Prior to joining the ParenteBeard Wealth Management team in January 2013, Ms. Hoppe interned with the group while she was a student at Millersville University.

At Millersville, she was a standout scholar, holding memberships in Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and the Pre-Scholar’s Institute.

The ExOne Company and eKidz Care, ParenteBeard clients, are among the finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Award in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The ExOne Company, a global provider of 3D printing machines and printed products to industrial customers, began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange earlier this year.

A pediatric home healthcare provider, eKidz Care is also a fully licensed and Medicare and Medicaid certified Home Health Care provider.

Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on June 21, 2013, at Wyndham Grand Downtown Pittsburgh Hotel.

ParenteBeard is proud to be a sponsor of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Complete list of finalists and selection details.

ParenteBeard announced today that Joseph C. O’Neill has been named Philadelphia regional managing partner.  He succeeds Paul Kinmartin, who is expanding his responsibilities as the leader of the firm’s Philadelphia manufacturing, distribution and technology practice.

These leadership changes reflect ParenteBeard’s strong commitment to the Philadelphia marketplace and are designed to leverage the firm’s manufacturing, distribution and technology practice to serve the sector’s resurgence in Philadelphia.

ParenteBeard Chairman and CEO Bob Ciaruffoli stated, “These changes reflect ParenteBeard’s deep bench strength and are indicative of the momentum at our firm.  Joe and Paul are highly regarded for their leadership in serving and advising our clients to help them achieve their goals.  Working together, Joe and Paul will continue to build on our reputation for providing stellar services to the greater Philadelphia region.”

McCarthy Tire & Automotive, a ParenteBeard client, is among the finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Award in Greater Philadelphia. Founded in 1926, McCarthy Tire & Automotive is among the top 10  largest commercial tire dealers in North America.

Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on June 20, 2013, at the Terrace Ballroom of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, in Philadelphia.

ParenteBeard is proud to be a sponsor of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Greater Philadelphia.

Complete list of finalists and more information about the nomination and selection.

The entry mentions the expert work of ParenteBeard’s Forensic, Litigation and Valuation services group in completing a recent forensic investigation for the incinerator project.

Read the full post here.

The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA) has selected ParenteBeard Partners Walter J. Brasch and Bob Fodera in an elite group of “50 Over 50” for their contributions to the accounting profession, the NJSCPA and their communities.

Earlier this month, Mr. Brasch, ParenteBeard’s regional managing partner in the New Jersey metro region, received the legendary distinguished service coin at the NJSCPA board of trustees meeting. The coin is a long-standing symbol that recognizes members for “exceeding expectations and setting the standard of excellence for others to follow.” An active member of the NJSCPA for more than 26 years, Mr. Brasch has over 38 years of experience in public accounting.  He recently concluded his term as NJSCPA treasurer and will begin serving as the Society’s secretary for a one year term beginning on June 1, 2013. A recognized expert on financial accounting and reporting matters, he is frequently consulted by clients, regulators, legislative leaders and other business professionals.

Mr. Fodera is a member of NJSCPA’s Middlesex / Somerset Chapter and served as past president. Additionally, he’s a past NJSCPA board of trustees member and trustee liaison for the Monmouth Ocean Chapter. He plays a key role in NJSCPA’s Scholars Institute, a two day career development program for accounting and finance students. He’s significantly involved in interviewing the scholarship candidates that come out of the Institute. He’s proud to have a role in this program, the nation’s largest professional association scholarship program, which annually contributes over $400,000 in scholarships to high school and college students on the fast track. Additionally, Mr. Fodera participates in NJSCPA’s Pay it Forward program, speaking with students at Bergenfield High School and Hillsborough High School on the value of an accounting degree and CPA license. He’s showcasing why the accounting profession is hot and that there are no limits to potential accounting career opportunities.

Both Mr. Brasch and Mr. Fodera will be featured in the July / August issue of the New Jersey CPA magazine.

A fictitious vendor scheme occurs when a vendor is falsely established within a company but does not provide legitimate services or goods to that company. The fictitious vendor submits invoices for services or goods.  In some instances of fictitious vendor schemes, the perpetrator doesn’t submit an invoice but writes a company check to the vendor. These fictitious vendors are then paid for services or goods that were never received by the victim company.

