Indian Banks Give Customer Service for Money Laundering

Recently a string operation exposed money laundering services provided by some Indian private banks. The employees and bank managers were caught on camera advising the disguised reporter on ways and means he can convert his illicit money into legal money.

1. Caught in the act

Some of the helpful advice given by bankers included:

1. Open multiple accounts so that the amount remains below the reporting limits. Do not deposit over Rs 10 lakhs (Rs 1 million) in a single instance.
2. Obtain a demand draft from a Cooperative Bank and deposit the draft with us. Cooperative Banks do not require an account hence it will be easy to obtain a draft. Since cash would not be directly deposited and private banks do not have to check the source of funds, the deposit will not raise any alerts.
3. Route the cash money through another bank to avoid detection.
4. The Income Tax act prohibits keeping cash in bank lockers. However, if you do not inform the bank staff, they can look the other way.
5. Open an NRI account and slowly transferring the money offshore. We need a passport and visa for opening an NRI account. No pan card required.  Deposit Rs 25 lakhs per month. Better still start by opening a NRO account.

The bankers offered to visit the client’s residence to open an account and collect the money. One has to watch the video clippings to see the level of customer service provided by the bankers. No one can say they were not being helpful.

2. Standard response from senior management

As expected the senior management of the banks denied all knowledge, claimed they maintained highest ethical standards, suspended the branch managers and the staff, and commenced an internal investigation. But this is an open secret. Every business person in India knows that the banks will help them convert black money into white and transfer illegal money. If it was not so, how can a parallel black money economy exist in India for so long. Did the expose really shock anyone?

3. Lip service by regulators

Of course Reserve Bank of India has given detailed guidelines on Know Your Customer and submission of suspicious transaction reporting. There is only theoretical application of guidelines of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Anti Money Laundering (AML) standards and on Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT). The Financial Intelligence Unit of India received just over 30,000 suspicious transaction reports in 2011-2012. It received 100,00,000 cash transaction reports. If you read these numbers in reference to the size of banking business in India, it would not be even .01% of the total yearly transactions.

In February 2012, the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation had said that Indians have $500 billion of illegal funds in foreign tax havens, more than any other country. Some reports estimate the amount over a trillion.

Hence, can we actually believe that regulators and bankers are serious about preventing money laundering in India? The annual report 2011-2012 of Financial Intelligence Unit doesn’t really mention any investigations done that would make the bankers uncomfortable. In India the detection and investigation capabilities of financial regulators is still in nascent stages.  Unlike US which has full-fledged organizations and systems to check money laundering.

Closing Thoughts

In the pursuit of growth numbers bankers are willing to compromise ethics and legal requirements. However, in Indian society because of the high level corruption, most businesses are doing the same. In such a scenario, it amounts to pot calling the kettle black. Unless we really get serious about removing corruption, as a society we can’t succeed. Some things required are – public to withdraw support from companies using unethical practices to succeed, regulators take organizations to task, and government prosecutes politicians and other individuals for dealing with illicit money. Till this happens only media will benefit by doing exposes to improve their ratings.

References:

1. Cobra Post Expose
2. Financial Intelligence Unit India
3. Black Money Market in India

Fraud Risk Management in Ancient India

Presently, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office of India lacks sufficient powers to initiate investigations and prosecute. The Central Bureau of Intelligence isn’t independent due to which politicians escape prosecution for corruption and money laundering. Indian police force Economic Crime wing doesn’t have expertise in dealing with electronic and financial frauds. The legal system is pathetic and takes a long time to prosecute white-collar criminals. India has a shortfall of trained fraud investigators as it hardly has any courses for students in this line.

All these aspects may make you think that Indians are new to the concept of fraud risk management. This is far from the truth. Kautilya addressed financial fraud risks in 4^th century BC and most of the concepts are still used presently. Let me narrate you some of the concepts he formulated in earlier times.

1.      Formation of a Central Investigation Agency

Kautilya proposed a central investigation agency for a kingdom to do espionage work. A network of spies located in different parts of the kingdom reported information to their handlers. The handlers in turn checked the authenticity of the information from three sources and if correct reported to the agency. The spies did not have direct contact with the agency to conceal true identities..

Spy selection depended on character and social position. Spies were recruited from all sections of society. Spies were positioned in all the departments and commercial ventures of the king to ensure that the head of the departments do not abuse their power or cheat the king. Women were considered particularly useful to penetrate wealthy households to get the inside story. In current India, there is a scarcity of female fraud investigators as it now considered a masculine job. However, in ancient India, women investigators and spies were quite common.

