Professional Investigation Report

Case Study

You've been hired as a fraud examiner to investigate check tampering fraud. An office manager of a small company is suspected of cashing checks to an approved vendor and forging the approval signature of his manager. The owner of discovered 3 checks filed in a drawer totaling $5,000 each made out to Supply Solutions, an approved new vendor that did not have any purchasing history. The office manager used the money to live a better lifestyle and pay family medical bills for his sick wife. The company has three other employees in the accounting department. There is one owner of the small company. This company provides office cleaning services. The name of the company is We Clean 4 U. During the interview the office manager states that the checks have a purchase order of $5,000; therefore, approval was already given by the purchase order. The office manager is not stating guilt of cashing the checks in question. The office manager purchased a new BME for $50,000. A forensic audit was conducted, and the team discovered misappropriation lasting four years and totaling over $215,000. The office manager created fictitious vendors and deposited the money into his checking account.

Questions

1. Provide your investigative plan for the scenario including evidence needed, interviews to conduct, and legal issues to consider.
2. Determine who should be part of a fraud investigation team and explain why you selected each member.
3. Determine the types of audit evidence you need to gather.
4. What would be potential verbal and non-verbal clues to deception in this case?
5. Outline which audit evidence-gathering techniques you might use as part of your investigation.
6. Explain theimportance of organizing document evidence and how you will organize the evidence you find in the case.
7. Identify the five types of interview questions described in your textbook, and create a minimum of five interview questions you would ask during your investigation.
8. Explain the process for constructing informational questions and for closing an interview for your case study.
9. Based upon your answers to the above questions, identify the key information, format, and requirements for your professional investigation report. Would you prosecute him if the fraud is substantiated? Explain your answer.