Business Services Industry

Attorneys, Investigators and Litigators Discuss Motivations for Corporate Fraud at Forensic Investigations Conference: White Paper Released

Business Wire, April 2, 2007

NEW YORK -- Panel discussions among white collar criminal defense attorneys, in-house counsel, forensic investigators, litigators and former prosecutors recently addressed current corporate fraud enforcement actions and key strategies for conducting forensic investigations at American Conference Institute's Conducting Forensic Investigations conference, sponsored by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP (Deloitte FAS).

"We will see no abatement in corporate fraud because the factors that incentivize fraud are not going away," said conference Co-Chair David P. Bloch, a principal of Deloitte FAS, explaining the importance of the issues discussed at the conference. Such risk factors include pressure to reach earnings targets which Bloch explained can lead management to do things that are, at a minimum, unethical. Other areas for potential fraud discussed by speakers during the conference included revenue shifting, stock options backdating and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

Presenters discussed current developments such as changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which focus more attention on electronic discovery and provide a safe harbor of questionable benefit for loss of data due to routine operation of electronic information systems, according to speakers. Panelists also discussed a growing trend exhibited in the stock options backdating cases in which government scrutiny extends outside the finance office to human resources personnel and in-house counsel.

The pressure to waive attorney-client privilege and withhold payment of attorneys' fees for employees during investigations were key topics discussed throughout the conference. Particular attention was paid to recent court rulings concerning payment of employees' attorneys' fees and the potential impact of those rulings.

Experts shared tips and strategies for planning ahead for investigations, understanding the audit committee's role in forensic investigations, responding to whistleblowers, preserving and gathering relevant data, determining when to self report and whether to waive attorney-client privilege or pay employees' attorneys' fees while cooperating with the government.

A complete summation of this conference can be found in the official event briefing paper, sponsored by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP which is available at www.AmericanConference.com/.>