Since fictitious vendors are not legitimate businesses, several typical red flags show up in fictitious fraud schemes. These include P.O. box mailing addresses, invoices created using Microsoft Excel or Word, invoices for even dollar amounts, invoices for vague services or undefined products, local business addresses located near company locations, omitted supporting documentation for vendor payments, payments to non-corporate credit cards, vendor names with initials and vendor names that match employee names.

Fictitious Vendor Fraud: Prevention and Detection

Generally, fictitious vendor schemes happen due to poor internal controls for new vendor approval or through the conspiracy of company employees.

An easy solution to conquer fictitious vendor fraud is to maintain strong internal controls for approval of new vendors. Each new vendor should be approved by multiple individuals within the organization and be required to agree to a background check.  Additionally, a periodic review of all vendor additions and changes to existing vendor contact information should be performed by someone outside of the accounts payable department.  These measures will ensure that no collusion occurred in approving the fictitious vendors.

If at any time a you suspect there may be a fictitious vendor scheme perpetrated within your organization, a forensic accountant can help identify the issue and the potential recovery of funds.

ParenteBeard’s forensic, litigation and valuation services group has extensive experience providing expert consulting and witness testimony in mediations, arbitrations and bench and jury trials. If you have questions regarding fictitious vendor schemes, a member of our leadership team is available to help.

The evidence is irrefutable. According to a 2012 report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, it is estimated that organizations lose five percent of their total revenue to fraud, which translates into a staggering global annual loss of $3.5 trillion.

Bob Gray, partner at Baker Tilly International member firm ParenteBeard, whose area of expertise is forensic investigations, says, “In a down economy companies are forced to be more nimble, doing more with less. Staffing cutbacks can often lead to unintended consequences, such as allowing new access to assets for individuals who take on additional duties and responsibilities. With corporate deadlines and financial goals in view, companies often lose sight of the value of internal controls in preventing fraudulent employee activities.”

Leadership is Key

“Senior leadership’s attitude on fraud is foremost,” said Gray. “The threat of fraud and how to alleviate it needs to be taken seriously across the entire organization, particularly at the top. Although it’s important for companies to cross-check that all internal prevention controls are in place, it is equally vital for leaders to consistently set the appropriate tone on this topic. The ideal would be establishing a “tone-at-the-top” that educates employees early about the eye-opening financial losses that fraudulent activities can cost a company.

“In addition, it’s imperative to assure employees that coming forward with any information about fraudulent activities will be completely confidential and should not jeopardize their careers.”

Mr. Gray has led several investigations that initially appeared small but grew in magnitude over time due to a corporate culture where employees were afraid to speak up. For example, at one major law firm, Mr. Gray saw how an improper tone-at-the-top – lavish spending – was viewed as acceptable throughout the firm. As a result, fraudulent activities unfortunately developed and were rationalized by certain employees who mirrored the style that they saw their leaders take.

“It’s quite challenging to change corporate culture before a major incident actually occurs. We encourage clients to make their leadership team’s approach to this sensitive topic one that is pro-active, visible and shared throughout the entire organization.”

Importance of Simple Controls

Jeff Krull, a partner at ParenteBeard who focuses on information technology and cyber security says, “Management teams need to improve some of their more simple and straightforward security controls. It’s important to create plans to encourage stronger passwords, encrypt mobile devices and laptops, put an end to generic user identifications and limit who has powerful administrative access. Although these measures to improve security typically aren’t expensive, many organizations resist doing them until they experience a security breach.

“In many cases, because those things are relatively simple, leadership teams don’t see the immediate value. For example, ensuring documentation to evidence who granted access to the designated users may seem like an administrative burden. But forcing discipline and accountability around who is allowing access and why may prevent allowed admission that isn’t needed or presents a segregation of duties conflict,” said Krull.

“When and if fraud is detected, it’s imperative to address the incident immediately and have an effective plan in place to minimize damage.”

About Baker Tilly International

Baker Tilly International is the eighth largest accountancy and business advisory network in the world by combined fee income of its independent members.

Every day, over 26,000 people in 156 member firms in 131 countries provide accountancy and business services to entrepreneurial, growing businesses and corporates worldwide.

For further information please contact:

Jo Luck, Brand and Communications Manager, Baker Tilly International, + 44(0)20 3201 8000, jo.luck@bakertillyinternational.com