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Accounting 101: Detecting Accounting Fraud In

Name: Accounting 101: Detecting Accounting Fraud In
Rating: 4.1 (42 reviews)

Learn how to detect common accounting frauds used by corporations such as Enron, Tyco, WorldCom and more!

Created byChris Benjamin, MBA & CFO

Last updated 6/2023

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Learn From A Top Rated Instructor Who Has Been Teaching On Udemy Since 2013 and Taught Over 100,000 Students!
Examine Financial Statement
Key Signs of Fraud
Beyond The Surface Level Reporting
Understand Why Fraud Occurs
Manipulative Tactics Used
Key Metrics To Understand
Measures To Take
Fraud Prevention
And Much More!

Course content

7 sections • 25 lectures • 2h 18m total length

Course Introduction1:46
Explore how Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco manipulated accounting to mislead stakeholders, learn techniques for manipulating financial records, and gain skills to detect accounting fraud for auditors, investors, and managers.
Instructor Introduction1:59
An experienced finance professional with 20+ years in accounting and finance, the instructor outlines CFO roles and extensive experience with 10-K and 10-Q filings and SEC reporting.
Udemy Course Review System2:09
Learn how the Udemy course review system works, including when to rate and what feedback to share, helping instructors improve content clarity and relevance.
Excel Basics - Formatting, Reports and Charts18:17
Master essential Excel basics for accounting tasks by applying formatting, building tables, using AutoSum and formulas. Create professional charts to present data clearly.

Enron4:19
Examine Enron's accounting fraud through off balance sheet arrangements, fake revenue, and shifting cash flows, as executives dump stock and auditors uncover the scheme.
WorldCom3:59
WorldCom inflates earnings and hides expenses by booking acquisition revenues and shifting costs to the balance sheet, triggering internal investigations and a historic collapse.
Tyco3:35
Tyco's acquisitions were backed by creative accounting to inflate revenue and hide expenses, while executives stole cash, triggering an SEC investigation.
Symbol Technologies4:04
Symbol Technologies, maker of handheld scanners, used aggressive accounting to shift revenue and expenses and booked profits not earned, including a large USPS contract, triggering an SEC fraud investigation.

Recording Revenue Too Soon5:26
Identify how recognizing revenue too soon can misstate earnings, and explain how deferred revenue, contracts, and percent-complete rules determine when revenue becomes real.
Recording False Revenue8:04
Identify revenue recognition red flags by ensuring economic substance and arm's-length terms, avoiding intercompany and affiliated-party schemes that inflate revenue.
Boosting Income Using One-Time or Unsustainable Activities7:49
Explore how one-time events inflate earnings, including the sale of a division or subsidiary, insurance claims, and discontinued operations, while highlighting misclassification tricks and red flags in financial statements.
Shifting Current Expenses to a Later Period8:45
Examine how current expenses get shifted to the balance sheet through capitalization and depreciation changes, and spot red flags like disproportional inventory and impaired intangibles.
Employing Other Techniques to Hide Expenses or Losses7:18
Examine how companies hide or misstate expenses, from vendor credits and cash red flags to unrecorded costs, accruals, and off-balance sheet obligations, and how proper timing aids conservative accounting.
Shifting Current Income to a Later Period5:59
Explore how companies shift current income to a later period using journal entries, reserves, and deferred revenue, and assess derivatives, acquisitions, and earnings per share smoothing as red flags.
Shifting Future Expenses to an Earlier Period3:26

Shifting Financing Cash Inflows to the Operating Section4:16
Explore the three sections of the statement of cash flows—operating, financing, investing—and how financing inflows and selling receivables can be misclassified to inflate operating cash flow.
Shifting Normal Operating Cash Outflows to the Investing Section3:27
Identify how firms shift operating cash outflows to investing or financing sections, inflate cash flows with boomerang transactions, capitalize normal operating costs, and misclassify inventory and intangibles.
Inflating Operating Cash Flow Using Acquisitions or Disposals4:23
Explore how acquisitions, disposals, and contract treatments can inflate operating cash flow, including timing effects, receivables handling, and related accounting pitfalls.
Boosting Operaing Cash Flow Using Unsustainable Activities5:08
Explore how delaying vendor payments, manipulating accounts payable, and using one-time or prepayment adjustments, including deferred revenues, can temporarily boost operating cash flow and reveal non-sustainable practices.