2.      Types of Financial Frauds

Kautilya identified 40 ways of embezzlement. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Overpricing and under-pricing of goods
• Incorrect recording of quantity of raw material and other stocks
• Misappropriation of funds
• Teaming and lading
• Misrepresentation of sources of income
• Incorrect recording of debtors and creditors
• Incorrect valuing and distribution of gifts
• Inconsistency in donations and distributions for charity
• Misappropriating goods during barter exchange
• Manipulating weights and tools for measurement
• Misrepresentation of test marks or the standard of fineness (of gold and silver)

It is interesting to note that Kautilya mentioned most of the frauds that occur in accounting and preparation of financial statements. It shows human psychology has remained the same. However, in India the value system has deteriorated that has resulted in increased fraud and corruption. In olden times, the value of honour was held high. For example, the prime thought in Hindi was - “prann jiye pur vachan na jiye.” (meaning – it is better to lose one’s life rather than go back on a verbal promise given)

3.      Mechanism for Investigation and Punishment

The investigation process was quite similar to the current process followed. Information was initially gathered regarding the fraud from informants, spies, whistle blowers and audits. Background information of the suspects was gathered by sending spies to their residence and business premises.

Subsequently, the people involved, the suspects and witnesses were interrogated. Kautilya suggested separately examining ” the treasurer (nidháyaka), the prescriber (nibandhaka), the receiver (pratigráhaka), the payer (dáyaka), the person who caused the payment (dápaka), the ministerial servants of the officer (mantri-vaiyávrityakara)” for financial frauds. If any person lied, s/he received the same punishment as the main culprit.

Another fascinating aspect is that India doesn’t not have any law similar to the whistle blower provisions of Dodd Frank Act. However, Kautilya proposed -  “Any informant (súchaka) who supplies information about embezzlement just under perpetration shall, if he succeeds in proving it, get as reward one-sixth of the amount in question; if he happens to be a government servant (bhritaka), he shall get for the same act one-twelfth of the amount.”

The punishment for fraud depended on the nature and value of fraud. It ranged from nominal fines to death penalty. The victim was compensated for the losses suffered.

Closing Thoughts

The processes proposed by Kautilya for fraud detection were followed even until the Moghul rule. However, these were dismantled during the time of British Rule as the Indian Penal Code was formulated.  The difference between Mogul rule was that Moguls settled in India, marriages took place between Indian royalty and Mogul rulers and the culture got integrated over time.

The British came to rule for economic purposes. They wished to take advantage of India’s natural resources and vibrant economy. They levied their own rules and did not integrate them with the Indian culture. Hence, over time the Indian value system was lost or kept for namesake only. Overtime, as even after independence the British education system was used, a split ethical value system developed between personal values and business ethics. Therefore, corruption increased in the business environment till it became all-pervasive in the society. It is going to take a lot of effort to change the system now. No short-term solutions  will work.

Accounting and Auditing in Ancient India

Professionals want to know the origin of their profession, the work done in olden times and the level of knowledge. I thought of sharing with you the history of Indian accounting and auditing profession. I discovered in Kautilya’s Arthshastra that it existed in ancient India in 4^th century BC. Therefore, my guess is that it would have originated at least a few centuries earlier.  The accounting principles and standards used in the present century are similar to those that existed in the 4^th century BC. This nugget of information may have surprised you.

Broadly, Kautilya’s Arthshastra covers accounting principles and standards, role and responsibilities of accountants and auditors, the methodology of accounting, auditing and fraud risk management, and the role of ethics in managing financial activities. Let me share some of the concepts with you in the next couple of posts.

1.     Maintenance of Accounts

The accounting financial year was fixed to July-June period and with a full process for closure of accounts and audit of the same. It covered the method of consolidating the accounts from various departments of the government to assess the net income and loss. The accountants were required to furnish the completed annual accounts to the head office mid-July. Delay and/or failure to do so attracted financial penalties.

 2.  Classification of Receipts

 Kautilya states that “receipts may be (1) current, (2) last balance, and (3) accidental (anyajátah= received from external source).” In it, he differentiates between cash receipts and debtors, current and accrued income, income from other sources, windfall gains, and recovery of bad debts. He recognized the concept of risk and suggested different rate of interests for loans. Foreign trade loan attracted the highest interest, as the returns were uncertain.

