Stephen Pedneault

In my line of business, since the 1980s read various books describing cases of "creative accounting" and the ensuing cases

From "Accounting for Growth" (https://www.librarything.com/work/1059471/book/79481997), to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (Mantle, not Hemingway https://www.librarything.com/review/79479622), to more recent books such as "Too Big To Fail"- there is no lack of books discussing the genesysis and results of a crisis or a fraud, but usually focus too much on the "cast of characters" and cameos worth to attract the attention of Hollywood for a potential script.

This short book (200 pages) is unusual because it takes a relatively small (few hundred thousand dollars) yet convoluted case, and follows it A-to-Z as a diary.

The most interesting part is the outlining of the steps and key activities (e.g. ensuring the "chain of custody" of evidence) that are often lacking (e.g. sometimes I was asked to check on information after its context had already been modified, removing some key elements to trace A-to-Z, or even tampering with "audit trails"- on systems larger and more complex than those described, but the concept is the same).

If you worked for few decades in checking what suppliers did, or helping set up systems to monitor how an organization, its parts, or its supply chain are behaving, and you are not working for a single organization but for many, you end up seeing that, whenever there is a crisis, you wish that wherever you are there could be time to explain what are the steps needed.

Or, at least, that a small "guideline" existed.

My first experience in checking anomalies in bureaucracies started really while I was serving in the Italian Army (compulsory service) and was asked from the Divisional level about a procurement issue that the had been noticed in our ammunition requisitions for training.

Then, while working, I had to check and reconcile invoicing, contracts, etc- from 1987 until, well, now- across multiple industries.

There are steps here and there that in my past activities did in different ways (but I am based in Europe), anyway the storytelling and information boxes could be useful as a general introduction on the usually weakest point- planning.

So, for its literary weaknesses (neither a Grisham nor a Le Carré), it is worth reading and sharing with your junior staff assigned to roles from PMO, to QA, to checking on suppliers and processes.

[Review released on 2020-07-02]… (mere)