Have you ever wanted or needed to do a background check on an owner or executive of a company? If you’re considering investing in a public or private company, you may want to find out information on the people who started the company, those who currently own it, and those who currently run it. Tracy talks about the types of information you may be able to find. Personal information you may want to review: Personal history, such as family members, marital status, etc. Professional history Ownership and affiliation with other companies (both past and present) Compensation agreements Other inte ..read more

When a closely-held business is part of a divorce, the income of the business must be examined. It is not unusual for a business like this to suddenly see a decline in revenue, and increase in expenses, or both shortly after divorce is filed. It is often not a coincidence that the financial health of the business appears to suffer when a divorce is pending. It is particularly difficult to examine the income of a business that transacts with its customers primarily in cash. However, there are ways to verify whether the income being reported is reasonable. Some of the techniques to examine and v ..read more

It’s clear that there is a time and place for management to occasionally override a control. Everything in business is not routine, and there are times when special situations require special treatment. It would be silly to prohibit management from ever overriding the policies and procedures that are in place. There has to be guidance in place to direct employees when they may consider overriding controls. However, it’s important to recognize that the override of controls should be the exception rather than the rule. Employees should be able to circumvent the system only on an infrequent basis ..read more

There are a number of common signs that we may see when someone is engaged in financial fraud within a company. Tracy talks about the behavioral red flags for fraud in this video, which are also summarized below: Situational pressures that may lead to fraud can include: Personal financial problems, such as high debts, bankruptcy, child support obligations, spousal support obligations, or investment losses Family or relationship struggles, especially if they involve money Instability or emotional trauma in one’s personal life Significant illness, leading to time away from work or substantial ..read more

a href=”http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/charts.jpg”>How do you begin searching for fraud in a company? Sometimes I get called in when a company finds an employee stealing. They have found one instance of theft and they want to have the rest of the company looked at, but they don’t know where to begin. What should we look at? If a specific instance of fraud has been identified, that will dictate which financial statement accounts are examined by the fraud investigation team in detail. But what if no conclusive evidence of fraud exists, and the investigator is ..read more

Tracy Coenen talks about the taxability of alimony versus child support, including a brief discussion of the IRS rules. These rules are still in effect for 2017 activity, but may differ based on possible changes to the tax code for 2018 and thereafter ..read more

When someone introduces you to multi-level marketing (MLM), they are likely talking to you about the sales aspect of the company. They are talking about the fabulous product (maybe even about how it “sells itself”) and they are probably downplaying the recruiting aspect (since so many people hate the recruiting concept). MLMs like to call themselves “direct sales,” another attempt to focus on the selling of the product, even though the companies live and die by recruiting. The product or service being sold is simply the bait to get someone in. It is used as the “cover” for the scam, as a produ ..read more

Potential clients in the process of divorce often contact me because they are concerned about hidden assets. Often the spouse had a history of financial dishonesty throughout the marriage, or his or her behavior became suspicious around the time divorce was filed. It is not uncommon for there to be a sudden lack of money once divorce is filed. Previously, it was easy to pay the bills and pay for vacations and other extras. Now it’s hard to find money for even the basic necessities. When a spouse is suspected of hiding money and other assets, professional help is required. But what kind of help ..read more

Forensic accountant Tracy Coenen and attorney Miles Mason discuss the likeability of an expert witness and how important this is to a court case. The important factors also include good judgment and confidence ..read more

With the end of the year approaching, it’s a good time to talk about some tax mistakes that can be very painful. With a tax code as huge and as complex as ours in the United States, there are countless mistakes we can make in preparing and filing our taxes. These are just a few that you might have the misfortune of making. Report all income – This includes the income on W-2s from all of your jobs, as well as income on 1099s that you may have earned as in independent contractor. Did you know that you need to report all of your income even if you don’t receive a 1099? While a company only has t ..read more