3. Classification of Expenditure

Expenditure classification was similar to receipts classification and included the differentiation between capital expenditure and revenue expenses. Kautilya described it as – “Expenditure is of two kinds—daily expenditure and profitable expenditure.” The difference between income and expenditure was termed as “net balance”. He insisted on making long-term investments in construction and other works as these would generate profits over a period. It also entailed keeping track of work in progress.

4. Role and responsibility of accountants

A hierarchical organization structure of senior to junior accountants existed within the king’s treasury function. The accountants maintained books of accounts on an annual basis according to prescribed standards. The same were furnished for audit at year-end. Kautilya suggested good salaries to accountants and auditors as high income would keep them ethical. Accountants would be more prone to commit fraud if they earned very little.

5.     Segregation of Roles of Treasury and Auditor

The fascinating part of Kautilya’s approach was that he recognized conflict of interest between finance and auditing functions. He categorically stated that the head of finance and head of audit should independently and separately report to the king. He recognized the possibility of collision between the two. In India, in the government the Comptroller General of Audit and Ministry of Finance are two separate functions. However, in the corporate world still in quite a few companies chief audit executive are reporting to chief financial officer rather than the chief executive officer.

6.     Building an Ethical Culture

Kautilya believed character reflected personal values of individual and ethical values learning must commence from childhood. Even as an adult ethical conduct was as important as professional skills. He proposed measures to build ethical climate in the kingdom. However, he was practical and recognized the potential of corruption. In accounting, he talked about misstating financial statements due to abuse of power and fraudulent reporting. He devised a system of reward and punishment to ensure compliance to rules and regulations.

7.     Verification and Auditing of Accounts

The concept of continuous monitoring, periodical auditing, verification and vouching existed in ancient times. Checks were done daily and periodically (five nights, pakshás, months, four-months, and the year). The attributes used in the present day for verifying income and payment vouchers were also used in earlier times. Interestingly, each department had spies to provide information and report wrongdoing to the seniors. There was a full process for discovering fraudulent transactions and punishing accountants for misstating financial statements. I shall cover that in the next post.

Closing Thoughts

Kautilya prescribed the accounting theory that included bookkeeping, preparation of financial statements, auditing and fraud risk management. He considered accounting as an integral part of economics. Various kingdoms in India used his work until the 15^th century AD i.e. before the colonial rule. I am not aware whether similar level of knowledge existed in other parts of the world before the Christian era. If you do have information, please share it with me. It will be an enthralling journey into the past.

References:

Kautilya’s Arthshastra 

Money Can Buy Everything

A woman called me up recently and said that someone is willing to pay her huge amount of money for investment in her business. Problem was, they did not want to disclose their identity and would be transferring money from Sri Lanka. I told her I suspected that the people involved are attempting money laundering. She believed the same and refused the transfer of funds.

I realized that the people behind white-collar crime believe one thing – “Money can buy everything”. That is the core motivation. Otherwise, professionals earning huge salaries would not be rationalizing fraud. The American money market economy reiterates this concept; hence, even the normal people are pursuing money blindly. All relationships and every person seem to have a price. So let me ask you the question:

Now let me paint you a picture of the future world. In that world you do not have to produce kids, no woman has to get pregnant and tolerate the pregnancy woes for nine months. Whenever you feel like becoming a parent, you just have to visit a shop. Lifeless kids’ bodies are available of all sizes and shapes. When you choose one, the shopkeeper installs a battery and wham, the kid is alive. You can choose a new-born, a two-year-old etc. at a certain price.

Next, you don’t have to train the child on anything if you don’t want to. You have the option of raising the child the normal way or using patches. For example, if you wish your child to learn cricket, you just purchase a patch and install it, and the kid knows cricket.

Contemplate the advantages of this situation. As a parent, you won’t have to spend countless hours changing dirty nappies and watching the child struggle to learn to walk and talk. Mothers won’t have to sacrifice their professional and social life. You won’t have to sacrifice Dhoni and teams match to watch your son’s floundering attempts on the cricket field. You won’t have to watch your daughters giving a disastrous dance performance. After these, you won’t have to give a beaming smile and make it sound that it was the greatest performance in the world. You won’t have to make any sacrifices. There will be no pain, no tears of frustration and no disappointments. So now, let me ask you a question.

