Birzeit Consulting is a professional services company providing an integrated spectrum of anti fraud / corruption and internal control advisory and training services.
From our regional office in Amman-Jordan, we serve our clients in the Middle East and Africa supported by our highly qualified teams, affiliates, representations and strategic alliances. We run our global business from our head office in Tempe,AZ, USA
"International Accounting Standards Board chairman Sir David Tweedie made the case Thursday for U.S. businesses and the Securities and Exchange Commission to support International Financial Reporting Standards this year."
It is really odd for the US regulators to delay such a move towards the full adoption of the IFRS. I hope that the time will not come when it becomes too late.
While I am searching and preparing a literature review for a research paper about fraud and corruption in the public sector that will be presented in an international conference this coming summer, I came across several issues that I thought interested parties does worth to read amid all this corruption and fraud crisis in the Middle East. I will only add a short comment at the end.
"£38bn FRAUD costs the UK economy £38 billion a year, with more than half that suffered by the public sector, the National Fraud Authority reported last week. That is equivalent to £765 for every adult in the UK."
Source: The Sunday Times (London), Fraud rife in public sector, January 30, 2011 Sunday ,Edition 1; National Edition, SECTION: MONEY;FEATURES; Pg. 2
" It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked." These widelyquoted words of Warren Buffett .....There are three major factors in fraud crime: opportunity, motive and rationalisation. Opportunity is related to weaknesses in the company which allow fraud to happen and create an atmosphere where fraudsters believe they can remain undetected. Motive develops from financial pressure, whether personal or corporate: the need or desire to maintain a lifestyle, or pressure from managers to meet targets. Rationalisation is a fraudster's 'internal dialogue', which provides a self-justification for the actions.
An economic downturn causes the first and second factors, and therefore causes increased incidence, but also discovery, of fraud in these periods. Clearly there will be more financial pressure, with personal spending power reduced and companies finding it more difficult to achieve budgeted results. Company managers respond to these difficulties by imposing greater scrutiny on processes and controls, partly because they need to thoroughly explore the possible reasons for under-performance, and partly because, frankly, the reduction in normal activity gives them time to do so. The results are more fraud and more discovery of fraud."
Source: Hitesh Patel, Ian Dawson. Legal Week. London: Feb 5, 2009. pg. 34
"Washington-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI) announced in a report that the cost of illegal financial activities and government corruption such as corruption, tax evasion and crime in Egypt amounted to almost USD6 billion annually to a total of USD57.2 billion from 2000 to 2008, reported Gulf News. The personal fortune of the resigned President Hosni Mubarak and his family is estimated to be between USD40 billion and USD70 billion. Switzerland froze Mubarak's assets after he resigned and now the UK is pressured to trace and freeze Mubarak's assets in the UK. Former ministers and businessmen are being investigated by Egypt's public prosecution for robbing public wealth. Also, they are not allowed to leave Egypt and their accounts have been frozen. It is worth noting that privately owned wealth is estimated to be enough to cover USD32 billion of Egypt's foreign debt"
Source: "Corruption costs Egypt USD57.2b. " The Pak Banker 22 Feb. 2011,ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2011.
It used to be that internal auditing in the public sector served as a simple administrative procedure comprised mainly of checking accuracy of transactions, pre-payment verification and control, counting assets and reporting on past events to various types of management. But in recent times, a combination of forces has led to a quiet revolution in the profession. Governments moving toward higher levels of transparency must demonstrate accountability in the use of public money and efficiency in the delivery of services. Larger and more complex operations demand greater competency and professionalism from internal auditors to minimize and manage risk.
Hani Mounir Khoury
Deloitte, Middle East -The Middle East Point of View issue #4
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has approved Mr. Masoud to serve as a member of the ACFE Advisory Council effectively from January 26, 2011. Birzeit Consulting ME congratulate Mr. Mohammed J. Masoud, CPA, CFE, CICA, MBA for this International professional role in the anti fraud profession and wish himll the best.
I think the answer is yes. The CPA exam will be conducted for the first time ever outside the US starting in August 2011. I am personally extremely happy for this news as so many excellent accounting students from the Middle East will be able to sit and pass this exam without any worries about the Visa of the US.
Therefore, Birzeit Consulting started a facebook page called CPA Review to provide the accounting students and the CPA candidates with the latest relevant information regarding the CPA exam.
As the great accounting fight of the past decade moves near to a conclusion that seems likely to satisfy no one, the cast of characters is suddenly changing. The two most important accounting bodies in the world will be under new leadership as they try to move on from bruising battles that have pitted them against banks, bank regulators and politicians.
Leslie F. Seidman is acting chairwoman of the F.A.S.B.
The changes are coming before it is clear just how far the two boards — the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets accounting rules in the United States, and the International Accounting Standards Board, whose rules are followed in a growing number of countries — will have to back down in their efforts to force banks to report the current value of their assets.
The Uniform CPA Examination will be offered in Japan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates in 2011, marking the first time in the exam’s history that it will be offered outside the 55 U.S. jurisdictions.
