When the Securities and Exchange Commission announced last week that it was settling charges against printing and graphics company Quad/Graphics Inc., it cited multiple internal audit and compliance failures as contributing factors in securities law and bribery violations by the company. The Wisconsin-based digital and print marketing provider has agreed Read More
The University of Texas School of Law is working to improve its financial oversight and controls after an internal audit found that an ex-facilities employee committed a nearly $1.6 million fraud. Former facilities director Jason Shoumaker was indicted last year on charges of theft, money laundering, and abusing his official Read More
Former KPMG partner, David Middendorf, was sentenced this week to a year and a day in prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme to acquire a regulator’s confidential plans in an attempt to get a leg up on audit firm inspections. The ex-KPMG exec was also sentenced to three Read More
Christina Murray, chief internal audit and global compliance at Nissan Motor Corp., resigned abruptly last week, after leading an investigation into improper compensation practices and other wrongdoing at the automaker. Reports indicate that Murray resigned in frustration when the results of the investigation led to the ouster of only a Read More
An internal audit by the Gary, Indiana city audit staff revealed $13,000 in stolen funds from the city’s Genesis Convention Center, according to a statement by Gary’s mayor, Karen Freeman-Wilson released yesterday. The stolen funds were diverted from federal grant money to the convention center by an accountant working for Read More
A former CVS employee has pleaded guilty to fraud after an internal audit, triggered by suspicious activity, uncovered a $2.5 million scam to resell stolen merchandise, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced last week. The perpetrator, Antonio Rivera of Williamsville, NY, was employed Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against Martha Patricia Bustos, a former accountant at Illumina Inc. and a certified public accountant, and her close friend, Donald Blakstad, whom Bustos allegedly illegally tipped with confidential information in advance of her company’s quarterly performance announcements. The alleged insider trading Read More
Internal auditors have always had a role to play in the detection and prevention of fraud. A recent paper from the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) looks to shed some more light on just what that role is and how internal audit teams can do a better job at fighting Read More
After a study found that nearly one-in-five internal auditors in South Africa said they would not feel safe if they exposed questionable activities to law enforcement agencies, some internal audit leaders and others are calling on the state to do more to protect internal auditors, in both the public and Read More
A new academic research study indicates that companies with women serving as chief financial officers are significantly less likely to misreport financial results. The study, by three professors from the University of Alabama, a professor from the University of Missouri, and one from St. Louis University used a “financial statement Read More
