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Many
Companies Have Formalized Antifraud Programs and Controls
Few Are Prepared for Regulatory Investigations
FEBRUARY
2007 - A majority of companies have instituted formal antifraud
programs and controls in light of today’s heightened
regulatory environment, according to an online poll conducted
by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP. Approximately
75% of respondents stated that their companies have antifraud
programs and controls designed to deter, detect, and prevent
fraud. But only 13% indicated that their companies have a
regulatory response team in place.
The survey’s approximately 500 participants included
senior-level financial executives, such as CFOs and controllers,
during a 2006 webcast titled “What to Do When the
Regulators Come Knocking at Your Door.” The executives
primarily represented the energy, financial services, and
manufacturing industries.
A
partner in Deloitte FAS’s forensic and dispute services
practice who co-presented the webcast noted that companies
are increasingly recognizing and beginning to tackle this
important issue, but for most companies the challenge becomes
one of execution.
Other
key results to the webcast poll included the following:
- Almost
60% of the respondents indicated that they believe that
the number of internal and external investigations related
to financial accounting issues will increase over the next
two years.
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46% of the respondents reported that their companies had
responded to an SEC or Department of Justice inquiry.
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Almost 36% of the respondents indicated that, to the extent
their companies had conducted an internal investigation
on financial statement issues, such an investigation did
not result in any findings of accounting irregularities.
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