A Tale of Two Cultures

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A Tale of Two Cultures

In Richard E. Nisbett’s book “The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently... and Why,” Nisbett describes a scenario where Western and Japanese students are asked to describe a painting of a koi pond. Western students focus on the largest fish while Japanese students describe the entirety of the painting, focusing less on one subject.

Of course, it’s a generalization, but what does it mean in the context of anti-fraud? In my experience working with Japanese organizations over the past decade, it means two very different approaches to the same problem.

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Greetings from Sunny Singapore

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GUEST BLOGGER

Dewi Malik

Business Support Manager

ACFE Asia Pacific Regional Service Centre

Combatting fraud has no geographical boundaries. That is why the nature of fraud in global business today calls for an international presence. With the opening of the new Asia-Pacific office in Singapore we wish to strengthen our presence throughout this area and beyond. We also want to greatly improve support for our ACFE members in the region.

My colleagues and I are extremely excited to be a part of this huge step towards fulfilling ACFE's No. 3 New Year's Resolution-Expand International Growth Efforts to New Regions. This move to set up an ACFE office in the hub of Singapore truly represents the astounding membership growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

The ACFE Asia-Pacific office offers timely language-specific support to new, existing and potential members in this culturally diverse region. Whether you are from Korea, Japan, Australia or China, my colleagues and I are here to answer any queries or give feedback relating to the ACFE's membership, conferences, programmes and services. In addition to English, we have support staff members well-versed in Mandarin, Japanese and Korean.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to join the global ACFE family. I hope to be able to meet you and colleagues from around the world at the upcoming 2012 ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conferencein Hong Kong, 4-6 November 2012.

We welcome your queries and feedback. Please contact us at +65 6496 5503 or AsiaPacific@ACFE.com. I certainly hope to speak with you soon.

The Fight Against Fraud Goes Global

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AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody, ACFE Social Media Specialist

Fraud conferences in Japan and South Africa lead the way for international anti-fraud professionals

This past fall, the fight against fraud crossed international boundaries when the ACFE South Africa Chapter and ACFE Japan hosted fraud conferences in their respective countries. As the third annual conference for the South Africa Chapter and the first-ever for ACFE Japan, both highlighted relevant fraud trends like the importance of risk management, fraud prevention on a global scale and the role of the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) in the auditing function.

“Both of these events highlighted the increasingly global nature of the anti-fraud profession,” Scott Grossfeld, CFE, CPA and ACFE CEO, said. “Their success and the interest that the fraud conferences sparked reinforce the ACFE as the premier provider of education, training and networking to fraud fighters worldwide.”

Africa’s Premier Anti-Fraud Event

The ACFE’s South Africa Chapter hosted its third annual South Africa Fraud Conference in Johannesburg, Sept. 13-15, 2010. The conference attracted attendees from not only South Africa, but from places all over Africa like Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya and Nigeria. With session titles such as, “Business Unusual: Dealing with Fraud and its Aftermath in a World Where the Rules Have Changed” and “Benchmarking Your Fraud Risk Management Strategies,” more than 500 attendees received the latest fraud education, participated in workshops and training, and networked with fraud professionals from different functions and locations.

“In the current economic climate the numbers we attracted were impressive, especially taking into consideration that there are a number of similar events available in the market,” Susan Swart, ACFE South Africa Chapter operations manager, said. “We are pleased that the event attracted a large number of non-members. It was the ideal opportunity to introduce the ACFE, and we had a high percentage of new members joining as a direct result.”

Read the complete article here. Also, view photos from the events on the ACFE's Facebook page.