Leading lambs to slaughter - Letters - Letter to the Editor

Internal Auditor, August, 2003

I would like to thank Joe Wells for his commentary, "Lambs to Slaughter" ("In My Opinion," June 2003). I have spoken these words to my audit director on numerous occasions when we were sending internal auditors into a fraud scenario to obtain more documentation and evidence for a case.

There is a definite line between the responsibilities of the auditor and those of the certified fraud examiner (CFE). That line cannot be crossed without suffering possible legal consequences or other adverse consequences if the suspect of the allegation "gets wind" that internal auditing is performing a specific investigation.

I am currently studying for my CFE examination. Through my studies, I have gained a new respect for the legal and evidential elements of fraud. The most important lesson I've learned is how to be alert to the warning signs of various fraud schemes--a true value in my profession!

NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST

What a great column. As a career auditor--retired since 1993--I concur with every point Wells made. The auditing profession needs to adhere to Wells' suggestion--internal auditors need to know about fraud. More importantly, auditors need to be given time to look for fraud at every level--personnel-wise and dollar-wise.

I believe Wells' articles should appear in the Internal Auditor on a regular basis. Readers would benefit from his wisdom.

BILL KELLY, CFE (Ret.)

President

WEKASSOCIATES Inc.

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

wekassoc@neo.rr.com