Industry Spotlight:
Digital Data's Lasting Footprint: A Look at Fraudulent Incidents and Protective Measures
Data is the lifeblood of most modern-day organizations. Email, infographics, databases, presentations, payroll systems, audio, video and spreadsheets are just a sampling of the types of data that comprise a business entity. The challenge with data is that it is portable, easily manipulated and relatively effortless to duplicate. Countless organizations are susceptible to data vulnerability, be it from a “planted” mole, a disgruntled employee or someone trying to get a leg up in his or her new position. How organizations prepare for, protect and respond to an incident against critical infrastructure is vital to its sustainability.
Industry Spotlight:
Managing Risk in a Jungle of Complexity – Fine Tuning Anti-Corruption Efforts in Brazil
Brazil, the “B” in BRIC, is the latest of the emerging markets to tell multinationals that the global corporate citizen is responsible for ethical businesses practices. After nearly four years of debate, the Brazilian National Congress passed, and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed, Law No. 12,846, the Brazilian Clean Company Act, which took effect on January 29, 2014. Previously, Brazil had no specific law that held corporations accountable for the corrupt actions of their employees, agents and intermediaries.
Industry Spotlight:
Automotive
Dealer Fraud in the Automotive Industry
Just as the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for U.S. new car sales rose to a record high of 18.17 million at the end of September 2015, Volkswagen reported its first quarterly loss in 15 years, due to costs related to the scandal over emissions testing of its turbodiesel vehicles. So, as the U.S. auto industry rides high, the world’s largest automaker (in the first half of 2015) suffers.
Industry Spotlight:
Education
School Standardized Test Security: From Paper and Pencil to Computer-Based Testing
In April of 2015, 11 staff members from the Atlanta Public Schools were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of up to seven years for inflating standardized test scores of students. Twenty additional Atlanta educators accepted plea deals. These sentences are just the latest development in the long and sordid history of test tampering in the age of high-stakes testing.
Industry Spotlight:
No Hiding from Activists
It has become apparent in recent months that no company is too large or too geographically remote to escape the attention of activist investors. Ernest Brod, Managing Director, Global Forensic and Dispute Services, draws on decades of experience in worldwide corporate investigations, as well as his role leading A&M’s Business Intelligence team, to share a unique perspective on the rise of activist investors and the critical questions every CEO needs to be prepared to answer in today’s environment.
