Fraud Investigation Using Data Analysis: Technology and Tools using
MS Access
Your opportunity to:
Learn about Benford’s Law (its a secret law of
numbers)
Learn about innovative data analysis techniques
Learn the basics of those Access routines needed
for any data analysis project
Learn how MS Access can be used as a rigorous data
analysis tool
Identify value-added auditing situations on both
revenues and payments
Calling all:
Senior auditors and managers who want the audits
under their control to be comprehensive and to include value-added
activities valued by management
Senior auditors and managers who want to apply
state-of-the-art data analysis technologies.
Fraud investigators that review large size data
sets for unusual activity.
Digital Analysis:
Digital Analysis is a new computer-assisted audit
technology that is a 100 percent analytical audit of all the
observations. The tests
begin with high level overview tests and drill deeper and deeper into
the data searching for abnormal duplications of digit combinations,
numbers, and relationships between numbers and observations. The findings usually signal (a) fraud, (b) intentional or
unintentional errors, or (c) processing inefficiencies. The result is a focused audit sample.
The tests can be easily understood by auditors and management.
Microsoft Access
The course will focus solely on the data analysis
capabilities of Access.
Content focus
The course will focus on the fraud detection
applications most relevant to investigators and auditors. A secondary focus will be in detecting “rules noncompliance”
by employees, e.g., employees using purchasing or travel cards.
Course Outline:
Introduction
Benford’s Law
Learn about the fortuitous discovery and history of
Benford’s Law
Review the theory of Benford’s Law
Review and discuss the results of testing authentic
data against Benford’s Law
Discuss the applications to auditing
Fraudulent data
Review and discuss studies where fraudulent data is
compared to Benford’s Law.
Tax evasion
Review and discuss studies where fraudulent tax
return data is compared to Benford’s Law.
Microsoft Access
The basics of Access in a data analysis role,
including importing data sets for analysis.
Basic Tests:
- Data Profile, objectives and how to create the
table
Application to credit card fraud to be discussed
Application to employee credit card authorization limits
Application to accounts payable fraud to be discussed
- Number Duplication, objectives and how to perform
the tests
Application to Payroll fraud as discussed in Internal Auditor
(June, 2001)
- Last-two Digits and Round numbers, objectives and
how to perform the tests
Application to inventory fraud
Application to employee credit cards
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Advanced tests:
- Largest subsets, objectives, findings, and
applications
Application to Frequent Flyer Miles fraud to be discussed
Application to Sales fraud to be discussed
- Number Frequency Factor, objectives, findings,
and applications
Application to employee credit card fraud to be discussed
- Number Duplication Two, objectives, findings, and
applications
Application to inventory fraud
Application to erroneous insurance payouts
- Round Number subsets, objectives, findings, and
applications
Application to employee
credit card fraud to be discussed
Application to fraudulent
reporting of emissions data
- Relative size Factor, objectives, findings, and
applications
Application to accounts payable errors to be discussed
- Same, Same, Different, objectives, findings, and
applications
Application to accounts payable (unintentional) errors to be
discussed
Application to employee reimbursement fraud to be discussed
Application to accounts payable fraud to be discussed
- Same, Same, Same, objectives, findings, and
applications
Application to accounts payable (unintentional) errors to be
discussed
Data focus
Attendees will be given a test data set on which
they can follow the tests as demonstrated.
Data Filters
Review how to extract observations identified as
targets from prior tests
Access Queries
Review of Query and Query Query logic in Access
Review of built-in data analysis tools available in
Access
Address Matching
Discuss the results of a fraud-detecting
address-matching formula designed to match vendor and employee addresses
despite spelling differences in the addresses.
Review of auditor actions to be taken in the event
employees are found to be vendors.
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For the Basic and the Advanced Tests the instructor will review
the Queries needed to perform the tests in MS Access. Attendees will be provided with a test data set and can follow
the queries using their own laptop computers. No prior knowledge of Access is needed.
The seminar will review all the steps needed to perform the tests
in MS Access. The query
designs will be included as handouts for the course allowing auditors to
perform the queries at a later stage on your own data. Course will include Excel-based templates to graph the output
from those MS Access tests that have graphical output.
The focus will be on understanding the tests,
deciding which to apply, and in interpreting the output.
The seminar will be
conducted by Mark J. Nigrini who promises an informative, lively, and
entertaining learning experience. He
will draw extensively from his work in North America with examples from
practice at the most innovative audit departments. The seminar will include the analysis of census numbers from
3,000 years ago, his experience with the Clinton tax returns, a winning
blackjack strategy using an easy method of card counting, and even tips
for selecting lottery numbers! The
seminar will turn the ten digits and numbers and what can be learned
from them, upside down and inside out.
