Accounting fraud

South Africa's case against executives in the biggest corporate fraud in the country's history has been pushed back to September.

With their critical eye and technical knowledge, accountants can interpret when a number doesn't match reality, anticipating failures before they become scandals.

The artificial intelligence company was facing legal scrutiny in the weeks before it went bust.

Judgments that are overly optimistic, unsupported, or poorly documented can tip into the territory of errors or fraud, leading to restatements and enforcement.

As the odds of a downturn climb, one expert warns that it may result in the uncovering of so-far undetected fraud schemes.

The department-store operator tied executives' cash bonuses to an earnings metric that turned out to be overstated by around $81 million in 2023.

The move comes after ADM adjusted years of financial results due to errors in the way it reported transactions between business units.

Carvana was accused by short-seller Hindenburg Research of impropriety in a report alleging the auto retailer's subprime loan portfolio carries substantial risk.

It's been almost a year since Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. disclosed a probe into its accounting practices that wiped out $12 billion.

The retailer said the incident involved only one former employee, who had hidden as much as $154 million of delivery expenses since 2021.