According to Silk and Vogel’s research, business leaders rationalize legal violations by asserting that compliance with government regulations is too costly and cuts too heavily into company profits.
- A . True
- B . False
Stevens, a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), was hired to conduct a fraud examination at ABC Company. His examination did not reveal any conclusive evidence that fraud had occurred or was occurring. Consequently, ABC’s management asked Stevens to state in his official examination report that the organization is free of fraud as a means of assuring the board of directors that the company’s anti-fraud controls were effective. Under the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics. Stevens is permitted to comply with management’s request based on the findings of his examination.
- A . True
- B . False
In the area of criminological theory, deterrence is the theory that tries to prevenl crime by using the threat of criminal sanctions.
- A . True
- B . False
Susannah Is conducting an external audit of a company In a jurisdiction that is subject to International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). While undertaking her audit procedures, she discovers evidence that senior management has been fraudulently manipulating the financial statements.
Which of the following is Susannah’s BEST response to these findings?
- A . Susannah should confront management with her audit findings and try to get a confession.
- B . Susannah should Immediately report her findings to the secunties regulators
- C . Susannah should report her findings to the audit committee of the board of directors.
- D . Susannah should not disclose her findings to any other parties due to client confidentiality.
Which of the following is one of the components of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission’s (COSO) Enterprise Risk Management―Integrating with Strategy and Performance?
- A . Event avoidance
- B . Risk tolerance
- C . Compliance
- D . Review and revision
For its compliance program to be effective, an organization must promote the program through appropriate incentives for compliance.
- A . True
- B . False
Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding how fraud examiners should exercise professional skepticism during a fraud examination engagement?
- A . Professional skepticism means beginning all assignments with the belief that something is amiss.
- B . Professional skepticism involves maintaining a mindset that no fraud has occurred
- C . Fraud examiners should form the engagement hypothesis without regard to the available preliminary information.
- D . Fraud examiners should not relax their skeptical attitudes under any circumstances.
According to the 2020 Report to the Nations, which of the following is the MOST COMMON method by which frauds are detected?
- A . Internal audit
- B . Confession
- C . Tips
- D . External audit
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) defines____________ as "a process, effected by an entity’s board of directors, management, and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives relating to operations, reporting, and compliance."
- A . Corporate compliance
- B . Fraud risk management
- C . Risk assessment
- D . Internal control
Daniela, an independent Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), was hired by Charles, executive director of a nonprofit organization, to investigate a straightforward embezzlement case. During the investigation, Daniela learns that Charles is involved in an unrelated fraud.
Under the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics. Daniela should:
- A . Tell the nonprofit’s board of trustees about Charles
- B . Report Charles to law enforcement
- C . Not disclose the information about Charles.
- D . Resign from the engagement.
During an external audit of an organization’s financial statements. Peter, the external auditor, uncovers significant internal control deficiencies at the audit client’s organization. He believes these deficiencies could result in a material misstatement of the financial statements.
Which of the following should Peter do with regard to these findings?
- A . Peter should make a public announcement that he is withdrawing from the audit engagement.
- B . Peter should provide a written communication about the findings to those charged with governance.
- C . Peter should report the findings in writing directly to the appropriate regulatory agencies
- D . Peter should discreetly work with senior management to correct the underlying internal control deficiencies.
Professional auditing standards suggest that auditors incorporate an "element of predictability" in the selection of auditing procedures to be performed so that they ensure the same areas are tested in the same manner during each audit.
- A . True
- B . False
Consistently punishing perpetrators can be an effective fraud prevention mechanism
- A . True
- B . False
Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding an organization’s fraud risk management program?
- A . The program must include mechanisms to monitor and identify breaches in compliance.
- B . The responsibility of handling suspected incidents of noncompliance should be delegated to someone outside of the company.
- C . Formal sanctions for intentional noncompliance should be well-publicized throughout the company
- D . There should be measures in place to address failures in the design or operation of anti-fraud controls, as well as fraud occurrences
Jones, an accounting manager for a software company, wants to improve her team’s adherence to the company’s formal accounting policies and procedures and reduce the number of process exceptions they experience.
According to behaviorist theories, which of the following options would be the most effective way for Jones to condition her staff to follow the company’s formal accounting processes?
- A . Demote employees who do not adhere to the expected processes.
- B . Publicly call out and criticize employees who deviate from the formal processes.
- C . Offer a bonus to anyone who experiences no process exceptions for ninety days-
- D . Take away a day of paid time off for each process exception.
During the course of a fraud examination. While, an employee of the ABC Corp.. approaches Blue, a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and tells Blue that she wishes to furnish information in confidence.
Blue also is employed by the ABC Corp. Blue should:
- A . Tell White that she will try to keep the information as confidential as possible
- B . Agree that the information will be held in confidence, even though Blue knows it will not be
- C . Take White’s request straight to ABC Corp.’s management
- D . Not agree to the request for confidentiality
A
In such situations, it is important to handle the situation with discretion, given that the person may be a whistleblower who is exposing wrongdoing within the organization. Therefore, the CFE should aim to keep the information as confidential as possible, to protect the whistleblower from potential retaliation and to maintain the integrity of any future investigation.
However, total confidentiality may not always be possible, as the CFE may need to disclose the information to others as part of an investigation, or may be required to do so by law. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to promise absolute confidentiality (option B), as this might not be possible to maintain.
Which of the following criminological theories states that individuals make a conscious decision to commit a crime and that crime can be deterred by reducing opportunities for criminal activity and increasing an individual’s personal risk of being caught and punished?
- A . Routine activities theory
- B . Differential association theory
- C . Rational choice theory
- D . Social conflict theory
Which of the following is NOT included in G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (the Principles)?
- A . Guidance regarding appropriate board structures, responsibilities, and procedures
- B . Support for establishing stronger protection for foreign shareholders than for domestic shareholders
- C . A request that governments have in place an appropriate framework to support good corporate governance practices
- D . Recognition of the importance of the role of stakeholders in corporate governance
Having specialized departments within a company often increases the overall risk ot traud by the organization.
- A . True
- B . False
Which of the following would MOST LIKELY be a violation of the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics?
- A . Green a CFE, uncovered several material internal control deficiencies unrelated to the financial statement fraud he was investigating. In his final report to management. Green included information about the deficiencies even though they were unrelated to the situation he was hired to investigate.
- B . Stephanie, a CFE, accepted a fraud examination assignment and then instructed a lower-level employee to assess the company’s cash records for signs of fraud. She took his word when he said there was no evidence of wrongdoing and ended up failing to uncover a very costly fraud scheme.
- C . Susan, a CFE, was hired by a client to conduct a fraud examination but found nothing amiss A year later, she received a legal order from the local prosecutor’s office to provide the client’s file. Susan complied with the court order, even though she did not have the client’s authorization to do so.
- D . All of the above are violations
Which of the following is a best practice to ensure a successful fraud reporting program?
- A . The company should communicate that fraud, waste, and abuse are more likely to occur in large organizations than small ones.
- B . The company should require employees with information about potential fraud to report it directly and only to their immediate supervisor.
- C . Employees are held accountable for reporting tips that are not able to be substantiated
- D . Employees should be informed that, to the extent possible, their names will not be disclosed.
Which of the following is NOT explicitly prohibited by the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics?
- A . Acting in a way that could be deemed unethical by the industry
- B . Drawing conclusions based upon evidence
- C . Participating in an activity where there is an undisclosed conflict of interest
- D . Engaging in behavior that is against the law
Management at ABC Corp. is assessing the company’s ethical tone and how it affects the organization’s fraud risk. To most effectively reinforce an anti-fraud culture, management should:
- A . Use a checklist of initiatives to make sure all the elements of a strong tone at the top are in place
- B . Create an environment in which employees feel safe challenging management’s decisions
- C . implement two separate sets of ethics policies, one for management and one for employees
- D . All of the above
The availability of suitable targets, absence of capable guardians, and presence of motivated offenders are the three most important elements that influence crime according to which of the following criminological theories?
