Elements of Fraud (that are always present): 1. Opportunity 2. Motivation or incentive - usually an addiction (drug, alcohol, gambling, sex), unexpected medical bills or a desire to have a rich person's lifestyle; if unstated/undiscovered, assume greed/desire for financial gain Characteristics (that are present in many but not all frauds): 1. Often small amounts taken regularly, rather than one big hit 2. Often takes place over a long period of time before being discovered 3. Usually the money/items taken are gone forever, can't be paid back 4. Government, non-profit and religious-based organizations, due to lack of controls, especially for religious groups as assumed "he/she would never steal from the church/mosque/synagogue/temple" 5. Reliance on a key staff member who doesn't take vacation 6. Lack of background checks when employee was first hired 7. Lack of supervision 8. Collusion (two or more people working together to override the existing internal controls) 9. Lack of internal or external audit, or there are critical audit reports that are ignored