If you have answered that you would prefer the natural way, then the question is why? Why choose hard work, heartbreak and pain over an automatic high quality child? The reason goes back to root of our psychology. Raising a child gives purpose and meaning to the life. When our child does well, we feel a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment and pride. The joy and happiness we get are worth all the tears, heart breaks and sacrifices. Parents put their life on hold for 20 years to raise a child and then the child leaves home to make his/her own life. If you look it from a financial angle, it doesn’t sound much of a deal. Yet, nearly every adult wants to do it.

If I look this from another angle, another basic human need is sex. Hence, according to this viewpoint  prostitution should be legal in all countries (It is illegal in India). There should be no moral judgment on purchasing sex. The question is then why do the people who use prostitutes don’t stay with them? Why do they come back home? Why do most of them go back to the same prostitute rather than try a new one every time? The reason is simple. However good the sex was, it doesn’t give a sense of belonging. Objects don’t give happiness, relationships do. Commoditizing takes away the warmth, peace and happiness.

The same difference applies for money earned through hard work and by frauds. Money earned the wrong way doesn’t give you pride and joy. I think all of us remember our first salary and the sense of “I did it”. The salary was peanuts in comparison to twenty years of studying hard. But we remember the first salary till our dying day.

In my opinion, money can only give a comfortable standard of living and nothing more. We don’t even need money even power, recognition and status. We simply are getting lost in the mad race.

Closing Thoughts

Today is Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary, one of the most recognized and respected leaders of the 20^th century. Even in this day and age, his dhoti, shawl and chapel can be purchased in India in less than Rs 1000/-. In President Obama’s inauguration ceremonies, Michelle Obama’s clothes were a topic of discussion. Some would argue that present days leaders need it. I think if Gandhi ji had been alive today, he would be living in less than Rs 20,000/- a month.  We need to re-look where we are heading in the mindless pursuit of money while convincing ourselves that our life in other areas is fine. As Mahatma Gandhi said – “One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other departments. Life is one indivisible whole.”

Barclays War on Culture Change

Barclays is again in the limelight due to a damaging report on the deviant culture existing in the Investment division. After LIBOR rate fixing scandal and quick departures of senior managers, trouble is again brewing in Barclays. The COO of Investment banking division, Andrew Tinney quit when it was discovered that he shredded the only copy of a report that clearly stated the bullying culture of the organization. Then the new CEO, Anthony Jenkins discovered when an internal whistle blower mentioned it to him. He sent out a message to staff on culture change. Here are some insights into the story.

1. The Damaging Report on Dysfunctional Culture

Daily Mail story states that the report prepared by Genesis Ventures - “paints a devastating picture of incompetence and arrogance at the bank, showing that executives:

• Pursued a ‘revenue at all costs’ strategy.
• Fostered a culture of fear and intimidation.
• Were ‘actively hostile’ to the idea of compliance with banking rules.
• Presided over a ‘broken culture’ where problems were ignored or buried.
• Allowed the business to spin ‘out of control.”

The senior management intentionally understaffed support functions, was hostile to compliance and attacked those who spoke contrary to senior management views. A senior manager threw the risk management report publically saying – “this is a piece of s***” showing utter contempt and disregard for the same.

The summarization of the report states – ‘The senior team portray themselves as all-powerful and all-knowing… and people chose to disagree with them at their own peril. It is a mentality of superiority which, when combined with other deficiencies, stops the team from tackling their blind spots. When those deficiencies are in compliance, this results in serious issues that no one else has the power to address.’

The bank’s culture has become completely deviant, and it will be a long road ahead for significant change to occur. The problem is that this issue is prevailing in other banks also. They depict the same culture and attitude. Unless we understand why it is occurring and senior managers take sincere steps, nothing positive will happen.

 2. The Psychological Explanation

Western banks are known for their arrogant and aggressive culture. Some view arrogance as a positive trait and humility as a negative trait, while the opposite is true. Stanley Silverman developed Workplace Arrogance Scale to measure arrogance level in the organizations. He stated the arrogant people demean others to prove superiority and competence. However, as per his results arrogant people showed lower intelligence and self-esteem in comparison to their peers. He identified four red flags to identify arrogant behaviour:

• Does your boss put his/her personal agenda ahead of the organization’s agenda?
• Does the boss discredit others’ ideas during meetings and often make them look bad?
• Does your boss reject constructive feedback?
• Does the boss exaggerate his/her superiority and make others feel inferior?

If you link back to the damaging report, the senior management at Barclays showed these traits in abundance. Even during the financial crises, the bankers didn’t feel apologetic and showed no humility. Now, being in such senior positions one cannot say they lack intelligence, however, questioning their self-esteem is definitely a valid path.

In another psychological study conducted by Angela Y. Lee, a professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, it was determined that people with low self-esteem defend the brands more when their favourite brands are attacked. This explains why bankers refused to change and continued their behaviour when under attack during the financial crises.

3. The CEO Message for Culture Change

Deal Book reported that Anthony Jenkins, the CEO of Barclays sent a mail out to the staff with a clear message – “change or leave”. He categorically stated the values – Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – to be adopted by Barclays employees. He further added that those who do not change their behavior are free to leave. His words were – “My message to those people is simple: Barclays is not the place for you. The rules have changed. You won’t feel comfortable at Barclays and, to be frank, we won’t feel comfortable with you as colleagues.”

He highlighted that in the last two decades financial institutions pursued profits and compromised integrity and reputation of the organization. He said there is no choice between values and profits. Employees must pursue profits while maintaining values. Evaluation of ethical behaviour will be incorporated in performance appraisal process.

That is a very strong message from the CEO of the organization to transform the culture of the organization. Two questions in everyone’s minds are – will they succeed and how long will it take.

Closing thoughts

Bill Gates had famously said – “The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.” Maybe organizations should care about the self-esteem of their employees and their senior management team. Studies have shown that people with higher self-esteem show more ethical behaviour and are less likely to get involved in wrongful acts. The present trend of pursuing material gains at the expense of personal values destroys self-esteem in the long run. Bankers have shown extreme tendencies to flaunt expensive toys to feel good and build a superior image. In all probability, they are caught in a catch-22 situation at a psychological level. It might not be possible to change the culture without addressing the core issues faced by the staff.

References:

1. Exposed: The regime of fear inside Barclays – and how the boss lied and shredded the evidence
2. Identifying the arrogant boss
3. Leave My Brand Alone – Kellogg School of Management
4. New Barclays Chief Tells Staff to Accept Changes or Leave

 

 

Manipulating Purchasing Decisions

I read “Influenced Decisions” on Philos blog. It talks about Dan Ariely’s experiment on rationality of decision-making. According to the experiment, though we think we are making rational decisions, we can get easily influenced in making the wrong decisions. He experimented students for subscribing for a magazine with the following results.

As per Philos blog, 100 MIT students tested for Economist.com gave the following preferences:

Interestingly, 84% chose the third option and no one subscribed for second option.

Ariely, then conducted the experiment with just two choices and removed the dummy choice.

Students preference changed. While in the first experiment they preferred the third option, in the second experiment, majority chose  the first option. The dummy option played a major role in the first experiment as students thought they were getting a better deal.

Now think of the impact this has from fraud perspective. Either a purchasing manager to get approval for a favoured supplier can insert fictitious proposals or have real suppliers submit dummy-like proposal

Submission of a fictitious proposal will be a clear case of fraud. Auditors might detect in regular course of audit and definitely during investigation. However, a dummy-like proposal will appear completely normal in the course of business and will be far more difficult to detect.

The question is whether on detection the purchasing manager’s behavior will be considering unethical or fraudulent? As the intent was to defraud the company, it should be considered fraudulent. However, it will be more difficult to  pursue legally. A small twist changes the whole picture.

Closing thoughts

Think carefully when doing your Christmas shopping. Check out whether the pricing is done to influence your decision towards certain product choices.

Wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays!

Bharti Walmart India – Internal FCPA Investigation – Part I

Walmart after the Mexico US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation identified India operations as a high risk. It commenced an internal investigation with the help of KPMG India and law firm Greenberg Traurig. Recently CFO and five officers of legal team were suspended. The legal team’s job entailed procuring licenses required for stores and other real estate approvals, taxation etc. Bharti Walmart has opened 18 stores till date. Hence, the suspicion is that these officers paid bribes to get the licenses.

According to the Economic Times article, multiple government permissions are required from the government. The Retail Association of India lists 51 different approvals from 32 different agencies. Seeing the corruption index of India and the way government departments’ function, I would be very surprised if an organization manages to obtain all the relevant licenses without any grease payments. Hence, the question is how will the organizations manage to function without paying bribes?

1.      Dubious Dealings

Considering the huge operations of Bharti group, I would be very surprised if the bribes were paid without senior management approval. Most of the liaisons work has senior managers’ tacit or explicit approval. Therefore, is it right to suspend some after obtaining licenses. What happens in such a case to the license? Will the license be revoked, cancelled, or returned? If not, what is stopping the organizations from first taking the licenses by paying bribes and then doing a clean-up exercise to show their commitment to ethics?

