August 2013 Issue
The damage that white-collar crime inflicts can run into billions, even before the business and financial impacts of reputational damage are considered. But internal fraud does more impact upon profits – it also betrays shareholder trust and eats away employee morale. Tackling individual acts of white-collar crime in isolation is not a sound strategy, and mere compliance with regulatory requirements is not enough. Firms must scrutinise the areas susceptible to exploitation from insiders, identify their key vulnerabilities and eliminate the opportunities to exploit them. Without company-wide, systematic mechanisms in place, business leaders risk their bottom-line, their stake-holder relationships, and place their firms in great jeopardy.
FORUM: Mitigating fraud exposure arising from overseas operations
FW moderates a discussion on overseas fraud exposure between Jerry Oldham at 1stWEST Financial Corporation, Michael Couzens at Baker Hughes US LLP, Luke Tolaini at Clifford Chance, and Robertson T. Park at Murphy & McGonigle.
Aggressive accounting vs. fraudulent accounting
CRA The line between aggressive accounting and fraudulent accounting can be finer than many readers of this article may like to believe. It is well-recognised in the finance profession that preparing financial statements involves exercising judgment and the use of...
Background Investigations as an anti-fraud risk management tool
1stWEST Financial Corporation There should be no excuse for acquiring a company, merging with a company or financing a company wherein the remaining owners or management team members have a history of fraud and corruption, when a thorough background investigation would reveal current or past indiscretions such...
How to use company data efficiently to detect fraud and corruption
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Organisations generate millions of pieces of data in the ordinary course of their business. This information “comes from many sources—internal and external, and in quantitative and qualitative forms – and facilitates responses to changing conditions”,...
Conducting internal investigations
Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP Running an internal corporate investigation is fraught with risk. Even a single-site, small to medium sized company will face a number of difficulties in carrying out an internal investigation. The risks multiply many times when the company concerned operates in a number of...
Deferred Prosecution Agreements - the new tool for tackling corruption
Eversheds Economic crime by commercial organisations does serious damage to both its immediate victims and the economy, costing billions of pounds to the taxpayer and to those directly affected. Yet successful prosecutions in this area have been relatively low. Prior to the introduction of...
The banks and money laundering: time to atone
Lewis Nedas Law Scarcely a day goes by when one doesn’t read about a bank being investigated or fined for money laundering. Recent examples include the conclusion by the Italian authorities that the Vatican Bank facilitated money laundering; the Italian inquiry focused in particular on the...
Stephenson Harwood Why have UK regulators not taken action against more individuals after the financial crisis? ‘Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width’ was the title of a British sitcom popular in the late 1960s. However this could also describe the content of the recent...
Reckless misconduct is a headline grabbing novelty
Janes Solicitors The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards report titled ‘Changing banking for good’ was released on 19 June 2013. It has been suggested that its aim is not to bring about whitewash regulatory changes but to tackle the underlying culture of the UK banking system;...
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
1stWEST Financial Corporation
Clifford Chance
Charles River Associates
Eversheds
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP