Crossing the Line - Cases in Financial Statement Fraud and Auditor Deception (Video) (Course Id 2589)

• Who is this course for?
  This course is for anyone needing Continuing Professional Education (CPE), particularly CPAs and accounting professionals interested in auditing and fraud detection.

• What is this course about or what problem does this course solve?
  This course examines two real-life financial statement fraud cases—Dewey & LeBouef and ContinuityX—highlighting how fraudulent practices were concealed and the auditors were deceived.

• How can the knowledge from this course be used?
  The course enables professionals to recognize elements of financial statement fraud and relate these elements to audit procedures that could have detected the fraud.

• Why is this course important to a CPA, Accountant, or IRS Enrolled Agent?
  It provides critical insights into fraud detection and auditor deception, fulfilling specific fraud education requirements like those mandated by the California Board of Accountancy.

• When is this course relevant or timely?
  The course is relevant for current CPE needs, especially for professionals meeting fraud-related requirements, and it uses recent, real-world fraud cases for timely context.

• How is a course like this consumed or used?
  It is delivered as a QAS Self Study video course that includes review questions and a final exam, with no additional materials or preparation needed.

This course is based on two recent financial statement fraud cases; Dewey & LeBouef and ContinuityX.  Dewey & LeBouef was a high-profile law firm that, at its peak, had over 3,000 employees and over 1,400 lawyers.  It is alleged that personnel at Dewey & LeBouef made inappropriate financial adjustments starting in 2008 to meet its bank lending covenants and planned to conceal these adjustments from its “clueless auditor”.  Dewey & LeBouef declared bankruptcy in 2012.  

ContinuityX was an internet services reseller that, according to an SEC complaint, fabricated 99% of its revenue.  It was audited by a firm that was fined and disciplined by the SEC and the partner responsible for the audit was also fined and permanently suspended from practicing before the SEC.  ContinuityX declared bankruptcy in 2013.

Both cases involve financial statement fraud, auditor deception and some lessons to be learned. 

Please Note: These Fraud CPE credits satisfy the California Board of Accountancy (CBA) fraud requirement.

Video - NASBA QAS - NASBA Registry - 2589

Course Learning Objectives

• Recognize the primary elements of financial statement fraud in the Dewy & LeBouef and ContinuityX cases
• Associate the primary elements of financial statement fraud in the cases in this course with audit procedures that may have detected the fraud

Chapter 1 - Crossing the Line - Cases in Financial Statement Fraud and Auditor Deception

Chapter 1 Review Questions

Glossary