Prior blogs on this topic: https://davehancox.com/2013/06/incredibly-auditors-miss-a-53-million-fraud-in-dixon-illinois/ https://davehancox.com/2013/06/auditors-miss-phony-invoices-would-you-have-found-them/ https://davehancox.com/2013/07/auditor-independence-and-competence-on-trial-in-dixon-illinois-fraud-case/ https://davehancox.com/2013/08/send-these-auditors-back-to-school/ https://davehancox.com/2013/08/dixon-auditors-didnt-pay-attention-to-history-or-professional-guidance/ https://davehancox.com/2013/09/auditors-settle-lawsuit-in-dixon-illinois-fraud/ The city of Dixon, Illinois announced on September 25, 2013 it would receive a $40 million settlement from CliftonLarsonAllen, Fifth Third Bank, and Janis Card and Associates for the fraud Rita Crundwell committed and was not detected by the CPA firms or the bank. […]

Here is a copy of the Department of Veteran Affairs audit on its system wide review of access to care. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/79212257/vaaccessauditfindingsreport.pdf Unfortunately, this audit has such significant deficiencies it does not meet Government Auditing Standards or the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. It should not have been put forth as an audit. This […]

Attached is an article I wrote for The CPA Journal in its May 2014 edition. The Journal is a double-blind, peer-reviewed publication of the New York State Society of CPAs. The article is How a $53 Million Fraud Went Undetected for 22 Years – Learning from Past Mistakes.

The following story is one I’ve heard from other government auditors over many years. Senior staff without the knowledge or skill to do audit related work creating a negative environment that results in watered-down audit reports. When I encourage staff to speak out, the common refrain is, “I can’t afford to lose my job.” – […]