- A . Conditioning theory
- B . Routine activities theory
- C . Rational choice theory
- D . Social control theory
Which of the following is a detective anti-fraud control?
- A . Hiring policies and procedures
- B . Independent reconciliations
- C . Separation of duties
- D . Fraud awareness training
According to behaviorists such as B. F. Skinner, which of the following scenarios is MOST LIKELY to occur when an undesired behavior is punished?
- A . The behavior will return when punishment ceases
- B . The behavior will be permanently suppressed
- C . The behavior will occur more frequently.
- D . The behavior will not be affected by the punishment
Which of the following theories suggests that, when considering the possibility of violating a law. people are likely to ask themselves. "What will my spouse think if they find out?"
- A . Social control theory
- B . Operant theory
- C . Cognitive theory
- D . Behavioral theory
In the area of criminological theory, compliance is the theory that tries to prevent crime by providing economic incentives for voluntary conformity to the laws and using administrative efforts to control violations before they occur.
- A . True
- B . False
Article II of the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics prohibits illegal or unethical conduct, but It allows exceptions for unknowing violations of the law.
- A . True
- B . False
XYZ. Inc. is a publicly traded, multi-national corporation.
Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the corporate governance requirements that XYZ is subject to?
- A . XYZ must comply with the various laws and regulations in the countries in which it operates
- B . XYZ is subject to the Universal Corporate Governance Act because it is a publicly traded corporation.
- C . XYZ is required to comply with G20’OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.
- D . XYZ is not required to comply with any corporate governance requirements because it operates in multiple jurisdictions
In the context of a fraud examination, integrity requires all of the following EXCEPT:
- A . Trustworthiness
- B . A well-developed sense of moral philosophy
- C . Avoidance of conflicts of interest
- D . Refusal to admit errors
Which of the following is TRUE regarding prosecutions of white-collar criminals?
- A . Only a small percentage of perpetrators are punished when an organization deals with a fraud case internally.
- B . Most fraud cases are only handled internally and are not referred to law enforcement for prosecution
- C . The primary reason organizations decline to prosecute fraud cases is a belief that their internal discipline methods are sufficient
- D . When fraud cases are handled internally, an employee is more likely to be suspended or put on probation than to be terminated for their crime.
B
Explanation:
Many organizations opt to deal with fraud cases internally, often for reasons such as fear of reputational damage, cost of prosecution, or concern about the length and complexity of legal processes. They may prefer to resolve the matter privately, through disciplinary actions like termination, demotion, or reprimand, rather than going through a public legal process. This is why most fraud cases are handled internally and not referred to law enforcement for prosecution.
Employees should be kept unaware that management is watching for lifestyle and behavior changes In staff members that might indicate fraud.
- A . True
- B . False
The objective of anti-fraud controls is to:
- A . Completely eliminate inherent fraud risk.
- B . Reduce the inherent fraud risk to a level that is significantly smaller than the residual fraud risk.
- C . Completely eliminate residual fraud risk
- D . Reduce the residual fraud risk to a level that is significantly smaller than the inherent fraud risk
International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 240 establishes auditors as being primarily responsible for the establishment of anti-fraud internal controls within an organization.
- A . True
- B . False
An effective system of anti-fraud controls
- A . Fully eliminates the risk of fraud
- B . Focuses more on detective controls than preventive controls
- C . Focuses more on preventive controls than detective controls
- D . Increases the perception that fraud will be detected
Benjamin, a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). was contacted regarding an engagement to investigate a complex money laundering case spanning numerous international jurisdictions and involving multiple cutting-edge technologies. Benjamin had previously attended a seminar on investigating money laundering schemes, but he had no other training or experience in such cases. However, he accepted the engagement and chose to conduct the work himself. Benjamin’s conduct would likely be a violation of the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics.
- A . True
- B . False
Smith, a retail sales manager, wants to decrease the level of cash register over-and-short discrepancies among his sales team.
