Fraud Analysis Techniques Using ACL

"When people ask me what they can do to better utilize ACL, I tell them, 'Take an instructor lead course, participate in the ACL Forum, and study (not read, study) David Coderre's Fraud Analysis Techniques Using ACL.' I studied this book, and would not be where I am today without it. Even without the anti-fraud material, the book is worth the investment as a tool to learning ACL!" —Porter Broyles, President and founder of the Texas ACL User Group, Keynote Speaker at ACL's 2009 San Francisco Conference, Official ACL Super User "For individuals interested in learning about fraud analysis techniques or the art of ACL scripting, this book is a must-read. For those individuals interested in learning both, this book is a treasure." —Jim Hess, Principal, Hess Group, LLC Your very own ACL Fraud Toolkit—at your fingertips Fraud Analysis Techniques Using ACL offers auditors and investigators: Authoritative guidance from David Coderre, renowned expert on the use of computer-assisted audit tools and techniques in fraud detection A CD-ROM containing an educational version of ACL from the world leader in fraud detection software An accompanying CD-ROM containing a thorough Fraud Toolkit with two sets of customizable scripts to serve your specific audit needs Case studies and sample data files that you can use to try out the tests Step-by-step instructions on how to run the tests A self-study course on ACL script development with exercises, data files, and suggested answers The toolkit also contains 12 'utility scripts' and a self-study course on ACL scripting which includes exercises, data files, and proposed answers. Filled with screen shots, flow charts, example data files, and descriptive commentary highlighting and explaining each step, as well as case studies offering real-world examples of how the scripts can be used to search for fraud, Fraud Analysis Techniques Using ACL is the only toolkit you will need to harness the power of ACL to spot fraud. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file. Fraud Analysis Techniques Using ACL......Page 5 0470392444......Page 1 Contents......Page 7 How to Use This Toolkit......Page 11 How This Book Is Structured......Page 12 Flowcharts......Page 13 Acknowledgments......Page 14 Why Do People Commit Fraud?......Page 16 Why Use Data Analysis Software?......Page 17 Identifying Fraud......Page 18 Proactive Fraud Investigation......Page 19 About Scripts......Page 20 Customizing Scripts......Page 25 Creating Your Own Fraud Application......Page 27 Further Reading......Page 28 Starting the Fraud Toolkit Application......Page 30 Start......Page 31 Log Files......Page 32 Working without the Fraud Menu......Page 34 Checking for Blanks and Data Type Mismatches......Page 36 Running Completeness and Integrity......Page 37 Understanding the Verify Command......Page 38 Understanding the Group Command......Page 39 Review and Analysis......Page 41 Case Study: General Ledger Accounts Unaccounted For......Page 43 Running Cross-Tabulation......Page 44 Benefits of Cross-Tabulation......Page 46 How the Scripts Work......Page 47 X-Axis Labels......Page 48 Workspaces......Page 49 Review and Analysis......Page 50 Case Study: Calling Cards......Page 51 Running Duplicates......Page 52 The Role of Subscripts......Page 54 Case Study: Duplicate Payments......Page 56 If Statements......Page 57 Macro Substitution......Page 58 KeyChange......Page 59 LENGTH() and HEX()......Page 60 Checking for Duplicates......Page 61 Payroll Example......Page 62 Accounts Payable Example......Page 64 Running Gaps......Page 66 How the Scripts Work......Page 67 Review and Analysis......Page 68 Case Study: Free Calls......Page 69 Running Data Profile......Page 70 How the Scripts Work......Page 71 Data Profile Test Parameters......Page 73 Statistics......Page 76 Stratify......Page 77 Round Amounts: Multiples of 5, 10, 25, or 100......Page 79 Frequently Used Values......Page 80 Items with the Most Exact Multiples......Page 81 Least/Most Used Items......Page 82 Case Study: Receipt of Inventory......Page 83 Filtering and Drilling Down......Page 85 Running Ratio Analysis......Page 88 Max/Max2 and Max/Min Ratios......Page 92 Two Fields: Num_field1 / Num_field2 Ratio......Page 94 Review and Analysis......Page 95 Case Study: Dormant but Not Forgotten......Page 98 Case Study: Doctored Bills......Page 99 Identifying Irregularities......Page 102 Running Benford Analysis......Page 103 Running Benford Custom Analysis......Page 104 How the Benford Scripts Work......Page 107 Review and Analysis......Page 110 Further Reading......Page 112 Data Analysis: Generic Approach......Page 114 ACL Commands......Page 116 Variables......Page 118 DEFINE Field/Expression......Page 120 Workspaces......Page 121 Scripts......Page 123 Saving a Script to a .BAT file......Page 129 ACCEPT Command......Page 131 Dialog Boxes......Page 132 Adding Selections to Drop-Down and Project Item Lists......Page 133 Editing Dialog Boxes......Page 134 Subscripts......Page 136 Consolidation Exercise......Page 138 GROUP Command......Page 139 LOOP and OFFSET()......Page 146 Applications Menu......Page 149 Creating Submenus......Page 151 Auto_Execute......Page 152 Extract_Values......Page 153 Ending Balance Verification......Page 154 Running_Total......Page 156 Maximum and Minimum Values......Page 157 Appendix: ACL Installation Process......Page 159 Glossary......Page 163 Index......Page 169 'When people ask me what they can do to better utilize ACL, I tell them,'Take an instructor lead course, participate in the ACL Forum, and study (not read, study) David Coderre's Fraud Analysis Techniques Using ACL.'I studied this book, and would not be where I am today without it. Even without the anti-fraud material, the book is worth the investment as a tool to learning ACL!'—Porter Broyles, President and founder of the Texas ACL User Group, Keynote Speaker at ACL's 2009 San Francisco Conference, Official ACL Super User'For individuals interested in learning about fraud analysis techniques or the art of ACL scripting, this book is a must-read. For those individuals interested in learning both, this book is a treasure.'—Jim Hess, Principal, Hess Group, LLC Your very own ACL Fraud Toolkit—at your fingertips Fraud Analysis Techniques Using ACL offers auditors and investigators: Authoritative guidance from David Coderre, renowned expert on the use of computer-assisted audit tools and techniques in fraud detection A website containing an educational version of ACL from the world leader in fraud detection software An accompanying website containing a thorough Fraud Toolkit with two sets of customizable scripts to serve your specific audit needs Case studies and sample data files that you can use to try out the tests Step-by-step instructions on how to run the tests A self-study course on ACL script development with exercises, data files, and suggested answers The toolkit also contains 12'utility scripts'and a self-study course on ACL scripting which includes exercises, data files, and proposed answers. Filled with screen shots, flow charts, example data files, and descriptive commentary highlighting and explaining each step, as well as case studies offering real-world examples of how the scripts can be used to search for fraud, Fraud Analysis Techniques Using ACL is the only toolkit you will need to harness the power of ACL to spot fraud. * Fraud Analysis Techniques using ACL p rovides custom scripts for fraud detection and prevention that can be used with ACL software. This out-of-the-box fraud detection kit offers advanced batches that can be quickly customized to meet specific audit needs.