Del DeVries : Fraud Explained

The first decade of 2000 has been an ongoing story of accounting and financial frauds. Each story generates more than its share of ongoing press, but what is lacking is a single source of information that is both detailed and comprehensive. Many of these frauds are more engaging than a fictional novel. And telling the story for regulatory and legal purposes provides details about accounting transactions, fund transfers, and other financial business processes related to the fraud.

Investigation of Failure of the SEC to Uncover Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme (August 31, 2009; 457 pages) The investigation into the investigators and regulators. Answers the big question of why they failed.

From the Executive Summary: (22 pages)

The OIG investigation did not find evidence that any SEC personnel who worked on an SEC examination or investigation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC (BMIS) had any financial or other inappropriate connection with Bernard Madoff or the Madoff family that influenced the conduct of their examination or investigatory work. ...

The OIG investigation did find, however, that the SEC received more than ample information in the form of detailed and substantive complaints over the years to warrant a thorough and comprehensive examination and/or investigation of Bernard Madoff and BMIS for operating a Ponzi scheme, and that despite three examinations and two investigations being conducted, a thorough and competent investigation or examination was never performed.

Back to Blog Notes - September 2009

Accounting and Finance Fraud Summaries

Fraud info Washington Post summary from about 2005. Links to Adelphia, Anderson, Enron, Global Crossing, ImClone, Tyco, and WorldCom.

Tags Accounting Fraud Ethics

A ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.

Friedrich Engels

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