In a “hidden-in-plain-sight” sense, financial statements have long been used to hide fraud. According to the 2016 ACFE Report to the Nations, financial statement fraud median loss is over $1,000,000 per case. Examples abound where management used “creative accounting” to disguise their fraudulent activities; Enron and HealthSouth are two of many examples.

This session will provide a brief overview of how fraud can be disguised in both numbers and words in audited financial statements.