Detecting Construction Fraud and the Auditor’s Role
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) May 31, 2017 -- “Owner representatives, including project managers and auditors can do a better job of detecting fraud related to construction,” says Courtenay Thompson, instructor of the seminar entitled, “Construction Fraud: Detection, Prevention & Response.” The seminar is offered July 17-18 in Las Vegas through the Construction Audit & Cost Control Institute (CAACCI).
“Fraud in construction commonly goes undetected, or when detected, goes unaddressed much longer than it should. We have learned that defining fraud-related expectations for managers and auditors helps with timely identification and effective response. Construction fraud includes intentional overbilling, corruption, bribery and the quality of the work itself. Understanding how construction fraud impacts both costs and construction project integrity encourages vigilance and practical detection,” Thompson continues. “Construction owners cannot stop all fraud. Construction owners can make a big difference through timely detection and effective response.”
Many seem confused about the auditor’s role and responsibilities. Although professional standards offer guidance to auditors, we believe stakeholders can benefit from something more succinct. The CEO can clearly define management’s responsibility for detection of fraud. If management’s role is understood and communicated then auditors can embrace reasonable responsibility for some fraud detection. Mr. Thompson suggests internal auditors share the following expectations with executives and audit committees:
1. You can expect us to know fraud exposures for the areas we audit. If we don’t know the exposures, you can expect us to seek to learn them.
2. You can expect us to know symptoms of fraud occurrence.
3. You can expect us to build tests to identify fraud symptoms in routine audits.
4. You can expect us to use data analysis or to identify symptoms.
5. You can expect us to follow up to determine fraud implications of any symptoms or exceptions identified in our audit work.
6. You can expect us never to hide or ignore symptoms of suspected wrongdoing.
The “Construction Fraud: Detection, Prevention & Response” seminar is led by Mr. Courtenay Thompson, and sponsored by The Construction Audit & Cost Control Institute (CAACCI). This 2-day course will be offered July 17-18 in Las Vegas and September 11-12 in Dallas. Earn 16 CPE (Continuing Professional Education) credit hours upon completion.
Click here for more information including online registration, course outline and venue.
Seminar Leader, Courtenay M. Thompson
Courtenay Thompson, of Courtenay Thompson & Associates (ctassoc.com), is a recognized authority on fraud-related training for internal auditors, management and investigators. Since entering the educational consulting field in 1981, he has written and presented courses for corporations, government and professional associations worldwide. He is the co-developer of courses on audit and control of construction costs, and has developed and presented courses on purchasing fraud and contract auditing. His courses are known for providing practical approaches to real problems.
The Construction Audit & Cost Control Institute
The Construction Audit & Cost Control Institute (CAACCI) of Dallas, Texas has been providing public offering and in-house professional development training seminars in affiliation with Courtenay Thompson & Associates since 2008. The principal instructors (Courtenay Thompson and Rich Townsend) have been providing construction audit and fraud professional development training to management and auditors for over 30 years. CAACCI members include project management and construction audit representatives from a wide range of private and public organizations. For more information on our construction audit and construction fraud seminars, go to caacci.org.
Mr. Courtenay Thompson, Courtenay Thompson & Associates, http://www.ctassoc.com, +1 (214) 361-8346, [email protected]
Share this article