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Week 6: Civil Law and Forensic Investigation

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  Week 6: Civil Law and Forensic Investigation (News, n.d.) It is not a forensic accountant’s role to determine whether the opposing party is innocent or guilty, however they can assist with providing evidence that someone is guilty while also investigating the qualification of loss and damages to be paid to their client. I read a case, label makers  v LL Force, which saw two forensic accountants analyze and calculate profit margins, discount rates etc. of both parties. They were also required to give their expert opinion on the account of profits which is alternative to damages claim. The account of profits investigates weather there’s been a breach of trust of IP rights. In this case where the opposing parties both believe each other are in the wrong, the two forensic accountants assisted in proving there was an investment gain in LL Force shares (Labelmakers Group Pty Ltd v LL Force Pty Ltd) . (Singh Thakur, 2019) Forensic accountants are also required to give their expert opinio

Week 5: Criminal Fraud and the Law

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Week 5: Criminal Fraud and the Law (Team, 2023) Boards of directors and CEOs shouldn’t be accountable for their employees’ actions according to the law; however they usually are. ‘Corporations can be liable directly or an  omission where statute imposes liability on the company’  ( Derrington, 2020 ) . This can also depend on the crime, for embezzlement, ‘If the offender is a clerk or servant, and the thing stolen is the property of the offender’s employer, or came into the possession of the offender on account of the offender’s employer, the offender is liable to imprisonment for 10 years.’ ( Legislation, 2023 ) . This is one example of how strict the commission is when it comes to these types of crimes occurring. ( Fou, 2021) We also looked into money laundering. What I found interesting was a money laundering case where a man attempted to convert $5.5 million into bitcoin. Men were found in Sydney with millions of dollars along with multiple illegal drugs, they were found after a cy

Week 4: Overview and introduction to the Australian Legal Framework

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Week 4: Overview and introduction to the Australian Legal Framework (Lawyers, n.d.) Being a forensic accountant, you must be familiar with the Australian Court Hierarchy and understand basic differences in Civil and Criminal Law. Having basic knowledge of criminal law is as simple as knowing the state is responsible for prosecution whereas in civil law the person claiming they’ve been harmed will initiate a civil action.  Looking into ASIC v VINES, we saw Mr. Vines, a former GIO officer, chartered accountant, and CFO for the GIO group. It was here Mr Vines was charged with breaching four different provisions of corporate law. Being a big case, we won’t go too deep into it but basically Mr. Vines was accused of knowingly issuing inaccurate forecasts someone in his position should be aware of between 1998-99. This resulted in the Supreme Court becoming aware in 2005 and disqualified Mr. Vines for 3 years and he was ordered to pay a penalty fee of $100,000. His charges came down to brea

Week 3 - IT Governance and Management Responsibility

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  Week 3: IT Governance and Management Responsibility Technology plays a vital role in managing information for all enterprises, from creation to destruction, technology serves as a crucial resource in containing, distributing and analyzing information ( COBIT 5). However, technology comes with risks, viruses, identity theft, worms, hackers and many more issues come along with technology in enterprises. In order to combat these risks, enterprises need information security to ‘protect against disclosure to unauthorized users, improper modification and non-access when required’ ( COBIT 5 ). COBIT 5 provides insight and guidance into information security with the enablers below. ( 4 TYPES OF DATA BREACHES TO KNOW IN 2022, 2022 ) Principles, policies and framework Processes Organizational Structures Culture, ethics and behavior Information Services, infrastructure and applications People, skills and competencies Risk is a constant aspect enterprises are measuring and assessing, this is

Week 2 - Governance Issues & Fraud

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(Lane, 2014)             Week 2 - Governance Issues & Fraud Governance does not protect an organisation against corruption, fraud and bribery, there are many factors that attribute to this.  COBIT 5 is an IT management toolset by ISACA, providing a business view of IT governance, ensuring control over information and meeting audience  requirements. Governance evaluates stakeholder needs and sets direction. Management plans, builds, runs, and monitors activities aligned with governance to achieve objectives. Both are crucial for organizational effectiveness ( NUSSBAUMER) . COBIT 5 works through addressing the 5 principles, meeting stakeholder needs, covering the enterprise end-to-end, applying a single integrated framework, enabling a holistic approach, separating governance from management ( BERNARD, 2012 ).  (Group, 2022) In recent times we’ve seen cyber-attacks on a large scale, these being targeted at Optus, Medibank, Telstra and more just in the last year. I read a report about