CPE with Toby Groves

By. Adam Osborne

I heard an interesting speech this week from Toby Groves, former president of Groves Funding Corporation. He presented on the psychology of fraud and how we as auditors can help protect our clients by making improvements in our interviewing skills and what we should be looking for.

Mr. Groves knows a lot about this topic, as he was convicted of committing fraud himself and served two years in a federal prison for his acts. Since his release, he has dedicated his time to researching the psychological aspects of fraud and now works with CPAs across the country helping them identify ways to improve their auditing techniques as a means to protect their clients. One item Mr. Groves highlighted, was that 90% of those convicted of occupational fraud have never been previously charged in any other crimes.

The presentation was fascinating and I believe in the future it will improve our firm in both the interviewing process and the overall audit testing process.