This practice is essential when client is alerted by certain symptoms of fraud or initiates scheduled check procedure. The reasons for alerts could be multiple. In some cases, this could be drastic change in life style of employee, suspicious behavior, underreporting, anomalies in segregation of duties, invoicing or payment procedures. Vendor presented as reliable may cause financial loss. Tip of fraud could be reported by anonymous whistleblower, or the entire project may collapse due to apparent neglect of staffers or vendors involved. How to make informed right decision? The diagnostics is delicate procedure. Alerts could be false and misleading, suspicions void, while mistrust aroused causes irreparable damage to the company’s wellbeing. On the other hand, the old adage, “an ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure” rings true for fraud detection.

In diagnostics, we rely both on internal company’s information, provided by the client, and external data sources (pay-for-access databases, open sources, HUMINT, etc.). We deploy profound arsenal of forensic and data analytics tools, including sophisticated use of i2 data mining and link analysis modules, database management systems (such as Oracle and MS SQL Server), ETL tools (Monarch, SSIS), BI reporting and visualization software (MS Power BI, Tableau Desktop, IBM i2) necessary to execute most complicated tasks, including Big Data mining. Those are industry standards and we harness the benefits of technology. However, our principal know how is “manual” one – thorough delving into client’s business model, its strengths and weaknesses, internal data and documents flows, special aspects of the projects launched. We test fraud with its own leverage – specific competencies in narrow niches of specialization. In testing, we do not rely on machine and software analysis only, albeit this greatly assists in digging out of indicators of fraud and risks mapping. We study production/business processes as they are, linking them to the entire system of procurement, sales, tender procedures, detailed analysis of technological flow charts, behavioral patterns and anomalies when using corporate computers. We study personal profiles of the staffers, their life style, professional track record, sorting out motivations and personal concerns. In delicate cases we propose our clients to camouflage the entire procedure of diagnostics of fraud risks under less alarming services of efficiency enhancing, IT consulting, ERP-system testing, etc. The main principle of fraud examiner, as we see it, is to cause no harm to the company as community of individuals, driven by common cause.

Provided client’s mandate, our diagnostics result in red flagging, which goes far beyond standard antifraud bottom lines. It helps clients to better understand their entity, people employed, partners engaged, business model selected and work out amendment plan with change-oriented approach. Wholistic approach in diagnostics of fraud provides proactive deterrent to the entity of going concern early before fraud causes significant losses, tarnishes brand or tears it apart.