Customer Reviews

Essentials of Corporate Fraud (Essentials Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I didn't particularly like this book, but I think it was better than OK. The notes I took while reading it indicate the target audience this book was written for are executives, attorneys, and auditors who need a basic understanding of corporate fraud. Included in this book are some of the causes of corporate fraud and the characteristics of those who commit corporate fraud. In my humble opinion, the material covered between the covers of this book will probably help the target audience better understand corporate fraud if they don't already have some idea of what it is and what to look out for. The book is very basic.

This book is not particularly long. And the margins are sizeable, and the line spacing is probably 2X. But it didn't have to be short. It could have easily been longer and felt more like a real book if lots and lots of real world examples had been interspersed throughout the text. Instead the content included was very dry and kind of boring.

Maybe I am being overly harsh by saying this book was boring. This may be because I am a former Big 8 CPA and an attorney who worked for one of the co-lead plaintiff law firms in the Tyco case that settled for $3 billion. (By the way, the Tyco case is mentioned in this book.) As a result of my training and work experience I am fairly well versed on securities fraud and understand the root causes of fraud and the most effective fraud prevention techniques. So there wasn't anything new for me in this book.

I would have liked this book better if the author's writing style had been tighter. Why did each of the chapters have both an introduction and summary? There was no need. Why were there so many footnotes? There was no need to spend time on surveys. Since the author is a CPA and certified as a forensic accountant, she could have made those surveys her own and presented the information from those surveys in a transparent way. Unfortunately, she didn't choose to do this.

I also would have liked the book better if the author had not cited so many stats and figures. I doubt the typical reader wanted to hear about all those numbers, and I know I didn't. The author could have cut to the chase for the reader and just stated the facts about fraud. But she didn't do it as succinctly as she could have. I think there should have been some in depth coverage of Internal Controls. And there weren't. But there was some coverage of Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) in the Fraud Prevention chapter.

All in all, I found this book to be dry and shallow. It just wasn't much fun to read. If it had included marvelous stories that enlightened and entertained, then things would have been different. 3.5 stars!

PS. The author has provided Search Inside material to Amazon for this book. Please examine the Table of Contents included with the Search Inside material to see what is actually covered in this book.

I have many great things to say about Tracy Coenen, who is a blogger, author, and above all, a forensic accountant. I love her blog and I find her to be witty and intelligent. As a short seller I am also something of a fraud connoisseur, so I appreciate what she does. I eagerly anticipated her first book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud. She was kind enough to let me review before it was published, for which I thank her.

To describe my overall impression of the book I find that I must resort to analogies. The book is like Michael Jordan scoring 18 points or like me only making a 20% return on a stock I have sold short. It is good, and a worthy read, but it is not great. I had expected better. However, I did find the book to be a worthy primer on fraud. There are of course a couple reasons that the book did not live up to my expectations, neither really Tracy's fault: the book appears to be geared towards management types and it is an introductory book.

While being president of a small company, I am decidedly not a management-type; in fact, I would say that my IQ is about 2 standard deviations higher than the IQ of most managers (or at least people who read management books). The other problem is that this book is an introductory book. To someone who deals with messing up financial statements on a weekly basis (as bookkeeper of my company) and analyzing them on a daily basis (as a short seller), I am already familiar with many ways to defraud.

Despite not being wowed by the book, I found it to be a solid introduction to fraud. It was easily readable, not repetitive (unlike most books geared towards management), and it got me thinking. This book made me reconsider certain ways that my small company operated. Since reading it I have made changes to reduce the risk of fraud. For a book such as this, the best complement is to say that it was useful, and this book was a useful read for me.

While this book would be useful to many, it is decidedly not useful (nor does it pretend to be) to investors who only care about financial statement fraud. If you are a CPA, manager, or business owner who is not an experienced fraud fighter, this seems to be a good place to start, so you should buy the book.

for all current and future business executives. In todays business world it is imperative that you understand the basic the fundamentals of fraud in order to succeed. I think the most effective parts of the book are the real life examples she uses to explain her points. Unlike other authors who try to intimidate their readers by showing their knowledge, Tracey tries to educate her audience. This is accomplished by her no nonsense, straight to the point writing style. She doesn't waste the readers time even when it comes to explaining the good, the bad and the ugly of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. For those who don't deal with fraud on a daily basis this book is a must for your professional library.

Essentials of Corporate Fraud is an insightful, and easy to understand, book for professionals, students, and other interested parties, on the complex topic of corporate fraud. I particularly liked the comprehensive manner in which the material is presented and found it to be an easy read. The author did an excellent job discussing the subtle nuances, and red flags, associated with this type of fraud without overwhelming the reader with complicated and professional jargon and "double speak" as some authors are prone to do. This is an excellent text for those trying to detect, prevent, manage and investigate fraud.

Fraud, theft and abuse costs the average company 6% of revenue. That's money off the bottom line, forcing the honest employees and managers to work harder and forgo bonuses and raises they deserve. Coenen has written a solid book on fraud. She covers all the basics on how and why people steal, cheat, embezzle, cook the books, take bribes and kickbacks, justify it, and why don't think they'll get caught. Then she shows you what to do about it, from investigating to deciding whether or not to prosecute and/or fire the dishonest employee or manager. Accountants, attorneys, business people, HR folks and consultants, can all learn from her expertise and easy to understand style. Want to make more money and make your life easier? Then READ THIS BOOK.

I have been a fraud examiner for 10 years. I'm a CPA, CFE, CFF - This book is a helpful practioner's guide for any new or seasoned examiner. I've attended various seminars and have executed fraud examinations throughout the U.S., South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific and 80% of what I learned and experienced in these efforts are covered in this book of essentials. An easy read with a schedule of references that more serious examiners will also find beneficial. The author does not pretend to say this is everthing you ever will need - just the essentials. A well worth while read - either memorize it or keep it close on any investigation. All the best.