The following interview was published in CGMA Magazine on a forum that was conducted by a panel of internal auditors and fraud examiners at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner 2017 Global Fraud Conference Improving internal auditors’ ability to detect fraud can lower losses businesses suffer worldwide from corruption, asset misappropriation, and financial statement fraud. To improve internal audit’s success in detecting fraud, a panel of internal auditors and fraud examiners at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ 2017 Global Fraud Conference addressed the most common challenges. Panel members were Mary Breslin, founder and managing partner at Empower Audit Training and Cons

The Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys Act (the "Act") has in recent times conducted random inspections on companies and businesses to review their compliance with the Act. The inspection focuses on creditor balances which have been long unpaid, debtor balances in credit and long outstanding bank reconciliation items and other liabilities which have remained dormant. So, what exactly is Unclaimed Moneys? Unclaimed moneys can be classified under the following categories: Moneys which are legally payable to the owner and which have not been paid for a period of not less than one year after they have become payable. This includes but not limited to salaries & wages, bonuses, commissions, dividends,

This article originally appeared in the Harvard Business Review. A friend called me heartbroken, crying. She had spent months looking for investors to fund her fledgling startup and now she had a big problem. Someone was ready to give her the money. Trouble was, the cash came with a catch. The only investor willing to pony-up the money was someone she didn’t like. She also got the feeling he did not like her much either, and yet, he wanted to invest. “If he was involved, I have the feeling I would quit my company down the road,” she told me over the phone. Time was running out; she needed the funds and with no other investor ready to commit, she feared she’d have to take the money from s

Everyone wants to maximize their profits. It is the no.1, non-negotiable imperative for businesses today. Unfortunately, many businesses struggle to achieve this target. Some achieve their goals and a few others consistently beat it. Business startups cannot outspend their competitors. They must outsmart them by delivering better value to customers. Constant customer-driven innovation always creates more value for shareholders, for customers and society as a whole. More marketing initiatives and further value extraction are not the only key determinants to future growth. It is now essential to offer innovative value to the market. Value creation starts with the customers' first impression

A Malaysian business that procures a service from a supplier that is based overseas is liable and must account for the output GST on that service if consumed locally. Imported services include (but not limited to) intellectual property, software licenses, consultancy services and acquisition of intangible rights from a supplier that is located overseas. This output tax must be accounted for at the earlier of (i) when payment is made or (ii) date of invoice. If the recipient of the imported service is a GST registered business, the amount of output tax incurred on the imported service can be claimed as input tax credit in respect of the imported service, during the taxable period in which th