Preventing Fraud and Mismanagement in Government

Public agencies and government entities provide many of the most basic public services, but without profit incentive and other competitive drivers, even a "respectable" company can slip into questionable norms. This complete examination pulls the curtain back on the most common ways employees in government organizations commit fraud and other illegal acts.

With the same practical sensibilities found in his widely popular Detecting Fraud in Organizations, forensic accounting expert Joseph Petrucelli digs into the systems of mismanagement and fraud in day-to-day activities particular to government and public entities, with profound insight from industry educator Jonathan Peters. Written with an enriching balance of theory and real-world practice, this much-needed guidebook shines a light on how mismanagement and fraud happen in the face of regular oversight. It fully prepares you to recognize the covered misdeeds in a variety of circumstances through enlightening examples and lessons learned from a wide variety of actual cases, including the Bridgegate political scandal in New Jersey and the Iran-Contra affair. The specialized material in this convenient resource gives you superior advantage over those who have a general fraud background by enabling you to:

• Gain full insight into the many types of sector-specific fraud, including those that do not involve money, such as theft of time, "gifting" jobs to unqualified candidates, and hiring one person for numerous positions
• Develop a complete understanding of how various agencies work and what "abnormal behaviors" look like
• Comprehend the nuanced variations in laws, rules, and practices between state and federal law and how enforcement and policy-making works

The overall goal, however, is to establish a culture with a strong moral compass to prevent illegal acts before they happen, and this prescriptive guide features a common ground of implementable empirical best practices to ensure entities deliver their full value. Efficient management starts with Preventing Fraud and Mismanagement in Government.