2.      Joint Venture Liabilities

The second issue that crops up is the working of the joint venture in such circumstances.  Let us assume the investigation reveals bribes were paid. In such a situation, will Bharti group be expected to pay back the bribe money? Secondly, if the US authorities under a civil case fine Walmart for FCPA contravention, will Bharti be expected to pay the fine. Seeing the trend the fine could be huge and would wipe out profitability of the company. Moreover, US Department of Justice can pursue criminal liabilities. Then will the Indian officers be implicated for the same.

3.      Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Retail Industry

The government has recently allowed FDI in retail industry. The challenge is that in India, most of the retail operations operate by paying bribes at different levels. Hence, a foreign investor will not get a level playing field as the anti-corruption laws of their country bind them. The situation is serious. For instance, the next stage after obtaining licenses would require importing goods.  The FCPA strictly prohibits paying bribes to custom officers whereas in India this is a common business practice. Can an organization wait for months to get its stock cleared by the custom officers? Now the foreign investors will analyse the reward versus risk scenario of their business plans for investing in retail industry in India.

Closing Thoughts

The case opens up interesting aspects of risks of doing business in India. Corruption poses serious obstacles in doing fair business dealings. The FCPA and laws of various countries strictly prohibit paying bribes to foreign officials. The US government has followed some stringent measures against companies contravening the laws. Under such circumstances will the joint ventures between foreign investors and Indian counterparts work?  India cannot change overnight, so what is the solution? Share your thoughts with me on this.

References:

Bharti Walmart suspends CFO, legal team due to FCPA bribery probe

Coal Gate Scam – Should Auditors Comment on Policy Decisions?

The Coal Gate Scam report has squarely put the loss of Rs. 1.86 lakh crores (USD 35. 097 billion) at the Prime Ministers door. Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report states that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to introduce competitive bidding for allocation of coal blocks way back in October 2004. However, his office indulged in delay tactics of approving the revised policy. This resulted in allocation of coal blocks according to the old policy introduced in 1993. Failure to use competitive bidding resulted in a loss of Rs. 1.86 lakh crores (USD 35.097 billion).

This raises interesting questions from the corporate sector perspective. Should auditors see the validity and applicability of policies? Alternatively, should they restrict their role to the compliance of existing policies?  What happens when a policy or standard operating procedure of an organization is redundant however is still being followed? If competitors are using better processes, technology and policies than the organization, what role should auditors play in it?

1.     Delaying Policies Becomes a Political Game

According to the CAG report, the Screening Committee allocated blocks and the process lacked transparency. Allegations are that private companies with political links benefited at the expense of others. However, competitive bidding policy could have been introduced with an amendment from the administrative desk. Prime Minister’s role becomes critical as he was also fulfilling the responsibilities of Minister of Coal. CAG says he made it into a bigger issue that the policy should be changed for all minerals and not just coal; hence the process for making such large-scale policy change was different. This allowed the coal ministry to follow the 1993 process.

This happens in the corporate sector too. For instance, an employee or a small group suggest a change to an existing control process that will take just one man-month effort. Some others with vested interests do not wish for the change to occur. However, they can’t reject the suggestion for strengthening controls without looking bad. Hence, to stall the project, they add a few more suggestions which make the project larger into 24 man-months effort. Now the change can only happen once the huge budget is approved. Since, the project is not priority; it stays on the bottom of the budget approval list. Hence, status quo remains and subsequently someone exploits the control weakness to conduct a fraud.

In such a situation, as an internal auditor would you highlight the initial attempt to strengthen controls and put responsibility on the other group for delaying the change? Do we as internal auditors go back in such depth to find out what projects or policies were kept pending approval and they had such a huge negative impact?

2.     Auditor’s Role in Policy Review

The Supreme Court has upheld CAGs power to comment on policies. Justices R M Lodha and A R Dave bench said “Do not confuse the constitutional office of CAG with that of an auditor of a company or corporation.” This response was in respect to a petitioner’s contention that CAG should restrict itself to auditing expenditure and not comment on the government’s rational of policy decisions. The bench had further added – “CAG is not the traditional Munimji to prepare only balance sheets. It is constitutionally mandated to examine the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the decisions of the government in using resources. If the CAG will not do this, then who will?“

This viewpoint raises some interesting points for internal auditors in the corporate world. Should auditors be commenting on strategic or policy decisions of the company?

