Customer Reviews

Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide

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

 

 

This is a well written book, but not quite what I expected. Although the information contained is certainly informative and helpful, there really isn't enough of it. Many subjects get little more than a page in the book. For someone not trained in accounting, this would be a great book, but for someone with the education and some experience, it really didn't give me enough to justify the fairly steep price tag. If it had fleshed out more of the concepts and was another 100-200 pages longer, it would be a fantatic book, but it just not quite enough of what I neeeded. Her writing is excellent considering the technical nature of the subject matter, so I will certainly look into other titles by the author.

I really like this book. I am a certified fraud examiner, and have been a sole practitioner practicing in this area since 1996. I read a few books and many articles on fraud every year. This is one of the best.

In a logically structured presentation, Coenen walks through all of the major types of fraud and discusses the thought process that an investigator should use when trying to detect each of them. The discussions of each thought process is typically aided by five to fifteen bullet points--not excessive lists by any means--that the investigator should make sure to consider.

She maintains an engaging, conversational tone throughout the book, with just enough detail and war stories to illustrate the procedures and techniques that she presents. Coenen's book reeks of actual, real-life experience. You can feel the depth and breadth of her fraud investigation experience as you read this book.

Expert Fraud Investigation starts out with three chapters describing the beginning of the cycle: finding fraud, beginning the investigation, and managing the case. These are useful not only for the investigator; attorneys or corporate managers hiring a fraud investigator will also benefit from the delineation of the thought processes and approaches that the investigator should be taking.

Chapters four through six provide a general overview of how to conduct a fraud investigation: searching for fraud, sources of information, and investigative techniques. These chapters give a good overview and some discussion of the thought processes to use.

Chapters seven through ten discuss specific types of fraud and specific investigative steps usually taken to detect them. They cover asset misappropriation schemes, financial statement frauds, corruption schemes, and external frauds such as Ponzi schemes and insurance fraud. The book then concludes with chapters on reporting and litigation, and other issues such as how to market a fraud investigation practice.

Expert Fraud Investigation presents its topic comprehensively, but without redundancy or overkill: Coenen hits each idea once and moves on. There is no new information that I didn't already know, but this book is a great summary of most of the things I need to know to do my work. It is probably a book I will pick up and read a few more times when I need a refresher or am stumped on a fraud investigation.

This book is a good read for fraud investigators with all levels of experience, for judges and lawyers who deal with expert witnesses or consultants in fraud cases, and for corporate managers fearful that they may need a fraud investigation at their own company.

Tracy Coenen's previous book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud, provides a great introduction to contemporary fraud issues that is an excellent starting point for people learning about fraud. This book, Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide, focuses on the nuts and bolts of investigating alleged, suspected or admitted frauds, providing insights every step of the way. As Tracy shows, it is a sensitive matter that can be a minefield for the inexperienced and unwary.

Drawing on her extensive experience as a certified fraud examiner (CFE) who has worked many cases, Tracy sets out the issues that she addresses at each stage of the fraud investigation process. It is a window into the thought processes of an experienced fraud investigator and a fascinating one at that. While there cannot be a cookie-cutter approach to fraud investigations or a rigid work program, Tracy identifies many considerations that could easily be missed by someone who does not do this type of work all the time. That could help you to avoid having a fraud investigation blow up in your face.

Tracy's conversational writing style makes Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide a quick and easy read. She provides many tips that seem to stem directly from her experiences in particular cases. You can just imagine her working these cases and dealing with the issues as they come up. This book, more than any other I have seen, gives you the feel of being with an expert as you work through the fraud investigation process together. You get to learn from her experience not only about the immediate issues at hand but also about preparing yourself for what may come next.

Expert Fraud Investigations: A Step-by-Step Guide would be particularly valuable to internal auditors who are called upon to look into potential frauds, managers wanting to understand traps to avoid when launching fraud investigations in their business units, and people developing their career in fraud examination and investigation. Experienced fraud investigators may be familiar with much of the material, but will likely find useful nuggets of information that they can put to good use.

Kudos to Tracy for demystifying the fraud investigation process and helping others learn from her experience.

I recommend this book to anyone who has had or might have exposure to fraud. While it was primarily written for CPAs interested in developing fraud investigating skills, the author presents the material at a level quite easily accessable to a lay reader. The chapters are structured around interesting stories of frauds and how they were later uncovered. The stories act as a foil to present actions that, if taken in advance, would likely have prevented the fraud. This is a valuable book to read if you have reason to suspect fraud, or if you would like to avoid being victimized. Prevention is easier.

This is filled with standard info pulled from a thousand textbooks and papers on the subject. Nothing new and not worth spending your hard earned money. It seems the author decided to opt out on realistic ideas with this one.

The author sets the pace early by making the incredibly inaccurate statement that "Audits are aimed at giving negative assurance: The auditors are not aware of anything that would make the financial statements incorrect." This is so unimaginably and fundamentally wrong, I'm having a hard time sitting still. The very purpose of an audit is to provide positive assurance -- everyone who stayed awake on day 1 of Auditing 101 knows this. This statement by the author calls into question the credibility of any and all representations of fact made by her. For me, this book was doomed right from Chapter 1.

As for style points, I found the book to be clumsy and awkward. The author is not afraid to beat a dead horse, and then beat it again -- her penchant for repetition is nearly comical. To me, it was not an enjoyable read.

Some worthwhile information is shared here. However, I agree with other reviewers that the presentation is at times remedial and the coverage of certain topics is thin -- and again, which statements are reliable? The book absolutely fails to live up to its price tag.

In my opinion, the information in this book could be better obtained elsewhere. I wish I had not purchased and read this particular book.

The book goes through the different steps of conducting an investigation. It tells you about what could happen if certain controls are not in place. However, there are not many real-life examples of fraud cases.

I've read a good part of this book and i found it really great. It met all my expectations and i recommend everybody who is interested in the area of fraud detection to buy it