• Survey Considers Downside of Time-Based Billing

    A recent survey completed by William G. Ross, professor at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, is ruffling some feathers. Ross has a special interest in billing ethics, and has done two previous surveys of this sort. In […]

  • On Making Money As a Fraud Investigator

    The recent publication of a report detailing the results of an investigation of Usana Health Sciences done by Barry Minkow, Fraud Discovery Institue, and other professionals has prompted some criticism. One criticism I’ve seen is the fact that *gasp* the […]

  • Young Pros Investigate Fraud As a Career Option

    On Balance – The Magazine for Wisconsin CPAs January/February 2007 Ever since the big corporate scandals at Enron, WorldCom and Tyco, there has been an intense focus on fraud. This has made the field of forensic accounting the next hot […]

  • Vanishing Profession

    The shortage of accounting faculty is a hot topic in academia and professional circles. Some call it a crisis. INSIGHT – The Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society – January/February 2007 By Sheryl Nance-Nash Over the next three years, US […]

  • Personal red flags of fraud

    My latest installment in the [tag]Wisconsin Law Journal[/tag] discusses personal characteristics that are indicators of on-the-job [tag]fraud[/tag]. Those who commit [tag]occupational fraud[/tag] tend to have certain risk factors or exhibit certain behaviors that should raise [tag]red flags[/tag]. Questionable things include […]

  • Fraud in family business

    Believe it or not, family members are notorious for stealing more from companies than regular employees. Why? Who knows! It could be greed or entitlement. It could be lax controls around family members and their job duties. It could be […]

  • Lessons learned from Bielnski Brothers

    Last week the Wisconsin Law Journal published an article I wrote about the fraud at Milwaukee-area home builder Bielinski Brothers Inc. The company’s CEO, Robert Brownell, was the mastermind of a fraud that cost the company an estimated $12 million. […]

  • Your Number’s Up: Tax Audit Time and Your Documents Are Missing

    A tax audit creates fear and anger in individuals and business owners. It also creates a need. The need for documentation to prove income and expenses when the auditor is scrutinizing them. It is not uncommon for documents to be […]