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Tribune News Network
doha
THE Institute of Internal Auditors, Qatar chapter, recently hosted an event titled ‘COVID-19 related fraud risks assessment’, featuring presentations by two experts of international acclaim.
Victor Hartman, an attorney, certified public accountant and former FBI special agent, and Dr Sridhar Ramamoorti, a professor at the University of Dayton, USA, who specialises in fraud risk detection and advisory services, delivered the lectures held virtually, which was attended by over 100 auditors.
Dr Ramamoorti was 2010 co-chair of the IIA’s Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) study and a co-author of Internal Auditing Textbook while Hartman specialises in internal investigations, forensic accounting, and fraud mitigation consultations. Hartman is also a professor at Georgia State University and has authored the book titled ‘The Honest Truth About Fraud.’
Hartman in his lecture elucidated the ways and means of prevention, detection, investigation, mitigation and remediation of frauds, pointing out how internal audit can play a crucial role in this. He also explained fraud risks, taxonomy, corruption, assets misappropriation and financial statement frauds to the attendees.
The COVID-19 related frauds were identified as procurement fraud, advance fee scheme, business email compromise, bogus medical products, substandard medical products & equipment (PPE), government assistance programme fraud, hoarding & price gouging, repurposed frauds, frauds to gain personally identifiable information (PII) and charity schemes.
The speakers said that the vulnerability is high due to the work from home situation.
“Greed is not a G-word”, said Dr Ramamoorti as he explained why people commit fraud. He described business need, ego, excitement, parity, reciprocity and status as the main motivators for committing fraud.
“According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners 2020 Report, internal auditors worldwide are the true heroes in the fight against fraud. The survey estimates $4.3 trillion fraud, which is alarming. Fraud mitigation measures must address the motivations for fraud”, said Sundaresan Rajeswar, IIA Qatar Board member.
Fraud prevention methods include: sentencing guidelines, IIA’s three lines of defence, hiring practices, ethics & compliance policies, and training. Fraud deterrence measures are: policies for code of conduct, conflicts of interest, culture/ethics assessment and fraud risk assessment.
Fahad Hussien, senior vice president of the IIA Qatar, welcomed attendees from different parts of the world and emphasised the importance of such informative sessions for members. Girish Jain hosted the event with Murtaza and Muralikrishna. Rajeswar handled the Q&A segment.
doha
THE Institute of Internal Auditors, Qatar chapter, recently hosted an event titled ‘COVID-19 related fraud risks assessment’, featuring presentations by two experts of international acclaim.
Victor Hartman, an attorney, certified public accountant and former FBI special agent, and Dr Sridhar Ramamoorti, a professor at the University of Dayton, USA, who specialises in fraud risk detection and advisory services, delivered the lectures held virtually, which was attended by over 100 auditors.
Dr Ramamoorti was 2010 co-chair of the IIA’s Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) study and a co-author of Internal Auditing Textbook while Hartman specialises in internal investigations, forensic accounting, and fraud mitigation consultations. Hartman is also a professor at Georgia State University and has authored the book titled ‘The Honest Truth About Fraud.’
Hartman in his lecture elucidated the ways and means of prevention, detection, investigation, mitigation and remediation of frauds, pointing out how internal audit can play a crucial role in this. He also explained fraud risks, taxonomy, corruption, assets misappropriation and financial statement frauds to the attendees.
The COVID-19 related frauds were identified as procurement fraud, advance fee scheme, business email compromise, bogus medical products, substandard medical products & equipment (PPE), government assistance programme fraud, hoarding & price gouging, repurposed frauds, frauds to gain personally identifiable information (PII) and charity schemes.
The speakers said that the vulnerability is high due to the work from home situation.
“Greed is not a G-word”, said Dr Ramamoorti as he explained why people commit fraud. He described business need, ego, excitement, parity, reciprocity and status as the main motivators for committing fraud.
“According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners 2020 Report, internal auditors worldwide are the true heroes in the fight against fraud. The survey estimates $4.3 trillion fraud, which is alarming. Fraud mitigation measures must address the motivations for fraud”, said Sundaresan Rajeswar, IIA Qatar Board member.
Fraud prevention methods include: sentencing guidelines, IIA’s three lines of defence, hiring practices, ethics & compliance policies, and training. Fraud deterrence measures are: policies for code of conduct, conflicts of interest, culture/ethics assessment and fraud risk assessment.
Fahad Hussien, senior vice president of the IIA Qatar, welcomed attendees from different parts of the world and emphasised the importance of such informative sessions for members. Girish Jain hosted the event with Murtaza and Muralikrishna. Rajeswar handled the Q&A segment.
