Publication

Fraud is a risk to any organization, and its damage can reach beyond those involved to impair trust in capital markets more broadly. Recent high-profile frauds in Europe have led governance stakeholders to ask what more can be done to strengthen corporate defenses. Fraud remains a persistent concern for audit committees despite vigorous efforts to improve detection and prevention. Many seek to strengthen their fraud risk oversight.

Members used Wirecard, the now defunct German fintech company, as a case study on corporate fraud. They were joined by Dr. Katja Langenbucher, professor of law, Goethe University, and member of the supervisory board of BaFin, the German financial regulator; Marie-Laure Delarue, global vice chair of assurance, EY; and Jean-Yves Jégourel, EY’s country managing partner, Germany.

This ViewPoints summarizes three themes that emerged during the discussion and in premeeting conversations:

• Key takeaways from the Wirecard case
• EY’s changes in external audit practices after Wirecard
• Good practices for audit committee oversight of fraud risk