Background and Content:

Proactive Physio Pty Ltd is healthcare provider business. The companys key directors are Karem, its recently appointed chief executive officer (CEO), and Antoinette, its newly promoted chief financial officer (CFO). Antoinette has been at this company since it commenced operations and is considered a most trustworthy worker. Amongst her team of accountants, she is very popular, highly respected and also trusted. Antoinettes recent promotion was based on her in-depth knowledge and understanding of the company, its services, the industry, and its clients.

Over the last five years, in addition to providing physiotherapy services to a number of hospitals, the company has been providing in-home physiotherapy services, 24 hours per day/356 days per year. This business model has resulted insignificant increases in sales and earnings, particularly, during the last 15 months, after the company implemented an aggressive COVID-19 safe related marketing campaign for its in-home physiotherapy services. The company also introduced large incentives and bonuses to reward its physiotherapists, who have helped achieve such high performance. Within the next 12 monthsor so, the company is planning to list on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).

Earlier this year (in January), Karem asked Antoinette to meet with him to discuss the companys recent significant increases in sales and earnings, and to point out the need for the company tocontinue such high performance over the next few months. During the meeting, Antoinette looked very worried and tenseabout the companys ability to continually keep increasing sales and earnings, as per the companys expectations. This is becausethe company had recently failed to secure the renewal of large contract with a major public hospital. This contract would have provided the company future sales worth at least 5 million dollars over the next three years. A few weeks ago, Karem noticed that some of Antoinettes key staff had resigned with very short noticegiven, and that she and her team of accountants had started to regularly work late into the nights. Further, he noticed that Antoinette, and her team, appeared even more anxious and stressed than when he first met her a few weeks earlier.

Last week, the companys president, Sanjeev, announced and celebrated that it had met the its high sales and earnings expectations, and now was 100 percent committed to listing on the ASX, within the next six months. Karem also was happy, butat the same time appeared somewhat anxious about these great results; he had become concerned that something fraudulenthad occurred.

Assessment Tasks:

Answer the question below.

1. There are six categories of fraud symptoms, e.g., Accounting Anomalies. Identify and discuss any four (4)fraud symptoms present at this company.