Highlights from the ACFE European Fraud Conference

GUEST BLOGGER: LIVE FROM THE ACFE EURO FRAUD CONFERENCE

Allan Bachman, CFE
ACFE Education Manager

It's snowing here in Prague this evening. This is a big difference from last year’s European Conference in London when the weather was surprisingly spring-like. This year the weather is more suitable for a native New Englander who has been describing the below freezing temperatures as "chilly."

Indoors at the Prague Marriott it is much different, as well, as the conference has welcomed representatives from 34 countries at last count. There is obvious European representation, of course, but I am excited to also see people from North America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Once again, like the rest of the ACFE conferences, this is truly an international event.

ACFE President and CEO James D. Ratley, CFE, opened the conference with a new session on professional skepticism which mixed sage advice with his unique brand of humor. The luncheon keynote, Ian Foxley, is a whistleblower who is still tilting at the windmill of the massive fraud and corruption he found as project leader on a large multinational contract which reaches to some of the highest levels of government.

Concurrent breakout sessions featured a couple of returning favorites and some new notables including Pauline Roberts. Pauline is a retired FBI special agent and spoke on international investigations and how to navigate the waters of differing jurisdictions and legal systems. For her first outing as a speaker, Pauline was very well received and a pleasure to work with.

Tomorrow rounds out the conference with three more keynotes and several breakout speakers, but until then I think a walk in the falling snow in Old Town Prague is the perfect way to end this day.

Find more coverage and photos of the ACFE European Fraud Conference on the ACFE's Facebook page.

Top photo: Marek Dandar, James D. Ratley and Stevan Villalobos

Bottom photo: Attendees at the ACFE European Fraud Conference

The Fraud Examiner’s Role in Responding to Whistleblowing

INTERVIEW WITH IAN FOXLEY

Chairman of Whistleblowers UK and keynote speaker at the 2013 ACFE European Fraud Conference, 17-19 March in Prague

According to the ACFE’s Report to the Nations, more frauds are detected by tips than by any other method. What role do anti-fraud professionals play in ensuring tips are welcomed, encouraged and not punished?

Tips are only worthwhile if they are valid, verifiable and justified. Sources of tips should be aware that they may remain anonymous, but if they are to believed then the tip off cannot stand in isolation but must be provable – one way or another. Anti-fraud professionals have a role in ensuring that tips are valid and verifiable and sort out those that are worthy of note from those that aren’t. That way when a true tip is offered, the recipient, be it a company, organization, manager, director or compliance officer, knows that it is a worthwhile piece of information that is worth investigating.    

How have you seen the role of the whistleblower change over the past few years? Do you think this role will change in the future and become more accepted and praised?

The role of the whistleblower hasn’t changed – it still remains as a source of information that exposes wrongdoing in the face of resistance by those who should have dealt with the information properly.

There have been those who have tried to use whistleblowing to propagate personal aims or settle debts, and they do real whistleblowers a great disservice. But there remains a fundamental corporate distrust of whistleblowers that needs to be actively overcome. Whistleblowing needs to be recognized as a courageous and heroic act, not one born of disloyalty and self-interest. Whistleblowing is not the act of a “sneak.” It is the act of an honest broker who has tried to expose the wrongdoing and found only resistance, coercion and aggression.    

Reward is the wrong word to use – it offers the opportunity for detractors to profess that whistleblowers are merely “in it for the money.” But we do need to find a way to compensate whistleblowers for the stress, discomfort, family pain, financial loss, career stoppage and sheer hell of what we go through.

What do you most hope attendees will take away from your address?

An understanding of what makes a whistleblower tick and what they can do to help future whistlebowers.

Read more about Foxley and the other keynote speakers at this year’s ACFE European Fraud Conference. And don't forget, the last day to register early and save EUR 125 is this Friday, 15 February.

Resolution #2: Continue to Go Global

#2: BROADEN OUR GLOBAL REACH WITH MORE GLOBAL INITIATIVES

GUEST BLOGGER

Anil Narayan

ACFE Global Business Development Manager

Sure, I knew all about Enron, WorldCom and Bernie Madoff. Having worked in international telecommunications for the past 15 years, I was quite familiar with how easily and quickly billions of dollars could be forfeited due to undetected fraudulent activity. However, prior to applying for my newly created position here in the fall of 2012, I wasn’t aware of the ACFE nor of the Certified Fraud Examiner credential. With some research, I quickly learned of the critical role CFEs play in the fight against fraud and the invaluable array of knowledge and skills they bring to their organizations. In accepting this new job, I have taken on the challenges of expanding the ACFE’s reach around the world as well as making my parents understand where I work for a living.

With a couple of months under my belt, I’ve found anti-fraud lingo to be a part of a language that professionals around the world are increasingly learning. Nearly 25 percent of the ACFE’s members reside outside of the U.S. and represent our fastest-growing demographic, with Asia and Africa seeing the largest rise in new membership over the past year. Our CFE Exam Review Course in Singapore last March and the ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference in Hong Kong in November 2012 were so successful, the events paved the way for ACFE courses to be offered in Melbourne, Jakarta and Shanghai in April 2013.

Historic conferences organized exclusively by ACFE Chapters in South Africa and Greece drew approximately 800 people to each venue, demonstrating the demand for anti-fraud education. Embracing the growth of the ACFE outside of the U.S., our biggest annual conference, projected to attract 2,400 attendees to Las Vegas in June 2013, has been officially renamed the 24th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference.

We also recently introduced the Global Spotlight on ACFE.com to celebrate the accomplishments of our members outside of the U.S., with the inaugural feature story showcasing the aforementioned first Hellenic Anti-Fraud Conference in Athens, Greece.

As we start the New Year, our focus is on the ACFE’s global events, beginning with the ACFE European Fraud Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, 17-19 March. By inviting prominent keynote speakers, such as former Europol Director Max-Peter Ratzel and Director-General of European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Giovanni Kessler, we believe the ACFE will continue to draw record attendance to these events.

The ACFE, recognizing the need to enhance and support the growth trend outside of the U.S., launched its latest global initiative at the end of 2012. The first step was to create the Global Business Development Manager position and fill it with me, a product of three distinct cultures: Born and raised in Taiwan as an Indian expatriate, I only moved to the U.S. at the age of 18. I believe I can bring a unique international perspective to the organization and act as the voice of our members around the world, to whom I assure:

我們在聽。

We are listening.