Bond Beebe Launches New Website for Forensic Accounting Practice

Natalie Burchfiel

Industry Professionals Are Invited to Contribute Articles, Resources
BETHESDA, Maryland (March 27, 2014) – Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting and advisory firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, is pleased to announce the launch of a new website for the Firm’s Forensic Accounting Practice,www.bbforensic.com. With posts on relevant fraud prevention, investigation, and litigation issues, as well as Frequently Asked Questions and articles, this site aims to provide insights to help businesses and tax-exempt organizations prevent […]

March 24, 2013 Accounting, Forensic Accounting, Human Resources Read more...

Don’t Become a Victim of Fraud and Identity Theft

John Merchant, CPA, CFE

Fraud and identity theft have become a serious and ever-increasing problem.  No one wants to become a victim and there are certain basics rules to follow to avoid being victimized.  Here are eleven simple ways you can protect yourself:

Never give your personal information over the telephone.  Fraudsters often call you posing as representatives of banks, investment companies, credit card companies or even the Internal Revenue Service and ask you to verify confidential information so that […]

March 18, 2013 Accounting, Audit, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Are You Paying Ghosts? Five Steps to Prevent Payroll Fraud

Joel Susco, CPA

For many companies, payroll is one of the areas where they are most vulnerable to fraud.  The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) reports that payroll fraud accounts for almost 10% of fraud cases and costs organizations an average of $48,000 when it occurs.

Think you’re too small for payroll fraud?  The ACFE notes that payroll schemes are reported twice as often in smaller organizations (those with few than 100 employees).  If your payroll is taken care of […]

March 4, 2013 Accounting, Forensic Accounting, Payroll Audit Read more...

What are the basic categories of occupational fraud and who is likely to commit fraud?

Fraud in the workplace may cause U.S. organizations to lose an average of 7% of their annual revenue.  It is therefore important to know the basic categories of occupational fraud, and who is likely to commit fraud.

Occupational fraud is essentially defined as,”taking advantage of an occupational situation to attain personal enrichment by intentionally misusing or misapplying an organization’s resources.”

The three basic categories of occupational fraud are:

Fraudulent financial statements;
Misappropriation of assets; and
Corruption (like bribes and kickbacks).

Small businesses […]

March 2, 2013 Forensic Accounting, Human Resources Read more...

How a Forensic Accountant Can Aid in Divorce Settlements

Complicated financial issues often come into play during a divorce settlement, and even more so in high net worth cases. It’s common for one spouse to assume the money management role in a marriage, and rarely do both spouses have equal knowledge of their financial affairs. So when a spouse is suspicious of unreported income or hidden assets, it can be critical for legal counsel to work with a qualified forensic accountant to aid in a divorce settlement. The […]

February 20, 2013 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

How does using a forensic accountant assist an attorney with litigation

Forensic accountants can be invaluable when reaching settlement in a case – but how?

I think the greatest use for a forensic accountant would be to uncover very clear, undeniable evidence, which certainly helps in a case.

The second thing that the specialist could do is have a well-written report, because if you can combine clear and compelling evidence with a clearly-written report, it’s likely to convince a judge or a jury.  That often promotes a settlement, because the other side […]

February 19, 2013 Forensic Accounting Read more...

Protecting Yourself from Income Tax-Related Fraud

John Merchant, CPA, CFE

As the 2013 income tax filing season gets underway, taxpayers are beginning to gather information in anticipation of filing income tax returns.  Identity thieves have begun to do the same thing. The difference is identity thieves are not gathering their own information.  They are gathering information to allow them to file returns using stolen identities.

Identity theft in income tax filings has become a major problem, both for the Internal Revenue Service and for taxpayers.  What the […]

February 13, 2013 Accounting, Forensic Accounting, Tax Read more...

Appropriate Due Diligence May Reduce Fraud Losses

John Merchant, CPA, CFE

On Friday January 18, 2013, Caterpillar, Inc. (Caterpillar), one of the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturers, announced that it would take a write-down of assets due to discovery of deliberate misconduct in the accounting for a subsidiary acquired in 2012.  The subsidiary was acquired at a cost of approximately $653 million and the write-down will be approximately $580 million.

On Tuesday January 22, 2013, the first business day after the announcement, the price of Caterpillar shares began […]

January 24, 2013 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

At what point in a case should a forensic investigation be initiated?

Once a case for fraud has been initiated, when should a forensic investigation be done?

As early as possible, for a couple reasons:

One is, once an investigation begins, there is opportunity for the perpetrator to destroy evidence. You want the investigation by the forensic team to start before that happens.
Also, in the case of computer imaging to reveal data, we have to face the unfortunate situation that data can be overridden.  So, something that has been deleted from […]

January 19, 2013 Forensic Accounting Read more...

What types of investigations require a Certified Fraud Examiner?

What types of investigations require a Certified Fraud Examiner? Well there are several that would require such a person.

One would be an embezzlement case where you need someone to investigate records to see if there’s been a misappropriation of assets.
Another would be fraudulent financial statements which would be probably be a result of management rather than an employee, where someone specifically misstates their financial statements in order to get a loan or bring in new capital.
A […]

January 19, 2013 Forensic Accounting Read more...