Ethics: IRS Criminal Investigations: Key Lessons for Accountants

Overview

This course provides a concise overview of recent IRS criminal investigations and what practitioners can learn from these cases to help fight economic crime and even avoid personal criminal prosecution. While accountants are numbers people by training (not detectives per se with the exception of forensic accountants), practitioners are increasingly being called upon by governments and economic organizations at all levels to step up and help law enforcement battle financial impropriety. The stakes are huge. In the United States alone, the OECD estimates that 5% to 10% of the annual budget of the US health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, is wasted as a result of corruption. Every dollar lost to monetary malfeasance has a crippling effect that ripples through countries, industries, companies, communities and individual lives. Government resources are wasted, public services are compromised, companies are financially destabilized, shareholders are cheated, employers are swindled, charities are undermined and much more. By increasing their awareness of what and how the IRS investigates and prosecutes, accountants can heighten their “spidey sense” of what doesn’t look right in financial records. This includes honing skills to more readily notice – and report – ledger anomalies and irregularities, and even rethink a “silence is always safer” mindset. As technology disrupts and automates many fundamental accounting functions, practitioners can add value by more diligently scanning for “creative accounting” red flags on the frontlines. Prioritizing transparency and behaving ethically – the core of the profession – not only helps society and the economy as a whole, it can help accountants boost their reputation as highly trusted business advisors and even supercharge their bottom line. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Highlights

Snapshot of IRS Criminal Investigations
General tax fraud
Abusive tax schemes
Refund fraud
Employment tax fraud
Identity theft
Data compromises
Money laundering
Public corruption
Corporate fraud
General frauds
Cyber crimes
Global tax and economic crimes
Narcotics, counter-terrorism and transnational organized crime
Selected Field Office Case Files from Across US

New England
Middle Atlantic
East
North
Central
West
North Central
South Atlantic
East South
Central West
South Central
Mountain
Pacific

How accountants can add value to their operations by aiding law enforcement and fighting economic crime

Prerequisites

None

Designed For

Practitioners who want to increase their awareness of the United States financial crime landscape, review leading IRS investigative priorities and case files, and explore how to assist law enforcement to detect corruption and report financial misdeeds on the frontlines.

Objectives

Heighten awareness of IRS investigative priorities.
Review criminal case files across the United States from an accounting perspective.
Help practitioners be more mindful of their frontline role to act in the public interest and assist law enforcement to detect corruption and report financial misdeeds.