Anti-Fraud Group Releases New Case Study on Financial Fraud

The Anti-Fraud Collaboration has released a new case study to provide an example of effective financial fraud detection and deterrence.

The Carolina Wilderness Outfitters Case Study explores potential material fraud at a fictitious public company with the goal of facilitating a discussion of how and when to conduct an internal investigation when fraud is suspected in an organization. The case study also aims to raise awareness of the environments in which financial reporting fraud might flourish and engage audit committees, financial executives, and internal and external auditors in a discussion concerning mitigating risks.

Carolina Wilderness Outfitters is the second in this series of case studies. The first case study, Hollate Manufacturing, focused on understanding the conditions that can generate and perpetuate fraud and misrepresentation in financial reporting.

The Anti-Fraud Collaboration is made up of a group of four organizations, including the Center for Audit Quality, Financial Executives International, The Institute of Internal Auditors, and the National Association of Corporate Directors. They formed the collaboration in 2010 to develop awareness, education, and resources to promote the deterrence and detection of financial reporting fraud.

“We are pleased to build on the success of last year’s Hollate Manufacturing Case Study,” said CAQ executive director Cindy Fornelli in a statement. “Hollate Manufacturing has been well-received in classrooms and training rooms across the country. In fact, 96 percent of instructors responding to a CAQ survey said Hollate Manufacturing helped them achieve their classroom goals, demonstrating that these case studies are a valuable tool in the fight against financial reporting fraud at public companies.”

Hollate Manufacturing has been taught at professional conferences, audit firms and universities since its release in March 2013. The case study was also selected for the Third Annual Internal Audit Case Study Competition at Georgia State University in November.

To help teach the Carolina Wilderness Outfitters Case Study, the Anti-Fraud Collaboration has published a discussion guide that provides the framework for leading a robust dialogue addressing key learning objectives of the case. It also includes a list of resources on how to properly conduct an internal investigation. Both the case study and discussion guide are inspired by the Harvard Business School case-study method. The collaboration consulted with two HBS faculty members in developing these resources. (A discussion guide is also available for the Hollate Manufacturing Case Study.)

The collaboration has also developed other resources, including a series of videos on how to effectively lead a discussion using the HBS case method. The videos illustrate various aspects of instruction—such as how to prepare for case discussions, how to lead them, and how to respond to challenging moments—and are applicable to the teaching of both Carolina Wilderness Outfitters and Hollate Manufacturing.

The videos feature insight from Willis Emmons, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning at the Harvard Business School. The videos also feature V.G. Narayanan, the Thomas D. Casserly Jr. Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, leading a discussion of the Hollate Manufacturing Case Study.

Both case studies—Carolina Wilderness Outfitters  and Hollate Manufacturing—can be found at the Center for Audit Quality’s Web site, where instructors can also register for the discussion guide and access the videos and other case-method resources. For more information, visit www.antifraudcollaboration.com.

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