For instance, the company decides to use print media for advertising open job positions. However, it is much cheaper to use job portals and social media. These significantly reduce the cost of recruitment. Should an auditor restrict himself to checking that all expenditure is authentic or question the hiring policy?

Another aspect is the strategy decisions. Let us say, Company A decided not to enter into the emerging markets, whereas Company B operating in the same industry entered the emerging markets and increased the profitability tremendously. Should an auditor audit strategic decisions, and not just say that it is management responsibility. Where is the line of demarcation drawn in respect of corporate internal audit?

Institute of Internal Auditors new standard applicable from 2013 ‘Achievement of the organization’s strategic objectives’ states that – “The internal audit activity must evaluate risk exposures relating to the organization’s governance, operations, and information systems regarding the achievement of the organization’s strategic objectives”.  Hence, should we conclude that evaluating strategic decisions comes under internal audit purview?

3.     Auditor’s Role in Calculating Presumptive Loss

The CAG audit reports on 2G licenses and Coal Block allocations have raised a storm due to the calculation of presumptive loss figures. The government’s contention is that CAG should not be calculating the opportunity loss, as policy decisions are taken to benefit the public.

CAG however, contended that – “We had never commented on government policies, neither did we ever say that auction was the only route or that all natural resources should be auctioned. In both 2G spectrum licences and coal block allocations, we had only commented on the ‘effectiveness or non-implementation’ of policies. The presumptive loss or windfall gain figures are only to highlight the serious issues of an act of commission during implementation of government policies.”

In the corporate world, internal auditors make an observation and restrict their recommendations to suggest improvements. In rare cases, a cost-benefit analysis is done on the impact of the control weakness. We generally fail to draw management attention to the seriousness of the issue, as they are no numbers given. Should corporate internal auditors change their approach to audit work to give a cost-benefit analysis for their observations? Will that garner more attention from the management and initiate action?

Closing Thoughts

These are questions worth debating about and there are no easy answers. The business world internal auditors can learn quite a few lessons from the government auditors. They are doing a good job of raising contentious issues. Below is a poll to assess your views.

References:

1. CAG not a ‘munimji’ of govt’s balance sheet: SC
2. CoalGate: CAG does not let Manmohan, PMO off the hook
3.  Performance Audit of Allocation of Coal Blocks and Augmentation of Coal Production (Ministry of Coal)

Misunderstanding of Risks Between Business Teams and Auditors

PWC Internal Audit survey highlighted one critical shortcoming of Chief Audit Executives and Internal Audit Department. The risks that business teams consider critical are being ignored. I have been covering some of the risks on the blog, namely – people risks, competitive advantage, innovation and creativity, marketing, country risks, etc. According to the survey, more than 20% of the stakeholders reported that internal audit paid too little attention on these risks. Hence, the question is why are internal auditors and risk managers not looking at them. Take a look at this chart first.

PWC Internal Audit Survey 2012

From the survey results, two assumptions can be made. First, the internal audit function is still focused on auditing the processes that link to the financial numbers. Second, they are not understanding the business aspects of the organization. As given below, three things need to be done.

1. Understand business requirements

The situation reminds me of an Archie-Veronica joke. Veronica is trying out a new pair of jeans in a store. She looks in the mirror and says – “The jeans are tight, I wonder what could be the problem.” Archie promptly replies – “You might have gained a few pounds”. Veronica gives one whack on Archie’s head and again makes the same statement. This time Archie replies – “The store may have marked a wrong size on the jeans”. If the internal audit reports were hard hitting, business teams may give the internal auditors a rosy picture. They may not be sharing the true concerns in respect to various business risks. Hence, internal auditors would focus their energies on some unsubstantial risks.  Improve the communication with business teams to understand the risk environment. Create an environment where truthful interactions occur.

2. Add in next year business plan

Last quarter of the year has started today, and most of the organizations will prepare 2013 plans in this quarter. This is a good time to understand the business risks and prepare the 2013 annual audit plan and budgets accordingly. Coordinate with the business teams to understand their annual plans. Identify the risks relating to the plans. Discuss with the teams on how internal audit function can help them. Attempt using collective intelligence and crowd sourcing techniques to develop your plan. Where required, take a call to provide advisory services rather than assurance services. Business managers expect much more from the internal audit function. Hence, gear yourself to meet if not exceed those expectations.

