May 2009: Tiffany Couch, Linda Saunders - Cooking the Books with QuickBooks

ASWA Seattle Chapter #9

Speaker Highlights

May 27, 2009

Cooking the Books with QuickBooks

Presented by

Tiffany Couch & Linda Saunders

QuickBooks is the number one small business accounting software. Without proper controls, it’s also extremely easy to use to cover up misappropriation. Learn how forensic accounting experts have used QuickBooks to crack complex fraud cases.

Introduction & Overview

This is not a QB how-to-session
Interviewing is a prerequisite to QB analysis and goes hand in hand to maximize what you can find in QB. Who controls QB? Passwords?
Initial threshold questions – Do tax returns/bank statements reflect QB information?
Cash threshold – How can you tell if QB is reconciled to bank statements?
Cash adjustments – What are the “allowable” adjusting journal entries to cash?
Insist on QB back-up file, not just reports.

Good News – audit tracking is now always ON

Per instructions beginning in the 2006 QuickBooks software versions, the audit tracking feature is permanently enabled and cannot be turned off.
This is accessed by choosing reports / accountant & taxes / audit trail

Recent Bad News – Even though audit tracking is now always ON, QuickBooks software has a feature that Carol Bacon just discovered called “Clean up Company Data.”

We are still working with QB to find out more about this feature, but it is any but good in our opinion.
Carol is trying to get more information on this feature so stay tuned for the latest information.

Contacts

Tiffany Couch, CPA/CFF, CFE

tcouch@acuityforensics.com

360-573-5158 (office)

www.acuityforensics.com

Linda Saunders, CPA/CFF, CFE, CGFM

lsaunders@forensicCPA.org

360-765-3665 (office)

www.forensicCPA.org

Carol Bacon, CFE

cbacon@forensicinvspec.com

206-546-1655 (office)