Fraud Triangle Analytics, 12 years later

Back in 2009 and 2010, I collaborated with two of my colleagues at EY, Dan Torpey and Mike Sherrod, along with ACFE Chief Training Officer John Gill, J.D., CFE, and several other talented individuals from EY and the ACFE to demonstrate that the behavior described in the Fraud Triangle, developed by Dr. Donald Cressy in the 1950s, could be observed in electronic communications such as email and online chats. In a Fraud Magazine three-part series, we outlined a methodology and a mathematical algorithm we termed “Fraud Triangle Analytics (FTA).” (See “Exposing the Iceberg,” “Fraud Triangle Analytics” and “Breaking the Status Quo in E-mail Review,” by Dan Torpey, CPA, CITP; Vince Walden, CPA, CFE; and Mike Sherrod CFE, CPA; Fraud Magazine, May/June 2009, July/August 2009, and May/June 2010.)