Planeacion de auditoria

ACL CAse study

Forensic Strategic Solutions
Uncovering Massive Fraud Using ACL

“ After Forensic Strategic Solutions completed the

CHALLeNGes
» Fraudulent activities including fictious vendors » Lapses in financial controls resulting in duplicate payments » Violations of competitive bidding policies, the sum of which totalled more than US $70 million.

investigation, it opened a lotof eyes. It also demonstrated the effectiveness of ACL’s product, and the Los Angeles Unified School District purchased multiple licenses of ACL™ to use after we had completed the audit. The District recognized the need for a powerful data analysis tool to ensure proactive monitoring of areas such as exception reports and vendor encumbrances on an ongoing basis.
Lisa Robbins, Manager of FraudExamination

”

sOLutION
» ACL Audit Analytics

Key BeNeFIts
» Uncovered 48 budget transfers authorized by one employee for US $49,999 each within a four-month period » Identified overbilling of US $2.1 million through payment applications

INdustRy
» Business Services

ReGION
» North America

Forensic accounting and fraud examination specialists, Forensic Strategic Solutions PC, werehired by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to perform an examination of the District’s Belmont Learning Complex project. Mired with problems and a price tag estimated at over US $200 million, the construction project for the high school became the most expensive in the country before the District was forced to step in and stop construction. Using ACL audit analysis technology,Forensic Strategic Solutions investigation uncovered a range of fraudulent activities and lapses in financial controls, including fictitious vendors, duplicate payments, and widespread violations of competitive bidding policies, the sum of which totalled more than US $70 million. Customer Profile
Forensic Strategic Solutions fraud examiners are national experts in the detection and deterrence of a widevariety of fraudulent conduct – from discovering employees or executives who misappropriate company assets to assisting investors who are defrauded in the course of commercial transactions. Their team of highly specialized fraud examiners relies on the powerful data analysis capabilities of ACL technology to assist them on projects such as the LAUSD audit and investigation.

ApplicationsForensic Strategic Solutions uses ACL technology to analyze transactional data when conducting forensic examinations, to detect fraud, and identify weaknesses in internal financial controls.

ACL CAse study

Challenges
The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest school district in the United States. With over 730,000 students and 75,000 employees, it spans 700 square miles andhas an annual budget in excess of US $9 billion – greater than that of many state governments. Initially, the LAUSD’s decision to build the Belmont Learning Center on a former oil field raised questions about the site selection process, but the project developer concluded the site was safe and should proceed as planned. Once the building was 60 percent complete, large pockets of methane gas werediscovered that posed an immediate and serious safety risk. It was too late to install a methane barrier that would have stabilized the site, and the school district had to stop construction. Eventually, the site selection problem was revealed to be one of many serious flaws in how the project was managed. In the subsequent media uproar following the announcement of the construction’s termination,Don Mullinax a Certified Fraud Examiner and the Inspector General for the Los Angeles Board of Education, demanded a full enquiry into the management of the Belmont project. Ralph Summerford, President of Forensic Strategic Solutions, was asked to come to Los Angeles to advise the struggling District on how to investigate the project. “Achieving fast results was critical given the daily media...