Preventing Fraud: How Solid are Your Internal Controls?

John A. Merchant, CPA, CFE, CFF

Fraud in the workplace has become a major topic of conversation over the past few years.  It seems that frauds of various types are being reported at a rate far greater than just a decade ago.  Are there really more frauds being committed today than ten years ago, or are we just getting better at finding them?

Whatever the answer to that question is, it is clear that one of the best methods of detecting […]

PERFORMING BUDGETING & FORECASTING

ISSUE
When it comes competitive advantage, business operations and productivity are key areas that make all the difference – but you need better decisions based on accurate and detailed information. Are your inventory and marketing investments as efficient as they could be? Could vendor relations be enhanced with improved forecasting? Increased accuracy and accountability of budgets and forecasts can make sure you identify and optimize the operational springs that will help your company leap forward in the business race.
SOLUTION
There is […]

PREVENTING BUSINESS FRAUD

ISSUE
Business owners are faced with making financial decisions on a daily basis – decisions that could adversely impact the company if someone intends to deceive or deprive the company of funds. How do you determine if an invoice is genuine? What’s the best procedure for making inquiries or asking for references before extending credit? Do you have a Privacy Policy in place (a legal requirement) to ensure the personal information of your customers and employees is secure? Every company […]

Fiduciaries Ordered to Pay Benefits Personally

Larry Beebe, CPA

A U.S. District Court in Oregon ruled that the trustees of a retirement plan must pay a participant’s retirement fund distribution from their own personal funds as a result of failing to prudently invest plan assets.

The plan had invested its assets in a single plat of undeveloped land owner by a real estate development company and in loans to that development company. The development company could not pay on any of its obligations. Because the trustees breached […]

How to Use Social Media to Support Your Fraud Case

Posting by Alex Helfand

The invasion of social media continues to complicate litigation. Effective litigation will increasingly include sifting through large amounts of electronically stored information (ESI) and piecing together fragmented social networking activity to substantiate a case. Exactly how does social media play into support for a fraud case and what are the considerations for preserving, obtaining, and using data from social media sites?
Social Media and the Clues Left Behind
While the most common social networking sites include Facebook and […]

Common Misconceptions about Fraud in the Family Business

Posting by Jacqueline Thompson
No family-owned business likes to think that their trusted employees would steal from the business –certainly not their family members. Unfortunately, family businesses aren’t exempt from fraud, and assuming that your company is safe from embezzlement, malfeasance, or any other fraudulent act can put your business at grave risk.

In my years of accounting work, here are the most common misconceptions I’ve encountered regarding family business fraud:

Fraud Doesn’t Happen in Family Businesses. Any business is vulnerable to […]

Concrete Contractor Properly Assessed Withdrawal Liability

Posting by Larry Beebe
The construction industry exemption to the withdrawal liability rules allows the assessment of withdrawal liability only if the withdrawing employer continues to perform covered work or starts such work again within five years of being obligated to contribute.

In a case in the tenth circuit a concrete contractor ceased its obligations to contribute to a multi employer plain in May, 2010 and began doing the same work as the withdrawn employer.

The count ruled that withdrawal liability was […]

Missing Pensioners

Larry Beebe, CPA

One of the Department of Labor’s “hot buttons” lately has been making certain that defined benefit pension plans do everything they can to reach retired participants who are required to start taking distributions.

Lois Gleason, at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, has written an excellent blog on how to send the proposal notices to that retired participant.

DOL Investigating Plans that Fail to Locate Terminated Vested Participants

Larry Beebe, CPA

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a new initiative to investigate the adequacy of Defined Benefit Plans procedures to locate and pay out benefits to terminated vested participants. DOL believed that many Plans do not have adequate systems to identify and pay terminated vested participants when they reach either the Plan’s normal retirement age or the IRS required minimum distribution age of 70 ½.

The failure to take action to identify, locate and pay terminated vested participants […]

Supreme Court Win For Self-Insured Health Plans

Posting by Larry Beebe
On March 4, the Supreme Court ruled self-insured health plans do not have to comply with a Vermont law that required them to submit to the state “information relative to health care costs, prices, quality, utilization, or resources required.” The third party administration of a self-insured health plan was issued a subpoena by Vermont to gain this information and threatened severe penalties for non-compliance. The plan refused to provide the information and argued the reporting requirements […]