Super-star fraud detector Harry Markopolos was named Certified Fraud Examiner of the Year at the ACFE Fraud Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas last week where he discussed his excellent card-counting method and the Madoff Ponzi scheme.
Harry wanted to everyone to know that just because he blew the whistle on Master de Ponz, that didn’t mean he was a hero. “Heros are brave”, he said, “I don’t think I was brave. I know I wasn’t.” He went on to describe his lack of bravery:
“When I started this case, my underwear were white, they quickly became brown and often times turned yellow”
Okay, after that sinks in, let’s discuss some things:
• We don’t want our fraud detection super-heros to tell us that they soil themselves. It ruins the sex appeal.
• Harry Markopolos wears tighty-whiteys. We were certain that he was a boxers man.
• Was no one helping this guy out? You couldn’t let the guy have a break so he can properly evacuate?
Seriously, the least Marko could have done is stuck his dirty undies, the whites, in a case so the ringer wouldn’t look empty.
Go to Clip 3, “The Math Never Worked Out for Us” on page linked below to see the video. Meanwhile, we’re busy looking for new fraud detection hero that can control themselves.
Madoff Whistleblower Named CFE of the Year [fraudconference.com via Accounting Nation]
Related Posts
New Accounting Firm Name Challenge
We read about an accounting firm M&A specialist who is predicting what he calls a “mega-merger” between two of the top 25 firms. Since this guy is probably getting greased on the deal we’ll take him at his word but unfortunately he’s not naming names.
So for the pure sport of speculation, we need your best and worst guesses of what firms will be getting together and what the new combined firm will be called.
We’ve taken the liberty of listing the top 25 firms for you:
The list, after the jump
• Deloitte
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• KPMG
• Ernst & Young
• BDO Seidman
• Grant Thornton
• RSM McGladrey/McGladrey & Pullen (divorce nothwithstanding)
• CBIZ/Mayer Hoffman McCann
• Crowe Horwath
• BKD
• Moss Adams
• Plante & Moran
• Clifton Gunderson
• J.H. Cohn
• UHY Advisors
• Reznick Group
• Virchow, Krause and Co.
• Dixon Hughes
• LarsonAllen
• Marcum & Kliegman
• Rothstein Kass and Co.
• Weiser
• Eisner
• Eide Bailly
• Wipfli
Try to use your number crunching brains for some creative combinations. Call your friends in marketing if necessary. If we get enough good suggestions, we’ll put together a poll to vote on the best.
We’ll get it started: Hughes Dixon Moss
Think about it. Work with us people. Just charge your time to an administration code, it’ll be fine.
We Picture the Trophies as Gold Plated 10-Key Calculators
You may have noticed that we reference a lot of stories from across the pond. Simply, it appears that the British seem to be a little more concerned with accounting world than us here in the States, where we’re virtually ignored at every turn (except when poop + fan).
The Brits are so enamored with accounting, in fact, that Accountancy Age, bless their hearts, has an awards ceremony.
The awards have their own website with a countdown clock, a gallery with last year’s winners, oh and you’re allowed to vote on Employer of the Year and Personality of the Year. Other awards include Audit Team of the Year, Tax Team of the Year, and Accountant of the Year.
The dream, continued, after the jump
There’s a lot of directions we could go with this but this has to be the most obvious case of accountant self-aggrandizement we’ve ever seen. We can’t even fathom the idea of hundreds of bean counters in tuxedos and cocktail dresses accepting hideous trophies under the pretense that the work done demands such recognition.
Perhaps since accountants are so used to an environment devoid of gratitude, Accountancy Age thought they would go out of their way to start showing some appreciation. WTFK really?
In any case, we would request Accountancy Age to assign us as a Joan Rivers role of sorts in order to liven up the bean counter Oscars. Since Accountancy Age’s list is a little ho-hum, come up with some of your own ideas for awards and their nominees in the comments.
Accountancy Age Awards 2009 shortlist announced [Accountancy Age]
Footnotes: EY Missed Some Bank Fraud; Greed Isn’t Good; KPMG Says ‘Take the Stairs’ | 06.25.14
SEC Announces Fraud Charges Against Three Former Regions Bank Executives in Accounting Scheme EY kinda […]