Anti-Fraud Guidelines for Financial Institutions

Holly Daniels
Technical Director, Standards & Guidance
The Institute of Internal Auditors

Holly Daniels is a Technical Director within Standards and Guidance at The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Global Headquarters. The IIA, established in 1941, is an international professional association of more than 160,000 members in 165 countries with headquarters in Altamonte Springs, Florida, United States. Throughout the world, The IIA is recognized as the internal audit profession's leader in certification, education, research, and technological guidance.

The Standards and Guidance team serves key roles surrounding The IIA’s International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) activities. The IPPF is the conceptual framework that organizes the authoritative (mandatory and strongly recommended) guidance promulgated by The IIA. The IPPF includes the Definition of Internal Auditing, the Code of Ethics, the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards), Practice Advisories, Practice Guides, and Position Papers.

Holly aids in leading The IIA’s worldwide activities in developing, maintaining, and promoting internal auditing guidance, in and beyond the IPPF, and supports other matters that impact the internal audit profession. She is the staff liaison for The IIA’s Professional Issues Committee (PIC) whereby she works regularly with more than 50 thought leaders and practitioners from around the world who have been selected to serve as volunteers providing leadership and professional guidance to the members and stakeholders of the internal audit profession.

Holly has a broad spectrum of knowledge in the areas of governance, risk management and internal control. Holly has performed on project teams in developing guidance, IIA messages, and responses to exposure drafts including those from IIA advocacy targets such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). She has served on special projects such as the IIA/AICPA/ACFE joint fraud guidance initiative and The IIA’s Guide to the Assessment of IT General Controls Scope Based on Risk (GAIT). Holly also assists the IIA with communications and public relations such as media interviews, the Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) and other IIA Research Foundation initiatives, webinars and speaking engagements, course development and instruction, and external quality assurance reviews.

Prior to joining The IIA, Holly was employed by Harbor Federal Savings Bank for almost eleven years. Holly began her tenure with Harbor as an Assistant Vice President, Senior Staff Auditor. Her primary responsibility in this role was completion of the organization’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA) project. She was also responsible for department audits, as well as assisting with branch audits and special projects. Holly later held the title of Senior Information Technology Auditor where she was in charge of the bank’s information technology audits and provided ongoing Year 2000 leadership and independent assessments. Holly ended her career with Harbor as Vice President, Audit Manager. In this capacity she managed the internal audit staff, assisted in developing the annual risk-based audit plan, coordinated and supervised fieldwork involved in audits, and assisted in on-the-job training of audit personnel. Holly also functioned as an internal consultant where appropriate and liaison for external consultants, auditors and federal regulators. In addition, Holly helped guide the board of directors, board of director committees, senior executives and management in the bank’s corporate governance process and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Holly has almost 15 years of experience within the field of internal auditing as well as practical knowledge of the financial services industry having worked in various roles from teller to Vice President.

She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Holly has served The IIA as a member of the Financial Services Auditor Group and as a member of the Nominating and Membership committees for the IIA Florida East Coast Chapter. She is currently a member of the IIA Central Florida Chapter.

Holly holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.

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Ronald L. Durkin, CPA/CFF, CFE, CIRA
Senior Managing Director
Durkin Forensic

Ronald L. Durkin is a CPA with over 30 years combined experience in public accounting and as a Special Agent with the FBI. He has testified in accounting, financial, and bankruptcy matters in U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Tax Court and in various State courts. During his tenure with the FBI, Ron was responsible for investigations involving white collar crime, political and public corruption, government contract fraud, money laundering, organized crime, labor racketeering, racketeer-influenced and corrupt organization statute (RICO) violations, and narcotics matters. Since leaving the FBI, he has assisted clients in matters involving fraud prevention, detection, and investigations. He has worked on cases involving health care fraud, employee embezzlement, management fraud, financial statement fraud, conflict-of-interest, check kiting, bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, and Ponzi schemes. Ron has also conducted due diligence investigations on behalf of clients in mergers and acquisitions engagements.

Since his departure from the FBI in 1986, Ron has assisted clients in a number of engagements involving fraud prevention, detection and investigation. He has worked on cases involving public corruption, health care fraud, employee embezzlement, management fraud, financial statement fraud, conflict-of-interest, check kiting, bankruptcy fraud, money laundering and Ponzi schemes. Ron conducts due diligence investigations on behalf of clients in mergers and acquisitions engagements.

Ron combines the investigative tools and techniques used by FBI agents with the analytical and financial interpretive skill sets of CPAs. Ron has the ability to analyze and interpret business and accounting transactions in a variety of settings. Whether the issue is external fraud (earnings management, public corruption, bankruptcy fraud, etc.) or internal fraud (diversion of assets, related party transactions, or ethical issues) Ron draws upon his unique professional experience to help clients and their counsel resolve these issues.

He is a frequent speaker at the FBI Academy and at the AICPA National Fraud Conference, California and other State CPA Societies, and he has made presentations to the IRS Criminal Investigative Division and the U.S. Postal Inspectors CPA seminars. He is a member of the AICPA National Accreditation Commission, a member of the AICPA Certified in Financial Forensic Credential Committee and a former member of the Business Valuation and Forensic Litigation Services Executive Committee. He is the former Chair of the AICPA Anti-Fraud Programs and Controls Task Force and past chair of the AICPA Litigation and Dispute Resolution Services Subcommittee. Ron is also the Chair of the California Society of CPA’s Litigation Services Steering Committee and the past Chair of the California Society of CPAs Fraud Section.

Ron was a 2003 AICPA Volunteer of the Year. Ron was also honored with the Distinguished Achievement Award by the AICPA in 2006 for his long time commitment to the ACIPA. In 2007, Ron was awarded the first-ever FLS Lifetime Achievement Award by the AICPA.

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E. Michael Thomas CPA, CIA, CBA, CFE, CRP
Executive, Financial Institution Risk Consulting Practice
Crowe Horwath LLP

Mike Thomas is an Executive in Crowe Chizek’s Financial Institution Risk Consulting practice in the Southeastern United States. He has over thirty years of broad-based experience, specializing in the financial services industry. Mike’s responsibilities include advising clients in areas such as risk management, fraud prevention and quality assurance assessments. In addition, he coordinates contract services for internal audit, loan review and compliance outsourcing at financial institutions, as well as working with clients to re-engineer their internal audit and risk management operations. Prior to joining Crowe Chizek and Company LLC, Mike was an Internal Audit Services Director for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and served as Vice President & Audit Group Manager for SunTrust Banks, Inc., a $180 billion bank holding company.

Mike is a frequent lecturer on internal audit, risk management, fraud prevention and banking related topics. He is a Distinguished Faculty Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, an Adjunct Faculty Member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and has been an instructor for the Bank Administration Institute and the Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida Banker’s Associations. Mike is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (including the Alabama and Georgia Societies) and the Bank Administration Institute.

Mike holds a BBA degree in accounting from Columbus State University and has attended the Bank Administration Institute’s School for Bank Administration (Audit Management) and the American Banker’s Association Stonier School of Banking.

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