full article in Security Magazine here.

Who is Most Likely to Commit Fraud at Your Company?

Profile of a Fraudster Drawn from ACFE Survey of Experts

The ACFE's 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse is based on data compiled from a study of 1,843 cases of occupational fraud that occurred worldwide between January 2008 and December 2009. All information was provided by the Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) who investigated those cases. The fraud cases in our study came from 106 nations — with more than 40 percent of cases occurring in countries outside the United States — providing a truly global view into the plague of occupational fraud.

Key findings about fraud perpetrators from the 84-page Report include:

• High-level perpetrators cause the greatest damage to their organizations.

• Fraud offenders were likely to be found in one of six departments.
  
  
• More than half of all cases in the study were committed by individuals between the ages of 31 and 45.

• Most of the fraudsters in the study had never been previously charged or convicted for a fraud-related offense.

• Fraud perpetrators often display warning signs that they are engaging in illicit activity.

In our 2010 Report, we have, for the first time ever, widened our study to include cases from countries outside the United States. This expansion allows us to more fully explore the truly global nature of occupational fraud and provides an enhanced view into the severity and impact of these crimes. Additionally, we are able to compare the anti-fraud measures taken by organizations worldwide in order to give fraud fighters everywhere the most applicable and useful information to help them in their fraud prevention and detection efforts.

Read more about the 2010 Report to the Nations here.