Fraud in the Workplace Seminar - LaPorte & Associates 06/01/09
LaPorte & Associates, commercial insurance specialists, will hold a management briefing on employee fraud on June 30th, 2009. Kelly Paxton and Cost Advisors' Bill Douglas will discuss how fraud is committed, how much it costs and how to detect it. Click here to read more and to register.


Fraud in the Workplace Presentation - Oregon State Bar 05/26/09
Cost Advisors' Bill Douglas will be giving a presentation on "Fraud in the Workplace" on June 24th, 2009 at the Oregon State Bar Center (16037 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd - Tigard, OR). Click here to read more about the course or click here to register.


SOX Compliance Article (ASCPA) 05/21/09
Bill Douglas's recent article on SOX Compliance: 10 Steps to Savings was published in the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants' (ASCPA) May Newsletter. Click here to read more.


OSCPA - SOX 404 Best Practices Panel Presentation 05/04/09
Join Bill Douglas at the OSCPA Center in Beaverton on May 13th (8am to 12:15 pm) for a panel discussion on the best ways to implement SOX. Click here to register.


SOX Compliance: 10 Steps to Savings 04/16/09
The following is an excerpt from an article that Cost Advisors' Bill Douglas recently wrote for the Oregon Society of CPAs:

"Regardless of how much time companies can allocate to SOX 404 compliance, they will save money by planning ahead. While some public companies are able to spread their compliance efforts out over the year, many still incur much of the work during third and fourth quarters. In these cases, the best time to begin planning for SOX testing is in the second quarter. That means right now for calendar-year companies. This leaves third and fourth quarters to testing, fixes and re-testing, and first quarter next year to completing financial reporting testing".

"Let's give our law enforcement agencies the tools and resources they need, said Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, at a a hearing Wednesday. Read more


Maximizing Value and Cash Flow from Intellectual Property in a Down Economy - OGI 01/20/09
Cost Advisors, Ater Wynne and the OHSU Division of Management are hosting a free seminar on February 18, 2009 at the Oregon Graduate Institute in Beaverton. Bill Douglas and Akana Ma will discuss how to enhance your company's bottom line by identifying IP assets and recovering underreported license revenue. Click here to register. Click here to download the slides.


NAIC Framework for Insurance Examiners Presentation 01/08/09
In November 2008, Bill Douglas of Cost Advisors gave a presentation on SOX, risks and controls to the State of Oregon's Department of Insurance. Click here to view the slides.


Finding Buried Treasure in your Licensed Intellectual Property - LES 01/06/09
Bill Douglas, president of Cost Advisors, will discuss how a royalty audit can add to your bottom line at the Licensing Executives Society meeting on February 4, 2009. Join him from 5 PM at the offices of Davis Wright Tremaine in downtown Portland. Click here to register (deadline is February 2, 2009). Click here to download the slides.


Fraud vs. SOX Presentation - IMA 12/31/08
Join Cost Advisors' Bill Douglas and Molly Remington at the Portland Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants' January Dinner Meeting to discuss the relationship between fraud and SOX. The event will kick off in Beaverton at 5:30 PM on January 20, 2009. Click here to register (deadline is January 16, 2009).


Fraud vs. SOX Presentation - OACFE 12/30/08
The Oregon Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' January Lunch Meeting will feature Bill Douglas of Cost Advisors. Join Bill on January 8, 2009 from 11:30 AM at 220 NW 2nd Avenue in Portland to discuss how corporate fraud prompted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and how the Act in turn affected internal controls. Click here to register (deadline is January 5, 2009).


ACFE's 2008 Report to the Nation 12/19/08
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' 2008 Report to the Nation is available to download on our website. The report "sheds light on occupational fraud and abuse while offering stark lessons and valuable insights about its prevention and detection". Click here to download


Fraud detected more often at bankrupt companies - Reuters 11/24/08
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bankrupt companies are three times more likely to have been cited for fraud by U.S. regulators, according to a study released on Monday.

The study from Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP also showed that fraud incidents were much more likely to land a company in bankruptcy court. Read more


F.B.I. Struggles to Handle Financial Fraud Cases - New York Times 10/18/08
WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is struggling to find enough agents and resources to investigate criminal wrongdoing tied to the country’s economic crisis, according to current and former bureau officials.

The bureau slashed its criminal investigative work force to expand its national security role after the Sept. 11 attacks, shifting more than 1,800 agents, or nearly one-third of all agents in criminal programs, to terrorism and intelligence duties. Current and former officials say the cutbacks have left the bureau seriously exposed in investigating areas like white-collar crime, which has taken on urgent importance in recent weeks because of the nation’s economic woes. Read more