http://www.forbes.com/sites/francinemckenna/2013/06/18/where-should-sec-start-a-fraud-crack-down-maybe-look-at-fake-restatements/

Posted by Mildred LIANG Bei Yan, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

Where Should SEC Start A Fraud Crack Down? Maybe Look At Fake Restatements

It’s so good to hear that the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to refocus its enforcement efforts on accounting fraud. It would be even better for investors if the regulator used all the information already available – no need to resort to fancy computer algorithms – to prosecute accounting frauds and the executives, directors and third-party aiders and abettors like lawyers and auditors. Let’s stop waiting to be roused to action by private lawsuits. Continue reading →

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1267518-investing-in-u-s-listed-chinese-companies-becomes-even-riskier/

Posted by Jelvin Tan Xiang Rong, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

By Fan Yu, Epoch Times | March 2, 2015

Five years ago, Sino-Forest Corp. was one of the largest commercial forestry companies in China and a stock-market darling, attracting capital from legendary hedge fund investors such as John Paulson.

Sino-Forest owned and operated tree plantations throughout China, and manufactured and sold wood products to downstream customers. The company floated shares onto the Toronto Stock Exchange. Its stock soared as investors rushed to participate in a supposedly booming Chinese economy. At one time, Sino-Forest’s market capitalization eclipsed $6 billion.

Then it all came crashing down. Continue reading →

http://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-drag-feet-on-updating-fraud-safeguards-1425346394

Companies Drag Feet on Updating Fraud Safeguards

Some feel no urgency to adopt new standards, even after clock runs out on old ones

MAXWELL MURPHY

March 2, 2015 8:33 p.m. ET

Corporate safeguards to prevent financial errors and fraud are like armor: unpolished they rust, and by then it’s too late. The most widely followed standards for these safeguards—or internal controls—were updated more than a year and a half ago. A deadline to adopt the new, more detailed standards passed in December.

But that hasn’t stopped more than 300 companies, with a combined market value of more than $450 billion, from sticking with internal-control guidelines that were written more than two decades ago, according to a review of regulatory filings by The Wall Street Journal. That number is expected to climb as more companies close their books for 2014 and disclose whether they have made the switch. Continue reading →

http://www.scmp.com/print/business/article/1727464/investors-and-brokers-want-singapore-exchange-stripped-regulatory-powers

Investors and brokers want Singapore Exchange stripped of regulatory powers

Monday, 02 March, 2015, 10:34am

Reuters in Singapore

Singapore Exchange (SGX) may have just begun its search for a new chief executive but investors and brokers already know what change they want to see: the bourse stripped of its regulatory powers and a rebuilding of its stock market business. Continue reading →

http://ww2.cfo.com/auditing/2015/02/regulators-zero-audits-related-parties/

Regulators Zero in On Audits of Related Parties

The subject of related parties continues to be a focal point of regulators and government prosecutors seeking to bring civil or criminal legal actions.

Howard Berkowitz

February 26, 2015 | CFO.com | US

“Good friends help you move. Real friends help you move dead bodies.” Perhaps this ubiquitous (and anonymous) quote sheds some light on auditing standard setters’ recent emphasis on updating guidance regarding related-party transactions. Of course, by “real friends” I refer to a company’s related parties – and who better and more trustworthy to help conceal some of its dirty secrets?

In light of major corporate accounting scandals of the past two decades (think Enron, Tyco, or more recently, Olympus), which were perpetrated with the assistance of related-party transactions, auditing standard-setters have focused their attention on the heightened risk of fraudulent financial reporting that accompanies related-party transactions. But even if transactions and arrangements with related parties are not for nefarious purposes, standard-setters have recognized that activity with related parties increases the risk of error that financial statements are not presented fairly and will require an auditor’s careful inspection. Continue reading →

http://fraud.kroll.com/articles/pre-empting-fraud

Posted by Low Hwan Hong, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Business, Singapore Management University

Written by: Violet Ho

China: The Business Pearl of the Orient? While attractive, China has gained a reputation as a place where deals and contracts are often treated more like ideas than bona fide agreements. In recent years, however, the business climate and regulatory structure in China have improved, and many analysts predict that with a little effort and knowledge, launching a venture in China could be an effortless exercise. But to succeed, it is important to understand the Chinese culture of doing business and the mind-set of the Chinese entrepreneur.Chinese entrepreneurship has for centuries been built upon two important attributes: Continue reading →

http://www.mb.com.ph/fraud-detection-and-prevention

Posted by Low Hwan Hong, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Business, Singapore Management University

by Wilma Miranda
April 7, 2014

Fraud is an old game and even in the Old Testament times when Jacob deceives his father to get his blessing over Esau (who is supposed to be deserving of the blessing because he is the firstborn) is a simple example of fraud. But through the years people became more sophisticated in perpetrating this kind of scheming activity. Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve once said “.. It is not that humans have become any greedier than in generations past. It is that the avenues to express greed had grown so enormously…” Continue reading →

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2002/07/11/indonesia-no-stranger-accounting-scams-expert.html#sthash.OVpSVVr7.dpuf

Posted by Latha Do NADARAJAN , Year 3 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

In the wake of accounting scandals in the U.S., an accounting expert here warned on Wednesday that Indonesia was no stranger to such scams. In fact, many book-cooking cases have occurred in the past, and even worse scams could happen in the future unless the government takes action to curb such practices.

Tight regulations and stiff sentences are needed to prevent such scams in Indonesia, Professor Wahyudi Prakarsa from the University of Indonesia said.

“”The scams take place in U.S., which has sound financial institutions and regulations. Indonesia, as a developing country, might have had and would have worse cases, despite the fact they have yet to become a subject of public debate,”” he told The Jakarta Post. Continue reading →

http://therealsingapore.com/content/penny-stock-debacle-too-little-too-late-sgx

Posted by Latha Do NADARAJAN , Year 3 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

Minerals, Oil and Gas bubble?

Media report has it that Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX), are conducting an “extensive review” of the securities trading activities of three penny minerals, oil and gas (MOG) stocks – Blumont Group, Asiasons Capital and LionGold Corp. There are believed to have some common shareholdings, overlapping directorship/management and their business orientation centers on mining sectors. All have asserted their operations and financials remain sound. What befuddles me, market observers and punters alike is why their share prices spiked to astronomical heights this year, arguably, way out of alignment to their fundamentals or at least to trend seen in their global peers. Were the stocks cornered and manipulated to unsustainable heights before allowing them to crash in the first week of October? I have no clue. This is a matter for MAS/SGX’s “extensive review” to discover, if there is. Continue reading →

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/indian-oil-industry/1675452.html

Posted by Katharine TAN Pei Shi, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

A major controversy is brewing in India after allegations surfaced that confidential documents were sold by bureaucrats in India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to industry insiders.

Reliance Industries, one of the country’s largest companies, is among firms that have come under the spotlight in what insiders admit is a well-known practice. Indian police have arrested senior executives from top energy firms including Reliance Industries along with consultants and staff at the powerful oil ministry in connection with the scam. Continue reading →