Forensic Accounting

Fraud Never Takes a Holiday in Indiana

These latest headlines should remind companies about the risk of Fraud and the importance of implementing and verifying adequate segregation of duties.  In these stories, embezzlers use their position, their employer’s misplaced trust, and inadequate fraud risk management to defraud organizations. July 29, 2016 Indianapolis woman to be sentenced in $5M embezzlement schemeAugust 16, 2016 Former utility CEO charged with embezzling $500K August 29, 2016 Former local United Steelworkers president sentenced for embezzlementSeptember 13, 2016 “It was done in little bits, little pieces:” Woman accused of embezzlementIn each of these cases, the fraud could have been prevented had the companies implemented a system of internal controls, including adequate segregation of duties.  Segregation of duties is a key internal control intended to minimize the occurrence of errors or fraud by ensuring that no employee has the ability to both commit and conceal errors of fraud in the normal course of their duties.

Stolen Identity Refund Fraud and LexisNexis TRIS Analytics

Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) is a relatively new phenomenon in Indiana and across the US — an unfortunate fallout from the intended convenience of electronic tax filing with quick electronic refunds.  As Forensic Accountants and Data Mining Specialist headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, we are considered experts in this niche field.  We also fully understand the difficulty of investigating these matters and identifying those who are committing the crime.  In this article, we will explain what SIRF is and a new ingenious tool states are using to combat this financial crime.

Discovering Hidden Assets

We are Certified Fraud & Forensic Investigations (CFFI), an Indianapolis Forensic Accounting firm that has a passion for discovering hidden assets.  Our company standard is to look under every stone, into every bank account and examine every document in order to provide the best service to our clients.  Our goal is to provide a true and fair basis through our findings and expert testimony for the separation of assets during a divorce, child support modification or inheritance matter.  Our findings are crucial when determining how assets should be divided on a fair and equitable basis.  We have had several soon-to-be divorced client who have a reason to believe that their once-trusted spouse was hiding, concealing, stealing or flat-out committing fraud while married. Recently we were engaged in a child support modification case that involved our client and former spouse we’ll call Chris.  There were many moving parts in this case, which … Continued

Forensic Accounting and Data Mining

Data mining used in forensic accounting is the art of taking a volume of data (bank transactions, accounting transactions, or other data), and applying certain filters to the data to isolate specific transactions of interest. Data mining techniques can be applied in so many of the cases that we receive to help our clients focus in on areas of concern. Take some recent Indiana case examples:

Forensic Accounting Observations

In today’s era of computer espionage and high-tech theft, all businesses, government agencies, and private citizens should be aware that there may be bad people after private information. As a private investigator and forensic accountant in Indianapolis, Certified Fraud & Forensic Investigations knows that once your sensitive and private information is discovered by a fraudster, your life and business will become very difficult. If you don’t have proper safeguards and internal controls in place, read on…

Hire Private Investigators in Indianapolis

You’ve spent countless hours branding, marketing, and working in your Indianapolis business, but have you been proactive about protecting your company from fraud? Unfortunately, preventing fraud isn’t normally on someone’s mind—until they realize that thousands of dollars in revenue is missing. The forensic and private investigation services from Certified Fraud & Forensic Investigations can help you protect your company’s revenue and reputation from occupational fraudsters—employees that take advantage of their position to steal revenue. Contact us today if you think your company may already be a victim of fraud, or to learn more about how fraud can affect your organization.

Forensic Accounting and Digging Up Hidden Assets

Forensic Accounting is an unfortunate necessity in today’s environment of financial risk, lack of integrity, and excessive greed.  Forensic Accounting utilizes accounting, auditing, and investigative skills to conduct an examination in order to provide an accurate analysis for shareholders, investors, spouses, heirs, or other interested parties.  We are trained and certified in forensic accounting to look beyond the numbers and deal with the business reality of a situation. We are CPAs, CFEs, CAMs and even Private Investigators with expertise in financial analysis, criminal fraud examination, and testifying in the court room or providing attorneys with valuable financial information to help their case.  Forensic Accountants are not just accountants, but a rare breed with skills in scrutinizing & analyzing financial documents included but not limited to: bank statements, audited and unaudited financial statements, retirement and investment portfolios, court records, contracts and legal decrees.  These specialists understand how to breakdown a complex … Continued

Forensic Accountant Notebook: Essentials of Locating Hidden Assets

One afternoon, Becky, a middle-aged Indianapolis, Indiana woman heard the doorbell ring.  Not expecting anyone, she went to the door to see her postman on the porch.  He asked her to sign for a certified letter and then returned to his mail truck.  Anxious to see what this unknown letter was about, Becky immediately ripped it open.  She was shocked by the letter she was reading: her husband of 29 years had filed for divorce.  After getting by in a daze the next few days, she stopped by an ATM to get some cash for necessities.  After three attempts with an error message on the screen, she went inside to speak to the teller.  Her jaw dropped to the floor when the teller informed her that the account had been closed 6 days ago.  As a forensic accountant who specializes in locating hidden assets, the story of Becky is all … Continued

Hidden Assets

The Concern   “My spouse has been staying out late and receiving text messages at odd times of the night.  I’m concerned that he is planning for a divorce and maybe attempting to leave me without anything.”  If you’ve ever had a thought like this, you may be the target of a hidden assets scheme.