Page 578 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020
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FOREWORD
With the publication of the 2018 Report to the Nations, I am
struck by how this study, like the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners itself, is in many ways a tribute to the vision and
dedication of our founder and chairman, Dr. Joseph T. Wells,
CFE, CPA. When Dr. Wells created the ACFE, he did so because
he recognized there was a fundamental flaw in how organiza-
tions were attempting to prevent, detect, and investigate fraud.
His goal in founding our association was to establish a body of
Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA
knowledge and training that would help anti-fraud professionals
President and CEO,
reduce the incidence of fraud and white-collar crime.
Association of Certified
Fraud Examiners One thing Dr. Wells came to recognize in the early days of the
ACFE was that the anti-fraud profession suffered from a glaring
weakness: we simply did not know enough about the crimes we
were trying to fight. So, with the aid of ACFE researchers John
Warren and Andi McNeal, he set out to address the problem by
commissioning the first Report to the Nation in 1996.
The 2018 report is the 10th edition of Dr. Wells’ study, and the Re-
port to the Nations remains the most comprehensive and widely
quoted source of occupational fraud data in the world. Based
on information from real fraud cases as reported by CFEs from
around the globe, the report continues to be a tremendous re-
source for those interested in how occupational fraud is commit-
ted, how it is detected, who commits it, and how organizations
can protect themselves from it.
On behalf of the ACFE, I am proud to present the 2018 edition of
the Report to the Nations.
Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA
President and CEO,
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
2 Foreword Report to the Nations
