A Payroll Audit Using an Alumni Agreement

Posting by Phil Vivirito, CPA

An alumni agreement is a participation agreement between an employer and the Fund.  This agreement covers employees that at one time worked with the tools of their trade and were contributed upon by their employer.  Now these employees may have become part of management or moved into another non-covered position, such as moving from an electrician to an estimator.  If the employer has signed an alumni agreement, these employees will have to be reported.  The […]

February 11, 2009 Payroll Audit Read more...

Common Characteristics of Ponzi Fraud Schemes

John Merchant, CPA, CFE

According to Reuters, as investors continue to consider the magnitude and effects of Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme, the SEC reports that the number of such schemes is not on the rise, but their magnitude is.  The SEC also reports that successful Ponzi schemes have certain factors in common.  The creator of the scheme is generally very charismatic, their investments tend to appear very successful, although specific information about them is hard to obtain, and the […]

February 9, 2009 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

1996 Fraud Ruling Overruled in the 11TH Circuit

John Merchant, CPA, CFE

A 1996 court ruling stated that in order for prosecutors to achieve conviction of a defendant accused of mail fraud, they must show that a reasonably cautious person would have been deceived by the defendant’s scheme.  The court in the 1996 ruling stated that the ruling was consistent with the mail fraud statute that was enacted in 1872. Prosecutors complained that this ruling had the unintended effect of making it nearly impossible to prosecute for a […]

February 9, 2009 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

PRINCIPAL RECEIVES MASTER OF SCIENCE

Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting and advisory firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, announced today that John A. Merchant, a Principal with the firm, has recently received his Master of Science degree in Forensic Studies from Stevenson University. Individuals with a Forensic Studies degree are able to help corporations, government agencies, and other organizations with fraud prevention and fraud investigation. They can also assist businesses with merger and acquisition analyses; litigation support services; specialized audits; […]

February 6, 2009 Firm News & Events Read more...

Discovering a Retired Individual in a Payroll Audit

Posting by Phil Vivirito

At times an employer’s response to an unreported employee being picked up on our audit report is” that person is retired”. The employer’s position is that since that person is retired and is already collecting a pension there is no need to report him. Upon hearing this from an employer the auditor should ask where that person retired from. If he is retired from an industry other than the one that he is currently working in […]

February 6, 2009 Payroll Audit Read more...

A Payroll Auditing Webcast

Posting by Larry Beebe, CPA

I recently participated in a webcast for the AICPA on multiemployer plans.  One of the questions submitted by a participant but left unanswered, due to time, was a multipart question on payroll auditing.  Here is how I would have answered that question:

What have you found to be the most difficult aspect of payroll audits?

Often the most difficult decision a payroll auditor must make is deciding when to wrap up the audit.  Factors that should […]

February 6, 2009 Payroll Audit Read more...

Bond Beebe Principal Receives Master of Science in Forensic Studies

Natalie Burchfiel

BETHESDA, Maryland (February 6, 2009) – Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting and advisory firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, announced today that John A. Merchant, a Principal with the firm, has recently received his Master of Science degree in Forensic Studies from Stevenson University. Individuals with a Forensic Studies degree are able to help corporations, government agencies, and other organizations with fraud prevention and fraud investigation. They can also assist businesses with merger and […]

February 6, 2009 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Management Fund Sues Auditors for Negligence for Not Discovering Fraud

John Merchant, CPA, CFE

Maxam Capital Management LLC, an investment fund, has filed suit against its auditors, McGladrey& Pullen, LLP and Goldstein GolubKesssler LLP for professional negligence.  Maxam apparently invested all of its assets with Bernard Madoff and alleges that its auditors were negligent in accepting documents created by Madoff rather than seeking independent confirmation of holdings and trades when performing the audit of Maxam’s financial statements.

February 4, 2009 Accounting, Audit, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Florida Fund Manager Faces Multiple Fraud Charges

John Merchant, CPA,  CFE

In a case similar to that of Bernard Madoff, Reuters reports that Arthur Nadel, a Florida hedge fund manager has been arrested and will be transported to New York to face charges of both securities fraud and wire fraud.  Investigators allege that Nadel who disappeared on January 14th, but later surrendered to the FBI, holds only about $1 million of a reported $300 million.   At age 76, Nadel potentially faces 40 years in prison and millions […]

February 4, 2009 Accounting, Audit, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Former Enron Attorney Suspended for Two Years for Violating SEC Regulations

Lawrence R. Beebe, CPA, Principal

On January 26, 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the completion of an administrative proceeding against Rex R. Rogers, the former Vice President and Associate General Counsel of Enron Corporation.  The SEC charged that Rogers, a Texas attorney, was responsible with fellow attorney Jordan Mintz for the content and timing of Enron filings with the SEC from 1997 through 2003 and failed to make required disclosures in Enron’s 2000 proxy statement.  Rogers submitted an […]

February 4, 2009 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...