This course is based on two recent financial statement fraud cases; Dewey & LeBouef and ContinuityX. Dewey & LeBouef was a high-profile law firm that, at its peak, had over 3,000 employees and over 1,400 lawyers. It is alleged that personnel at Dewey & LeBouef made inappropriate financial adjustments starting in 2008 to meet its bank lending covenants and planned to conceal these adjustments from its “clueless auditor”. Dewey & LeBouef declared bankruptcy in 2012.

ContinuityX was an internet services reseller that, according to an SEC complaint, fabricated 99% of its revenue. It was audited by a firm that was fined and disciplined by the SEC and the partner responsible for the audit was also fined and permanently suspended from practicing before the SEC. ContinuityX declared bankruptcy in 2013.

Both cases involve financial statement fraud, auditor deception and some lessons to be learned.

Learning Objectives
  • Recognize the primary elements of financial statement fraud in the Dewy & LeBouef and ContinuityX cases
  • Associate the primary elements of financial statement fraud in the cases in this course with audit procedures that may have detected the fraud
Last updated/reviewed: Aug 19, 2024
29 Reviews (106 ratings)

Reviews

5
Anonymous Author
An interesting read about two financial statement fraud cases Some exhibits may have helped visualize the situation better along with some more details on how exactly audit procedures failed. For the first case, the law firm thought their auditors were incompetent but there was little mention of how the auditors could have done better. For the second case, an extra sentence or three on how exactly revenue recognition criteria had not been met (e.g. because the fictitious contracts had no intention to repay so commission clawback was likely, revenue was not truly earned) would have tied the conclusion up better.
2
Member's Profile
Much prefer video presentations. Case facts are much more obvious than typical fraud cases. CPA should never practice again demonstrating no knowledge and/or interest in identifying basis of fair financial presentation or uncovering significant issues with client financials.
5
Anonymous Author
Course details the weaknesses and oversight occurring on two financial statement fraud cases. Good read for people to see how auditors can be deceived and why thorough internal controls and audit plans are important.
4
Anonymous Author
This is a good course on audit fraud and specific failures made by the clients and auditors. Some details for the second case seem a bit muddy and hard to follow.
4
Member's Profile
There was no audio with this course but otherwise presented two excellent case studies (two very extreme examples of corporate fraud, greed, and egos at work),
4
Member's Profile
Very interesting. I do wish that they had discussed how these frauds were discovered, but otherwise it was very informative and interesting.
5
Anonymous Author
I truly enjoyed taking this course and learning more about how historical financial statement fraud cases could have been prevented.
5
Anonymous Author
Very interesting cases. As an auditor, I could hardly believe that the auditors involved did not catch these frauds.
5
Anonymous Author
Dramatic fraud cases - hard to believe these. But shows how multiple parties could be duped by deceptive players.
4
Anonymous Author
The cases discussed on the document were very interesting. Very intriguing on how these cases were uncovered.
3
Anonymous Author
Good course however it would have been better if this was a trainer presented course rather than self study.
5
Anonymous Author
very interesting examples of their life. I could not even imagine that public companies are capable of this
5
Member's Profile
The instructor provided engaging material. The course is well organized with real-world examples.
5
Anonymous Author
What you would expect for a foundation level course. The questions proved to be a nice refresher.
5
Member's Profile
Liked the real world examples. Very interesting case study to see how fraud evolves in real life
5
Anonymous Author
Cases were laid out nicely to follow and appropriate review of corrective action was discussed.
4
Member's Profile
like text based but i dont understand why i am required to make a review of a minimum length
4
Anonymous Author
Interesting course. Discussion could have expanded easily to 2 hours. Prefer video!
4
Member's Profile
Decent text-based course. Appropriate time allocated and reasonably interesting.
4
Anonymous Author
interesting cases studies, a preferred way to learn is real-world application
5
Anonymous Author
A very interesting read with a good summary of how fraud was committed.
4
Anonymous Author
Interesting read and thorough in its analysis as to how fraud occurred.
5
Anonymous Author
New case study i hadn't heard about - very interesting. Well laid out
5
Member's Profile
A good read. Very informative and the frauds were very imaginative.
5
Anonymous Author
Interesting cases about two relatively obvious fraud examples.
5
Anonymous Author
This was an interesting enough course, it did the job.
5
Member's Profile
I enjoyed this course, and I found it very informative.
5
Anonymous Author
Interesting discussion of financial statement fraud.
4
Member's Profile
Bit different reading vs. video but well presented
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Prerequisites
Course Complexity: Intermediate

No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.

Education Provider Information
Company: Illumeo, Inc., 75 East Santa Clara St., Suite 1215, San Jose, CA 95113
Contact: For more information regarding this course, including complaint and cancellation policies, please contact our offices at (408) 400- 3993 or send an e-mail to .
Instructor for this course
  Course Overview CPE
Course Syllabus
Course Materials
  Crossing The Line: Cases in Financial Statement Fraud and Auditor DeceptionPDF
REVIEW QUESTIONS
  REVIEW QUESTIONS quiz
 FINAL EXAMexam