Toronto Chapter
Newsletter
July 1, 2011
October 2012
Contact:
Volume 11, Issue 7
Penny Hill, Chapter Administrator:
[email protected]
Kathleen Watson, CFE, Vice President & Newsletter Editor:
[email protected]
Message from the
President
The mission of the Toronto Chapter
of the ACFE is to provide education,
training, seminars, conferences,
networking,
and
outreach
presentations to the community on a
variety of topics concerning fraud
prevention and investigation. We
could not do that without our
dedicated volunteers. Before I
introduce you to our new Toronto
chapter
board,
I’d
like
to
acknowledge, with deepest thanks,
the contribution of our outgoing
President Steve Silverberg and our
outgoing Secretary Brenda Young.
Our new board, elected for a two
year term, has continuing members,
new members
and some who have
na
come back to our board.
Kathleen Watson, our new Vice
President, also continues in the role
of newsletter editor. Kathleen was
the driving force behind the
development of the newsletter and is
responsible for its excellent content.
Bill Vasiliou continues as our
Treasurer. Bill also ably represents
the Toronto Chapter at the annual
ACFE fraud conferences.
Tom Eby has accepted the role of
Secretary in addition to his
continuing role as our Conference
Chair. Tom is also our webmaster.
Jeffrey Weigensberg continues as a
director at large and is our chapter
historian. Steve Silverberg, our
immediate past President, has
graciously agreed to continue on the
board as a director. Returning to the
board after serving as ex-officio
members, are Linda Lister and
Bruce Armstrong. We welcome both
back to the board.
We also
welcome Erik Bettencourt who is a
first-time board member.
I would be remiss if I did not
recognize
our
wonderful
administrator, Penny Hill, without
whom the board could not function.
Astra Williamson
President, ACFE Toronto Chapter
ACFE TORONTO
WELCOMES NEW
PRESIDENT!
On Thursday September 22, members
of the Toronto Chapter ACFE attended
the Annual General Meeting. At that
time, Astra Williamson accepted the
nomination and was elected President.
Astra has served on the Board of
Directors for over a decade, fulfilling
the duties of several offices including,
President,
Vice
President
and
Treasurer.
Astra’s continued hard work for the
Association ensured we enjoyed quality
speakers at regular dinner meetings,
recruiting enthusiastic, hard-working
volunteers and mentoring new-comers.
We would like to congratulate Astra
and wish her all the best in her new
position.
12th Annual Toronto
Fraud Forum
Introducing Canada’s New Polymer Notes
Hosted
jointly
between the Canadian Association Of Special Investigation Units – Trillium Chapter
(CASIU) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners – Toronto Chapter (ACFE), the 14th Annual Fraud
Forum, Canada’s most attended fraud conference was held Thursday September 22, 2012.
Over 300 participants
attended this year’s forum
to hear leaders in the field
discuss techniques and
trends that are in the
forefront of fighting fraud.
This
one-day
event
brought the best and
brightest to the table.
The forum featured a menu of 10
speakers on two tracks who made
dynamic presentations.
Reid Lester, LL.B
Partner – Laishley Reed LLP
The Canadian Association of Special
Investigation Units – Trillium Chapter
and the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners – Toronto Chapter
gratefully acknowledges the generous
sponsorship of:
CANPRO KING – REED LP
COUNCIL OF PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS ONTARIO
DESJARDINS INSURANCE
Karen Selick, LL.B., Litigation Director
Canadian Constitution Foundation
The participants enjoyed a
sit down luncheon and were
treated to Karen Selick’s
keynote address entitled
Individual Liberty and the
Courts.
Karen’s address
was extremely informative
and well received.
We
would like to take the
opportunity to thank Ms.
Selick for her expert
presentation!!
Much of the success of
this event is due to the
15 vendors showcasing
their
expertise
in
everything
from
managing
ethics
hotlines to accident
recreation.
The
vendors also donated
several prizes in draws
held
during
the
afternoon break.
The Fraud Forum included a Trade
Show featuring 15 professional
organizations.
12th Annual Toronto
Fraud Forum
T Tom Eby, MBA, CA
ACFE Toronto Secretary & Conference
Chair
During the luncheon,
Charles
Smedmor,
Professor – Seneca
School of Accounting
and
Financial
Services, presented
both CASIU and the
Certificate of Appreciation bestowed
upon the ACFE Toronto Chapter by
Seneca College
ACFE certificates of Appreciation for outstanding support of students in the Fraud Examination and Forensic
Accounting program within the Seneca College School of Accounting and Financial Services. Above left,
Tom Eby, Secretary and Conference Chair, accepts on behalf of the ACFE Toronto.
We would like to thank Seneca for their recognition. We are most grateful!
Congratulations Douglas Kruger!
Congratulations Florence Shiu!
During the prize draws held at the afternoon break, the ACFE Toronto gave away two ACFE zip
portfolios with free admission to an upcoming dinner meeting. Congratulations to our winners
and we look forward to seeing you at our meeting!
We also look forward to seeing everyone at the 15th Annual Toronto Fraud Forum!!!
Visit us on Facebook
HU
Ottawa
Edmonton
Calgary
South Western Ontario
Career suicide...
One Conference at a Time
Toronto
Vancouver
Coming Events
by David Debenham LL.B, LL.M, MBA, CFE, CMA, DIFA
The winds of change are upon us. Judges don't want
experts whose occupational bias skews their evidence.
Experts have to be objective. They have to understand that
they have a higher duty to the court to provide an impartial
opinion to the court rather than articulate the parallax view
of their client. Everyone knows that. Or do they?