According to behaviorist theories, which of the following options would be the MOST EFFECTIVE way for Smith to encourage his team members to keep their cash drawers in balance?
- A . Offer a bonus to anyone whose drawer reconciles perfectly for sixty days.
- B . Publicly call out and criticize employees whose cash drawers are over or short.
- C . Take away an hour of paid time off for each time the drawer is over or short
- D . Demote employees who continue to have reconciliation discrepancies
In response to a risk identified during a fraud risk assessment, management decides to implement additional internal control measures.
This response is known as:
- A . Assuming the risk
- B . Mitigating the risk
- C . Avoiding the risk
- D . Transferring the risk
In identifying the inherent fraud risks that could apply to the organization, the fraud risk assessment team should discuss:
- A . The organization’s incentive programs
- B . The possibility of management’s override of controls
- C . Risks to the organization’s reputation
- D . All of the above
Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the organization’s board of directors?
- A . Serving as the intermediaries between shareholders and management
- B . Acting as guardians of the organization’s resources and assets
- C . Directing employees to execute business activities
- D . Assessing the strategy and underlying purpose of management’s decisions and actions
Employee support programs are a fraud prevention mechanism that addresses which leg of the Fraud Triangle
- A . Rationalization
- B . Lack of integrity
- C . Opportunity
- D . Pressure
According to the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission’s (COSO) Internal Control-integrated Framework (the Framework), there are five interrelated components of a company’s internal control.
Which of the following is NOT among these five components?
- A . Monitoring
- B . Control environment
- C . Independent oversight
- D . Information and communication
Which of the following is FALSE regarding an organization’s anti-fraud policy?
- A . A detailed anti-fraud policy can make it easier to investigate and punish employees who commit fraud and other dishonest acts.
- B . To avoid legal problems in discharging employees, the anti-fraud policy should not include any specific examples of frau and misconduct.
- C . In developing the anti-fraud policy, management should check with legal counsel regarding any legal considerations with respect to the policy.
- D . One of the most important considerations in developing the anti-fraud policy is to ensure every allegation is handled in a uniform manner.
According to the authors of Crimes of the Middle Classes, all of the following factors have contributed to the rising problem of economic crime EXCEPT:
- A . The continued pressures of a culture that rewards affluence and success
- B . The economy’s increased reliance on credit
- C . The increased constraints of the regulatory environment for businesses
- D . The increased opportunity for wrongdoing as a result of advancing information technologies
Reporting known incidents of fraud to law enforcement can be an effective fraud prevention mechanism.
- A . True
- B . False
Which of the following Is FALSE regarding a fraud risk assessment?
- A . The assessment team should consider how employees behave as part of Its assessment
- B . The assessment should be used to improve employee fraud awareness.
- C . The designation of an area as being high risk does not conclusively mean that fraud is occurring there.
- D . The objective of the assessment is to provide an estimate of the organization’s fraud losses.
Which of the following statements about the fraud risk assessment process Is MOST ACCURATE?
- A . The fraud risk assessment can be effectively conducted by people inside or outside of the organization.
- B . To ensure the independence of the team members, a fraud risk assessment must be conducted by a consultant or other external party.
- C . If the individuals conducting the fraud risk assessment truly believe that fraud could not happen at the organization, then the assessment process should reflect that belief.
- D . The fraud risk assessment is most effective when management’s influence on the process is limited
A government auditor is conducting a financial statement audit of a public-sector entity in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI).
Which of the following is TRUE regarding the auditor’s consideration of fraud during this engagement?
- A . In addition to fraud, the auditor should remain alert to potential occurrences of abuse during the audit.
- B . The auditor has the automatic ability to withdraw from the audit engagement if fraud is found.
- C . The requirements found in International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 240 do not apply to the engagement
- D . The objectives of the audit are likely narrower than those of a private-sector financial statement audit.
Which of the following criminological theories asserts that the three elements that have the most influence on crime are the availability of suitable targets, absence of capable guardians, and presence of motivated offenders?
- A . Rational choice theory
- B . Differential association theory
- C . Routine activities theory
- D . Social control theory