October, 2015
Fall Newsletter
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Vancouver, WA  98661
360-573-5158

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EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT BEST PRACTICES:
  • Require original receipts be presented for all expenses.
  • Require original signatures on all reimbursement forms.
  • Ensure meal expenses include names of participants and business purpose of meal.
  • Compare an employee's calendar with purported business travel.
  • Use simple online searches to verify prices match remitted receipts.
  •  Use analytics to monitor employee reimbursements (e.g. total paid to employees over time, budget to actual reports, etc.)
  • Request copies of credit card statements be remitted along with receipts. 

 High Praise for Tiffany Couch, CPA/CFF, CFE
"The best presentation for this season.  The volume and tone of the speaker, the materials and the visual presentation, the examples, the knowledge of the speaker about the topic, and the relevance of the topic are second to none."
--Seminar Attendee
Happy Fall! With a new season comes new opportunities and lessons learned. We seem to be seeing a growing number of expense reimbursement schemes cross our desks and so we thought we'd focus our newsletter on tips for keeping your expense budget clean. Also remember, Tiffany is available for speaking at an event or helping you to fulfill your 2015 CPE. Give us a call!
Expense Reimbursement Schemes
by Tiffany Couch, CPA/CFF, CFE
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Expense reimbursements. In our world, we call it "low hanging fruit." In other words, if we are asked to look into allegations of fraud, we always ask for the suspect's expense reimbursements, too. It is not unusual to find additional fraud in plain sight on employee expense reimbursement forms.

I have seen several million-dollar expense reimbursement schemes (yes, you read that correctly) involving high level executives. These individuals had W-2 forms that would be the envy of most, yet they expensed everything from their daily Egg McMuffins, to their Thanksgiving dinner at the country club, to their personal trips to Hawaii. I have seen priests expense personal items through a church's coffers, and I have seen low-level employees alter receipts. Expense reimbursements are easily perpetrated by all members of an organization. All for the purpose of securing additional cash.

Recently, a client of mine found that their second in command (and likely next CEO) had forged the CEO's signature on his expense reimbursements. They thought it was an error in judgment, for the purpose of getting his reimbursement through the system more quickly. They thought wrong.
Keep reading! More on our blog... 
Fall Speaking Opportunities
Are you looking for a speaker at your next event... or needing fraud CPE for 2015? Tiffany is a renowned speaker, who speaks on the topic of fraud across the country. She is the winner of the 2014 James R. Baker Speaker of the Year, presented by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) to honor an individual who has demonstrated the true spirit of leadership in communication, presentation and quality instruction.
Tiffany's Audiences
She has experience speaking to varied audiences, including accounting and auditing organizations, banking associations, lawyers, government agencies, senior citizen communities, non-profits and small businesses. She also teaches all levels of fraud principles to members of the ACFE as a faculty member. She also serves as Vice Chair of ACFE Board of Regents.
Media Source
Tiffany also reaches a wide audience as a trusted media source in the forensic accounting field. She has provided expertise as a source to the New York Times, NPR, and First Business News and is a regular contributor to Fraud Magazine and the Vancouver Business Journal. She has been interviewed for the Wall Street Journal, KING 5 -TV in Seattle, and News Talk in Alberta, Canada.
Email us today to book Tiffany at your next event! speaking@acuityforensics.com