Showcasing Misleading Metrics That Overstate Performance5:09
Learn how earnings and liquidity metrics can be inflated by redefining ratios, highlighting good figures, and reporting inconsistencies across filings and websites, including one-time charges and lease accounting.
Distorting Balance Sheet Metrics to Avoid Showing Deterioration5:04
Reveal how balance sheet metrics are manipulated—through accounts receivable, current ratio and inventory valuation, notes receivable shifts, depreciation policy changes, and reserve adjustments—to mask deterioration.

Course Conclusion3:13
Learn to identify red flags and gray areas in financial statements to detect accounting fraud, using signs like large balance changes, policy shifts, and intercompany transactions for investors and lenders.
2023 Entrepreneur Trends To Watch13:59
Explore 2023 entrepreneurial trends, from accelerated digital transformation and AI to inflation, supply chain security, and immersive customer experiences, with practical advice for starting now and leveraging globalization.
Recommended Next Steps0:16

Requirements

Basic accounting knowledge
No other special skills or tools required
Commitment to learning

Description

Are You An Accountant, Accounting Manager, Controller or CFO?

Are You An Investor In A Company And Are Suspicious Of Their Financial Statements?

Do You Feel Your The Internal Controls For A Company Are Lacking?

Do You Suspect Fraud But Aren't Sure How To Find Items To Specifically Point To?

Do Stories Such As WorldCom, Enron, Tyco and More Make You Worried About What Could Happen In Your Company?

If You Answered "Yes" To Any Of The Above, Look No Further. This Is The Course For You!

*** Updated with new content! ***

Enroll today and join the 100,000+ successful students I have taught as a Top Rated Udemy instructor!

Three reasons to TAKE THIS COURSE right now:

You get lifetime access to lectures, including all new lectures, assignments, quizzes and downloads
You can ask me questions and see me respond to every single one of them thoroughly!
You will are being taught by a professional with a proven track record of success!
Bonus reason: Udemy has a 30 day 100% money back guarantee if for some reason you don't enjoy the course!

Recent Review:

Sam W says: "Fantastic course. Really outlines all the ways accounting fraud can happen, whether it's in a small company all the way up to multinational corporations. Amazing the things that people will do, and the possibilities. After this course I feel empowered to spot fraud in financial statements, very useful skill to have as an investor."

Why You Should Take This Course:

Unfortunately fraud exists in our society. Companies look to manipulate their financials in order to meet investor expectations, boost share price, attract investors, and for multiple and many other reasons. Don't be a victim and fooled by false financial statements any more! Whether you are a CEO who wants to verify your CFO and accounting teams work, an investor who wants to double check, an auditor whose job it is to find issues, or anyone else, this course will enlighten you to the many ways financial statements can be manipulated.

Become a financial statement pro and be able to spot fraud and manipulation with ease with this course!!

What We Do In The Course:

Learn the reasons why companies manipulate their financials
Review 4 prominent case studies: Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, Symbol Technologies
Discuss 7 earnings manipulations methods
Discuss 4 cash flow manipulations methods
Discuss 2 performance metrics manipulations methods
Put it all together - what does it all add up to
And Much More!!!

At any point if you have a question, please feel free to ask through the course forum, I'd be happy to answer any and all questions.

***CLICK "BUY NOW" AND LEARN HOW TO DETECT ACCOUNTING FRAUD! ***

About The Instructor

Chris Benjamin, MBA & CFO is a seasoned professional with over 25 years experience in accounting, finance, financial reporting, and small business, accounting fraud. Having spent the first 10 years of my career in corporate settings with both large and small companies, I learned a lot about the accounting process, managing accounting departments, financial reporting, external reporting to board of directors and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and working with external auditors.

The following 10+ years I decided to go into CFO Consulting, working with growing companies and bringing CFO level experience to companies. I help implement proper best business practices in accounting and finance, consult on implementation of accounting systems, implementing accounting procedures, while also still fulfilling the CFO roll for many of my clients which includes financial reporting, auditing, working with investors, financial analysis and much more.

Thank you for signing up for this course on Udemy. I look forward to being your instructor for this course and many more!

Chris Benjamin, Instructor, CFO & MBA

Who this course is for:

Anyone who wants to elevate their accounting knowledge beyond basics
Auditors looking for fresh way to review financial statements
Investors who want to verify financial statements of possible target investments
Accountants who want to verify financial statements
Business owners and CEOs - Verify your financial statement accuracy

Accounting 101: Detecting Accounting Fraud In

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction4 lectures • 24min

Case Studies in Financial Reporting Fraud4 lectures • 16min

Company Red Flags1 lecture • 6min

Earnings Manipulation7 lectures • 47min

Cash Flow Manipulation4 lectures • 17min

Key Metrics Manipulation2 lectures • 10min

Course Conclusion3 lectures • 17min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: