Accountants hold fraud workshop
When the phrase “perception is more important than reality” was coined, the writer was probably not thinking of fraud and corruption. But it’s a theme that fits perfectly with a half-day workshop next week in Belize City, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in conjunction with the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants. According to the director of Caribbean Affairs for the A.C.C.A., Emile Valere, the seminar on “Fraud Prevention and Forensic Auditing” will give participants important information on how to protect their operations against illegal activities.
Emile Valere, Head of Caribbean Affairs, A.C.C.A.
“In accounting and in auditing and in management, you can identify it. But what happens very often is that in the workplace people may take red flags or signs for granted. So there are signs an employee may actually be preparing to commit some form of fraudulent activity or to steal from a company. So what we’re saying is there are many basic signs that we see, but not adhere to, and what we’re now dong is training people to recognise those signs and to treat those signs as a possible red flag and to prevent it even before it occurs. Because as you know prevention is certainly cheaper than cure.”
Jose Bautista, President, Institute Chartered Accountants
“This workshop is for everybody. It’s for people in the profession like myself, practicing members, non-practicing members. It’s for business managers, it’s for directors, bank managers, it’s for everybody who is involved with business in some way. Because fraud is something that can happen anywhere, any time, and all these people who are in the position of a professional or managing a business they ought to be aware that fraud can happen and they ought to be able to recognise the signs when they show up.”
Emile Valere
“The idea certainly to sensitise managers, directors, accountants, accounting technicians, bookkeepers how to identify the steps that people may take to implement fraud, to stop it. So the idea really, and this is a global crackdown, to try and slow down corruption, slow down fraudulent activities through audit procedures, through other forms of procedures, through management techniques. So the joint session we’re having with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Belize is actually to try and develop and train persons to prevent fraudulent activities in Belize.”
The “Fraud Prevention and Forensic Auditing Workshop” will be held on Tuesday at the Radisson Hotel. Bautista says those who attend will receive certificates. Attendees who are members of the institute of chartered accountants will be credited with three C.P.E. hours.
