1 edition
by Sridhar Ramamoorti (Author), Morrison III, David E. (Author), Joseph W. Koletar (Author), Kelly R. Pope (Author)
Get practical insights on the psychology of white-collar criminals—and how to outsmart them
Understand
how the psychologies of fraudsters and their victims interact as well
as what makes auditors/investigators/regulators let down their guard.
Learn about the psychology of fraud victims, including boards of
directors and senior management, and what makes them want to believe
fraudsters, and therefore making them particularly vulnerable to
deception. Just as IT experts gave us computer forensics, we now have a
uniquely qualified team immersed in psychology, sociology, psychiatry as
well as accounting and auditing, introducing the emerging field of
behavioral forensics to address the phenomenon of fraud.
Ever
wonder what makes a white-collar criminal tick? Why does she or he do
what they do? For the first time ever, see the mind of the fraudster
laid bare, including their sometimes twisted rationalizations; think
like a crook to catch a crook! The A.B.C.'s of Behavioral Forensics
takes you there, with expert advice from a diverse but highly
specialized authoring team of professionals (three out of the four are
Certified Fraud Examiners): a former accounting firm partner who has a
PhD in psychology, a former FBI special agent who has been with
investigative practices of two of the Big Four firms, an industrial
psychiatrist who has worked closely with the C-level suite of large and
small companies, and an accounting professor who has interviewed
numerous convicted felons. Along with a fascinating exploration of what
makes people fall for the common and not-so-common swindles, the book
provides a sweeping characterization of the ecology of fraud using The A.B.C.'s of Behavioral Forensics
paradigm: the bad Apple (rogue executive), the bad Bushel (groups that
collude and behave like gangs), and the bad Crop (representing
organization-wide or even societally-sanctioned cultures that are toxic
and corrosive). The book will make you take a longer look when hiring
new employees and offers a deeper more complex understanding of what
happens in organizations and in their people. The A.B.C. model will also
help those inside and outside organizations inoculate against fraud and
make you reflect on instilling the core values of your organization
among your people and create a culture of excellence and integrity that
acts as a prophylactic against fraud. Ultimately, you will discover
that, used wisely, behavioral methods trump solely economic incentives.
With business fraud on the rise globally, The A.B.C.'s of Behavioral Forensics
is the must-have book for investigators, auditors, the C-suite and risk
management professionals, the boards of directors, regulators, and HR
professionals.
- Examines the psychology of fraud in a
practical way, relating it to aspects of fraud prevention, deterrence,
detection, and remediation
- Helps you understand that trust violation—the essence of fraud—is a betrayal of behavioral assumptions about "trusted" people
- Explains how good people go bad and how otherwise honest people cross the line
- Underscores
the importance of creating a culture of excellence and integrity that
inoculates an organization from fraud risk (i.e., honest behavior pays,
while dishonesty is frowned upon)
- Provides key takeaways on
what to look for when hiring new employees and in your current
employees, as well as creating and maintaining a culture of control
consciousness
- Includes narrative accounts of interviews with
convicted white-collar criminals, as well as interpretive insights and
analysis of their rationalizations
- Furnishes ideas about how to
enhance professional skepticism, how to resist fraudsters, how to see
through their schemes, how to infuse internal controls with the
people/behavioral element, and make them more effective in addressing
behavioral/integrity risks
- Provides a solid foundation for
training programs across the fraud risk management life cycle all the
way from the discovery of fraud to its investigation as well as
remediation (so the same fraud doesn't happen again)
- Enables
auditors/investigators to engage in self-reflection and avoid cognitive
and emotional biases and traps that lead to professional judgment errors
(e.g., overconfidence, confirmation, self-deception, groupthink, halo
effect, availability, speed-accuracy trade-off, etc.)
Ever
since the accounting scandals surrounding Enron and WorldCom surfaced,
leading to the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, as well as the
continuing fall out from the Wall Street financial crisis precipitating
the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, fraud has been a leading concern for
executives globally. If you thought you knew everything there was to
know about financial fraud, think again. Get the real scoop with The A.B.C.'s of Behavioral Forensics.