Accounting Investigations and Accountancy Fraud

Accountancy fraud can be quite difficult to detect.  This is because the perpetrators of this type of crime are very familiar with the internal accountancy and audit systems within a given organisation.  It is quite often the case that these individuals, who are the perpetrators of the fraud, are also the architects of the accountancy system and therefore know where the weaknesses within that system lie.  Sometimes these individuals, who can be very senior employees, have been with the organisation for many years and have seen the systems develop and are therefore able to build into that system, a fraudulent subsystem, that can go unnoticed and undetected for an entire career and may only come to light after retirement has taken place.  In other instances the fraud can be so blatant and so obvious that it still remains undetected because the perpetrator of the fraud is the financial controller himself or because there is a culture of fear within the organisation that stops junior members of staff from raising reasonable queries.

In a recent case that we were involved in, the financial controller of a manufacturing company was assisting the senior management in concealing cash payments that were being made by customers of the business.  Everyone in the organisation knew that a fraud was taking place on a regular basis but no one in the company was prepared to step forward and provide that information.  In this particular example, the fraud was blatantly being carried on.  Evidence of the fraud was only secured after the financial records of the organisation were carefully audited after we had instructed a specialist firm of accountants.  Once the fraud had been identified, the organisation was advised and it was able to take appropriate action.

We have also been involved in cases where accountants have been accused of money laundering, fraud and misconduct offences, and we have witnessed how the prosecution’s case can unravel because it had not been properly prepared by the Police and prosecuting authorities.

For further information on all Business Crime and Regulation services please contact Peter Grogan, Partner and Head of Business Crime & Regulation on 0845 2419107 or via our online enquiry form below.