Called to account

What do fraud and the installation of a new computerised accounting system have in common? Quite a lot actually, says Sean Holohan of BDO Stoy Hayward.

Sean Holohan is a senior manager with the Fraud Investigations and Recovery Services Team (‘FIRST’) at BDO Stoy Hayward. For more information on how to protect your organisation from fraud, contact BDO FIRST (0700 236 3477) or by email: first@bdo.co.uk

About five years ago, I was called in to investigate a financial statement fraud. The financial accountant and chief perpetrator explained to me that “it all started to go wrong after our new accounts system was installed.”