ACFE Wraps Up Seminars in Asia-Pacific Region

AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody, CFE
ACFE Social Media Specialist

Donald Cressey’s Fraud Triangle is not a concept that only applies to one gender, culture or country. Whether you are investigating fraud in Bangkok or Belfast, pressure, opportunity and rationalization are three universal factors that know no regional boundaries. Just as these motives are universal, so are the training and skills needed to fight them.

In April the ACFE was proud to host seminars in Shanghai, Jakarta and Melbourne in an effort to offer more anti-fraud training and education in the Asia-Pacific region. With a diverse group of anti-fraud professionals in attendance at each course, the enthusiasm and need for education regarding internal fraud and investigations, as well as fraud risk management, were apparent.

“The fraud schemes themselves are universal – there seem to be very few differences in the schemes from one part of the world to another,” ACFE Faculty Member Gerry Zack, CFE, CPA, CIA and President of Zack, P.C. said. “When I was asked to teach these courses, I expected to really enjoy meeting anti-fraud professionals from all over the world and hearing their stories. And I was not disappointed.”

Zack traveled first to Shanghai, China, April 15-16 to teach the two-day Auditing for Internal Fraud. The fraud fighters assembled there explored the challenges auditors face when identifying fraud and learned about the common schemes, detection techniques and methods of preventing occupational fraud. He then taught Conducting Internal Investigations in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 18-19 and wrapped up in Melbourne, Australia, April 22-23 with Fraud Risk Management.

Lim Kurniawan, CFE, is the Managing Director at Awesome Consulting in Jakarta. He knew of Zack before attending the Conducting Internal Investigations course because he bought the book, Fair Value Accounting Fraud, written by Zack. In the book, Zack highlights the risks of the International Financial Reporting Standard, a standard that is adopted as a local accounting principle in Indonesia. Kurniawan and Zack not only share the challenges of implementing global standards, but they also experience the same successes and trials during the interviewing process.

Kurniawan plans to use the lessons from a simulation Zack used in the course to help clients interview witnesses. “The skills taught in this course were practical, which I believe to be very applicable,” Kurniawan said. “Gerry offered specific examples from his own life, not fictitious ones. It was such an honor for Indonesia to be visited by an amazing international speaker. I hope in the future such a richly rewarding course could be attended by more people, thus Indonesia could be more blessed in this way.” 

Read more about the seminars in the ACFE's latest Global Spotlight.

The Passion of a Fraud Fighter

GUEST BLOGGER

John Gill, J.D., CFE
ACFE Vice President of Education

Last week, Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA and ACFE Program Director, and I had the great pleasure of flying to Singapore to teach the first CFE Exam Review Course outside the U.S. Although Bruce and I have taught the U.S. version of the course many times, this was the first time we taught the international version for the public.

The reception we received could not have been warmer. Everyone in the class was so nice, and they were so excited that we held the first international class in the Asia-Pacific region. We met people from Singapore, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia and even Kenya! It was really exciting to have such an international crowd.

As I mentioned, I teach about a dozen classes in the U.S. each year, and I travel from Las Vegas to New York City to Los Angeles to teach the Review Course. What struck me the most last week was not how much the Singapore class was different from the courses I teach in the States, but how much it was exactly the same. It really hit home to me that ACFE members have a strong bond that knows no borders. It doesn’t matter where we are located, how much experience we have or even what industry we work in. We all share the same passion: to understand how fraud is committed and do everything we can to find those responsible. The dedication to fighting fraud I saw in each person was very inspiring.

I can’t tell you what a thrill it was to meet them (even though it took me 25 hours to get there!) and I am proud to be a part of such a truly global association.

Pictured: Krishnamah Sanmugam just after she found out she passed the first part of the CFE Exam. View more photos from the event on our Facebook page.