Get practical insights on the psychology of white-collar
criminals—and how to outsmart them
Understand how the psychologies of fraudsters and their victims
interact as well as what makes auditors/investigators/regulators
let down their guard. Learn about the psychology of fraud victims,
including boards of directors and senior management, and what makes
them want to believe fraudsters, and therefore making them
particularly vulnerable to deception. Just as IT experts gave us
computer forensics, we now have a uniquely qualified team immersed
in psychology, sociology, psychiatry as well as accounting and
auditing, introducing the emerging field of behavioral forensics to
address the phenomenon of fraud.
Ever wonder what makes a white-collar criminal tick? Why does
she or he do what they do? For the first time ever, see the mind of
the fraudster laid bare, including their sometimes twisted
rationalizations; think like a crook to catch a crook! The
A.B.C.s of Behavioral Forensics takes you there, with expert
advice from a diverse but highly specialized authoring team of
professionals (three out of the four are Certified Fraud
Examiners): a former accounting firm partner who has a PhD in
psychology, a former FBI special agent who has been with
investigative practices of two of the Big Four firms, an industrial
psychiatrist who has worked closely with the C-level suite of large
and small companies, and an accounting professor who has
interviewed numerous convicted felons. Along with a fascinating
exploration of what makes people fall for the common and
not-so-common swindles, the book provides a sweeping
characterization of the ecology of fraud using The A.B.C.s of
Behavioral Forensics paradigm: the bad Apple (rogue executive),
the bad Bushel (groups that collude and behave like gangs), and the
bad Crop (representing organization-wide or even
societally-sanctioned cultures that are toxic and corrosive). The
book will make you take a longer look when hiring new employees and
offers a deeper more complex understanding of what happens in
organizations and in their people. The A.B.C. model will also help
those inside and outside organizations inoculate against fraud and
make you reflect on instilling the core values of your organization
among your people and create a culture of excellence and integrity
that acts as a prophylactic against fraud. Ultimately, you will
discover that, used wisely, behavioral methods trump solely
economic incentives. With business fraud on the rise globally,
The A.B.C.s of Behavioral Forensics is the must-have book
for investigators, auditors, the C-suite and risk management
professionals, the boards of directors, regulators, and HR
professionals.

Examines the psychology of fraud in a practical way, relating
it to aspects of fraud prevention, deterrence, detection, and
remediation
Helps you understand that trust violation—the essence of
fraud—is a betrayal of behavioral assumptions about "trusted"
people
Explains how good people go bad and how otherwise honest people
cross the line
Underscores the importance of creating a culture of excellence
and integrity that inoculates an organization from fraud risk
(i.e., honest behavior pays, while dishonesty is frowned upon)
Provides key takeaways on what to look for when hiring new
employees and in your current employees, as well as creating and
maintaining a culture of control consciousness
Includes narrative accounts of interviews with convicted
white-collar criminals, as well as interpretive insights and
analysis of their rationalizations
Furnishes ideas about how to enhance professional skepticism,
how to resist fraudsters, how to see through their schemes, how to
infuse internal controls with the people/behavioral element, and
make them more effective in addressing behavioral/integrity
risks
Provides a solid foundation for training programs across the
fraud risk management life cycle all the way from the discovery of
fraud to its investigation as well as remediation (so the same
fraud doesnt happen again)
Enables auditors/investigators to engage in self-reflection and
avoid cognitive and emotional biases and traps that lead to
professional judgment errors (e.g., overconfidence, confirmation,
self-deception, groupthink, halo effect, availability,
speed-accuracy trade-off, etc.)

Ever since the accounting scandals surrounding Enron and
WorldCom surfaced, leading to the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act
of 2002, as well as the continuing fall out from the Wall Street
financial crisis precipitating the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, fraud
has been a leading concern for executives globally. If you thought
you knew everything there was to know about financial fraud, think
again. Get the real scoop with The A.B.C.s of Behavioral
Forensics.