By Jennifer Trammell / Guest Columnist -

http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/news/2009/jul/07/protect-your-business-fraud/

Published Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Is your business at risk for fraud? Don’t assume — you need to know for sure.

Fraud is defined as “deception deliberately practiced with a view to gaining an unlawful or unfair advantage.” In today’s business world, “fraud” comes in many unexpected forms.

Yeager & Boyd, LLC, a long-time Shelby County accounting firm, has a division specializing in forensic accounting, tapping into what some experts say is an unmet demand for financial fraud investigators.

Most accountants, including Yeager & Boyd, have played a role over the years in ferreting out shady money-management activities. There is a need for forensic accounting services, particularly in the small business arena, where businesses often struggle with asset misappropriation and corruption, two common forms of small business fraud.

A recent study found that businesses hit by occupational fraud sustained a median loss of $159,000. A quarter of businesses lost $1 million or more. The need for protecting Shelby County businesses, especially those that do not have regular audits, is critical to the continued successful growth of the county’s business community.

The Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce is offering a Fraud Prevention Workshop so you can make sure your business is protected. This workshop can help you understand such practices as accepting and processing credit cards, understanding the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), employee screening, PCI Compliance and potential employer and merchant liabilities.

Understanding, recognizing and implementing a plan to protect your business from risky internal and external factors might save your business.

The Fraud Prevention workshop will be held July 23 at the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce in Pelham. Register online at www.shelbychamber.org. The cost is $10 and the workshop will be 8:30-10 a.m. For more information, call 663-4542.

Jennifer Trammell is the president of the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at jennifer@shelbychamber.org.

Yeager & Boyd, LLC | Birmingham, Alabama (AL) | Occupational Fraud Audits

June 26, 2009

- As demand for forensic audits, fraud investigations and better preventative measures increase in business and government organizations, Yeager & Boyd, LLC continues to respond with Boyd Forensic Accounting and Investigation.

Birmingham, Alabama. In 1980, when Robert Boyd began his CPA firm, Yeager & Boyd, LLC, the landscape for personal and business tax services, corporate auditing, governmental regulation and oversight was far different. This was long before Enron, WorldCom, Sarbanes Oxley or occupational fraud estimates of $652 Billion a year (according to an ACFE 2006 survey that found at least 5% of the U.S. Gross National Product was stolen).

In direct response to an increased demand for specialized audits Robert, and his brother Charles Boyd (CFE, Certified Fraud Examiner) launched Boyd Forensic Accounting and Investigation in 2006. These highly specialized CFE audits are conducted to detect and prove (or disprove) the motives, actions, patterns of behavior, schemes and money trail of fraud and forgery essential to documenting transactions and uncovering the transgressors.

This unique set of talents, skills, acquired tools and characteristics combine to allow Boyd Forensic Accounting and Investigation to conduct both public and private sector audits. Understanding the differences between these two types of organizations, the idiosyncrasies and contrasting vulnerabilities is what sets Boyd Forensic Accounting and Investigation apart from the competition, and why attorneys choose them time and again for CFE expertise.

CFE engagements include both high profile and run-of-the-mill cases, but many of the outcomes are anything but routine in nature. One woman in south Alabama pled guilty to embezzling over $1.6 Million in public housing funds and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. This marked the detection and prosecution of one of the largest cash fraud cases in U.S. Housing Authority audits to date. A company accountant, who had too much unchecked reign over financial functions, was over-crediting her own tax withholding and had increased her auto allowance without the President’s approval. When the Boyd Team reviewed the company’s records, the discrepancies were discovered and using their CFE skills, the Boyd Team obtained a full confession and the employee was discharged and restitution was made.

The combination of unique experience, talents and an investigative nose for the dark and dubious side of managerial and employee behavior is rare, especially within the certified public accounting community. ‘We have worked very hard over the years to hone skills that allow for fair and accurate audits’, says Charles Boyd of the CFE division at Yeager & Boyd. These skills include a high level of commitment and attention to detail to accomplish the audit’s objectives which can include: resolving allegations by obtaining evidence, taking statements and participating in depositions, writing detailed reports, testifying to findings as expert witnesses, conducting asset searches and uncovering hidden assets, examining bid and proposal processes, development of visual aids, examining internal controls (or lack thereof) and applying the forensic and fraud investigative techniques that will expose falsified transactions.

As Yeager & Boyd begin their fourth decade in business, the changes and challenges are more demanding than ever for business and government. But there doesn’t need to be a suspicion of fraud for the Boyd Team to help individuals and businesses with tax returns and financial statements. Their traditional CPA practice is thriving and growing in the southeast.

Two years in to this recession, economic pressures on employees are even greater and record deficits mean fewer people to accomplish more work, leading to the types of dishonest attitudes that rationalize occupational fraud. Preventative measures are more important than ever and Boyd Forensic Accounting and Investigation is growing rapidly, sharing the information needed to reduce the risks associated with organizational fraud and business theft through regional seminars, association affiliations and increased vigilance to identify the patterns of behavior, before they’re out of control. The next seminar is sponsored by the Greater Shelby County (AL) Chamber of Commerce on July 23, 2009 from 9am to noon and covers identifying risks, patterns and fraud types to be aware of, and an overview of the techniques organizations can use to protect themselves. For more information or to register go to www.shelbychamber.org.

As growth in theft and fraud persists, Boyd Forensic Accounting and Investigation provides all the services required for business and government to protect funds. To learn more about these services go to www.boydcfe.com.

Media Contact:
Yeager & Boyd, LLC
Ann Boyd
205-991-5506