What has changed in the past few years? For example,
Insurance Defence lawyers and Senior insurance
professionals still give seminars to the insurance industry,
preaching to the converted their views of "best practices", or
the "proper" response to the issue of the day.
Do putting these conferences on your resume help claims
adjusters, for example, prove they are open-minded and
objective? Or do they reinforce the idea that they are
trapped by a confirmation bias in which they have taken a
side in the insured-insurer conflict, and they only want to
hear what your side's view of any issue is (Fox News
Syndrome). Do you not have a trade association that invites
speakers of all stripes so at least you can say you regularly
expose yourself to a variety of points of view before you
come to court? Have they heard what an insureds' side
expects them to do, and at least considered the insured's
point of view. Is the insurer's lawyer, “their lawyer”?
While lawyers are expected to be partisan, you are not if you,
or your employer, owe a duty of good faith. If you are an
investigator, a failure to be objective and even-handed may
expose you to a claim for negligent investigation. Are you
spending your continuing education dollar with this in mind,
or do you still go to openly partisan conferences that are
career suicide, one conference at a time?
About the Author:
David Debenham is a barrister and solicitor in the Ottawa
law office of McMillan LLP (formerly Lang Michener).
David, a lawyer with full accounting credentials and an
overlay of forensics, is the author of The law of Fraud and
the Forensic Investigator (2nd edition) from CARSWELL.
About the ACFE:
The ACFE is the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider
of anti-fraud training and education. Together with more than 50,000
members, the ACFE is reducing business fraud world-wide and inspiring
public confidence in the integrity and objectivity within the profession. Visit
www.acfe.com for more details.
U
HU
HU
UH
October 16, 2012: ACFE Presents:
Awareness (Toronto)
Corruption
October 25, 2012: IIA Presents: Using Project
Risk Management Skills in Your Audit (Toronto)
October 28 – 31, 2012: ACFE Presents:
Annual Canadian Fraud Conference (Ottawa)
3,100 citizenships
immigration fraud
ordered
revoked
18th
for
The federal government has started the process of
revoking the citizenship of 3,100 people suspected of
lying to become Canadians. Read More
Fraudsters prey on deportation fears of new
Canadians
A new phone fraud is targeting new Canadians with
threats of deportation unless they hand over money to
callers posing as immigration lawyers. Read More
5 Charged with fraud in GTA identity thefts
Five people face 300 charges after police in the GTA shut
down two sophisticated identity theft labs. Read More
Canadian Doc suspected of $375M health-care
fraud ring in U.S. faces new charges
U.S. federal authorities have laid new criminal charges
against a former Canadian doctor for his alleged role in
orchestrating a massive $375-million health-care fraud in
Texas. Read More
HU
U
Your Board of Directors:
President
Vice-President
Treasurer
Secretary
Director
Director
Director
Director and
Immediate
Past President
Director
Astra Williamson, CGA, CFE
Calgary
Kathleen Watson, CFE
William Vasiliou, CGA, CFE, CCRA, CREA, DAC
Tom Eby, CA, MBA
Bruce Armstong, CA, CFE
Erik Bettencourt, CMA, CFE
Linda Lister, CGA, CMA, CFE, DIFA
[email protected]
South Western Ontario
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Steven E. Silverberg, CA, CFE
Jeffrey Weigensberg, CA, CFE, CFF, CPA, CA.IFA, CI
[email protected]
[email protected]
Ottawa
Ex Officio Members
Marcus Li, CCE, CISA, CISSP, CFE
Graham Ospreay, FACFE, CSP
Alexander J. Wright, CD, BA, MB, A, CFP, RFP, Capt. (Retired)
Brenda Young, CFE
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Coming October 16:
Corruption Awareness: Bribery and Corruption
In Transparency International Canada Inc.’s “Second Annual Spotlight on Anti-Corruption: Current Issues Day of Dialogue”
Report of April 19, 2012, it was reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP) revealed theyVancouver
have at least 34
Toronto
investigations into corruption currently underway. As regulatory activity intensifies, the risk of external scrutiny of corporate
activity also increases. Senior management must do more to ensure that they and their companies are not found wanting
should their activities come under the spotlight. The Corruption Awareness seminar will provide you with an overview of the
current bribery and corruption environment including a high-level comparison of the differences between the Corruption of
Foreign Public Officials Act (Canada), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (United States) and the United Kingdom Bribery
Act. You will gain an understanding of what constitutes a bribe, the different forms of bribe payments and look at the
collateral consequences of violations to the various Acts. Red flags of inappropriate activity and a high-level overview of a
comprehensive Anti-Corruption Program will be also discussed.
Linda Lister, CGA, CMA,
CFE, DIFA
Ms. Lister has a diverse accounting background with experience in government, service,
transportation and manufacturing industries. Her knowledge in fraud investigations, fraud
risk assessment, and compliance and risk management has been gained through her
position as a professional at Ernst & Young as well as through various internal auditing
appointments. Linda has fourteen years experience in investigating whistleblower
accusations, financial statement manipulations, misappropriations of cash, salary sacrifice
schemes, ghost employees, cheque fraud, expense reimbursement schemes and multiple
types of procurement fraud. She specializes in theft and fraud investigations, fraud risk
management and corporate financial restatement activities. Linda has conducted seminars
at numerous events and has had articles published in the Internal Auditor magazine and The
Bottom Line.
“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the
world and moral courage so rare.”
– Mark
Twain