Teamwork counts, especially when it comes to committing crimes at a corporation.
In a new examination of 374 companies accused of securities fraud between 1997 and 2002, an average of seven people were implicated in each case, including CEOs, chief financial officers, chief operating officers, general counsels, board directors and auditors.
“Far from being a solitary act, securities fraud necessarily requires complicity,” said William Black of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Institute for Fraud Prevention, which sponsored the study.
The institute is a coalition of universities funded by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP and D-Quest Inc., a risk-management firm.