Forensic accountant explains why fraud thrives on Wall Street

Forensic accountant Kelly Richmond Pope explains how fraud runs rampant – even when businesses don’t intend it.

Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ►    / @bigthink  
Up next, ‘The Art of War’: The greatest strategy book ever written ►    • ‘The Art of War’: The greatest strate...  

"Accounting is like a superpower," says Kelly Richmond Pope.

As a forensic accounting expert, Pope understands how this power comes with significant responsibilities and potential pitfalls. The pressure from market expectations can sometimes drive companies to inflate their financial performance, creating a precarious ethical landscape for the accounts overseeing the company’s financial activity.

Pope highlights a key problem area: the mismatch between the money a company actually has (cash) and the money it records as earned (revenue). In the wrong hands, this system can be exploited, leading to serious legal consequences.

She emphasizes that accountants often face hard choices and must stand firm in their ethics to ensure transparency and fairness in business.

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/explain-i...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Kelly Richmond Pope:
Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope is the Dr. Barry Jay Epstein Endowed Professor of Accounting at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. Pope is a nationally recognized expert in risk, forensic accounting, and white-collar crime research, and an award-winning educator, researcher, author, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. She’s the author of Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion Dollar Fraud Industry (Harvard Business Review Press, March 2023). Pope teaches managerial and forensic accounting both at the undergraduate and graduate level.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read more of our stories on economics & work:
The strong economic case for hiring people with criminal records
► https://bigthink.com/the-present/econ...
How many “corporate psychopaths” are CEOs?
► https://bigthink.com/leadership/corpo...
Is a capitalist-socialist economy inevitable?
► https://bigthink.com/the-present/capi...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Big Think | Smarter Faster™
► Big Think
Our mission is to make you smarter, faster. Watch interviews with the world’s biggest thinkers on science, philosophy, business, and more.
► Big Think+
Looking to ignite a learning culture at your company? Prepare your workforce for the future with educational courses from the world’s biggest thinkers. Trusted by Ford, Marriot, Bank of America, and many more. Learn how Big Think+ can empower your people today: https://bigthink.com/plus/?utm_source...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want more Big Think?
► Daily editorial features: https://bigthink.com/?utm_source=yout...
► Get the best of Big Think right to your inbox: https://bigthink.com/subscribe/?utm_s...
► Facebook: https://bigth.ink/facebook/
► Instagram: https://bigth.ink/Instagram/
► Twitter: https://bigth.ink/twitter/