Jim Martin
Public Companies & Fraud Deterrence
Strong internal controls are the foundation of fraud deterrence. Recent studies have concluded that nearly 90 percent of fraud could be avoided by an appropriately defined and rigorously enforced structure of internal controls. Additionally, recent regulatory guidance for companies producing public financial statements reinforces the role of strong internal controls in the financial reporting process.
Our team of professionals has 25 years of expertise in analyzing and improving internal control structures. Our engagements help companies ensure compliance with all sections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (including Section 404 compliance) and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. We have performed such activities for numerous multinational corporations and public companies. CCA’s expertise was harnessed by the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts when they implemented a fraud deterrence professional certification: Certified Fraud Deterrence Analyst (CFD). We wrote the five day training materials for the course used to train every CFD in the United States.
There are 3 factors present in every fraudulent situation: motive, opportunity, and rationalization of the act. There are also straightforward actions that can be taken to shield an organization from the risk of fraud. Our assessments focus on removing the causal factors of fraud by implementing these actions.
Our fraud deterrence engagements:
- Help companies better understand their internal control structures
- Follow guidelines set by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
- Assist in removing causal factors of fraud from the organization
- Assist companies in minimizing the risk of material misstatements due to fraud