3. Develop talent and skills

In the 20th century internal auditors audited the same financial numbers as external auditors. In the 21st century, the function requires revamping. In my previous article – “New Risks and Uncertainties in 21st Century” – I had conducted a poll. I had asked respondents whether they thought present day risk managers were equipped to deal with 21st century risks. Out of 17 total votes, 15 had responded that less than 50% of the risk managers can manage the new business risks. The verdict was by the risk managers about risk managers. Don’t be a dinosaur and learn new skills to survive in the market. In another 5 years when Gen Y become middle managers, Gen X may become redundant.

Closing Thoughts

With the turmoil in various economies, the 2013 risk landscape will be drastically different. Organizations that are well geared in risk management, have a higher probability of sailing through. Internal auditors and risk managers need to incorporate the impact of globalization, technology and social media in their annual plans. There is no purpose in serving stale bread and expecting business teams to swallow it. Rejuvenate in the new business age.

Wishing all my readers a Happy Gandhi Jayanti. Let us pray that each person believes a little more in non-violence and work towards a peaceful world.

References: 

PWC Internal Audit Survey 2012

Why Auditors Fail To Detect Frauds?

When media reports a new fraud, the first few thoughts of public are – “What were the auditors doing? How did they miss it? Were they involved?” The auditors get labelled as morons, conspirators or criminals. Generally most people jump to the conclusion that auditors had malafide intentions and became accomplices to get more business. While this may be true in some cases, auditors need the benefit of doubt. They sometimes genuinely miss the cases despite their best effort to diligently perform their duties. This post is an attempt to explain why auditors miss the frauds.

I want to share a joke with you before I explain. Two drunkards were walking on a railway track. The first said to other – “I am really tired, I hope the steps will end soon.” The second replied – ‘Yeah. I wish they had put the handrails at a better height, my back is killing me.”

1. Auditors responsibility to detect frauds

We can laugh at this, but if I say most of us don’t see clearly, there will a lot of angry reactions. So I am not saying anything, and am requesting you to watch this video.

Now did you see the moon walking bear?

Auditors have the same problem. They have to to give a true and fair opinion on the financial statements. They are not required to focus on detecting frauds. Hence, the audit programs are not designed to conduct tests to  detect fraud symptoms and probability. Therefore, with no specific coverage auditors fail at detecting frauds. Extract from Section 143 of New Companies Bill is given below:

“The auditor shall make a report to the members of the company on the accounts examined by him and on every financial statements which are required by or under this Act to be laid before the company in general meeting and the report shall after taking into account the provisions of this Act, the accounting and auditing standards and matters which are required to be included in the audit report under the provisions of this Act or any rules made thereunder or under any order made under sub-section (11) and to the best of his information and knowledge, the said accounts, financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the company’s affairs as at the end of its financial year and profit or loss and cash flow for the year and such other matters as may be prescribed.”

2. Auditors punishment on failure

The second question frequently debated is – “Should auditors be punished if they fail to detect frauds?” Section 147, clause 4 of New Companies Bill states auditor’s liabilities in respect to fraud in the following words:

“Where, in case of audit of a company being conducted by an audit firm, it is proved that the partner or partners of the audit firm has or have acted in a fraudulent manner or abetted or colluded in any fraud by, or in relation to or by, the company or its directors or officers, the liability, whether civil or criminal as provided in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force, for such act shall be of the partner or partners of the audit firm and of the firm jointly and severally and such partner or partners of the audit firm shall also be punishable in the manner as provided in section 447.”

This clause puts auditors on shaky ground. It is difficult to prove innocence once a fraud is detected. How can an auditor state – “I did my work properly, saw these documents, looked at the same audit evidence but didn’t find anything wrong with it.” Most will jump to the conclusion that the auditor knowingly ignored all the evidence. So here is another video. Watch it, and then you will see how this situation can occur.

According to various experiments, 75% of the people failed to observe the person swap in the experiment.

Think of this from an audit evidence perspective. An auditor is checking 100 vouchers with supports. One voucher among the 100 is fraudulent. What is the probability of the auditor noticing it? One can safely assume that it will be less than 25%.

Is it surprising that auditors fail to detect frauds after seeing these experiments. Though they are trained, they are human. The same psychology works with them too.

Closing thoughts

The success rate of detecting frauds will be higher when the auditors – external and internal – have specific responsibility to detect frauds. Without the specific responsibility, regulators can continue to complain and investors will share their anguish, however all will be futile. The laws need to be devised to hold someone responsibly for detecting frauds. What is your opinion?

A modified version of this article was published in the Middle East Accountant Magazine.